Sinaloa

Litograph of Mazatlán in 1845.

Sinaloa belongs to the northern limit of Mesoamerica. From the Fuerte River to the north is the region known as Aridoamerica, which includes the desert and arid places of northern Mexico. Before European contact, the territory of Sinaloa was inhabited by groups such as the Cahitas, the Tahues, the Acaxees, the Xiximes, the Totorames, the Achires and the Guasaves.[9]

In 1531, Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán, with a force of over 10,000 men, established a Spanish and allied Indian outpost at San Miguel de Culiacán. Over the next decade, the Cahíta suffered severe depopulation from conquest, smallpox and other diseases brought by Europeans.[10]

The Spanish organized Sinaloa as part of the gobierno of Nueva Galicia. In 1564, the area was realigned: the area of Culiacán and Cosalá remained in control of Nueva Galicia, while the areas to the north, south and west were made part of the newly formed Nueva Vizcaya province, making the Culiacán area an exclave of Nueva Galicia. The first capital of Nueva Vizcaya was located in San Sebastián, near Copala, but was moved to Durango in 1583.[11]

Starting in 1599, Jesuit missionaries spread out from a base at what is now Sinaloa de Leyva and by 1610, the Spanish influence had been extended to the northern edge of Sinaloa. In 1601, the Jesuits' movement into the eastern part of Sinaloa led to the Acaxee going to war. The Spanish eventually managed to reassert authority in the Sierra Madre Occidental region and executed 48 Acaxee leaders.[12]

After the Mexican War of independence, Sinaloa was joined with Sonora as Estado de Occidente, but became a separate, sovereign state in 1830.[10] The Porfiriato era was marked by the administration of Francisco Cañedo, who served multiple non-consecutive terms from 1877 to 1909. After the Mexican Revolultion, infrastructure projects and land reform consolidated the agrarian sector, which led to the state being named "the granary of Mexico".[13]

The coastal plain is a narrow strip of land that stretches along the length of the state and lies between the Gulf of California and the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, which dominates the eastern part of the state. Sinaloa is traversed by many rivers, which carve broad valleys into the foothills. The largest of these rivers are the Culiacán, Fuerte, and Sinaloa.[14]

Sinaloa has a warm climate on the coast; moderately warm climate in the valleys and foothills; moderately cold in the lower mountains, and cold in the higher elevations. Its weather characteristics vary from subtropical and tropical, found on coastal plains, to cold in the nearby mountains. Temperatures range from 22 °C (72 °F) to 43 °C (109 °F) with rain and thunderstorms during the rainy season (June to October) and dry conditions throughout most of the year. Its average annual precipitation is 790 millimetres.[15]

Numerous species of plants and animals are found within Sinaloa. Notable among the tree species is the elephant tree, Bursera microphylla.[16]

Botanic garden "Benjamín F. Johnston" of Parque Sinaloa

According to the 2020 census, Sinaloa is home to 3,026,943 inhabitants, 60% of whom reside in the capital city of Culiacán and the municipalities of Mazatlán and Ahome. It is a young state in terms of population, 56% of which is younger than 30 years of age.[17]

Other demographic particulars report 87% of the state practices the Catholic faith. Also, 1% of those over five years of age speak an indigenous language alongside Spanish; the main indigenous ethnic group still residing in the state is the Mayo or "Yoreme" (Cáhita language) people. Life expectancy in the state follows the national tendency of higher rates for women than men, a difference of almost five years in the case of Sinaloa, at 72.5 and 77.4 years respectively.

In ethnic composition, Sinaloa has received large historic waves of immigration from Europe (mainly Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Russia) and Asia (namely China, Japan, the Philippines, Lebanon and Syria). The latter two countries also make up most of the Arab Mexican community in the state. In recent years, retirees from the U.S., Canada and South America have arrived and made Sinaloa their home.

There was also a sizable influx of Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews in the first decades of the twentieth century.

Greeks form a notable presence in Sinaloa, where one can find local cuisine with kalamari and a few Greek Orthodox churches along the state's coast.[18]

According to the 2020 Census, 1.39% of Sinaloa's population identified as Black, Afro-Mexican, or having African descent.[19]

Sinaloenses have moved to the United States in large numbers since 1970; a large community lives in the twin towns of Indio, California and Coachella, California about 25 miles east of the resort city of Palm Springs, California in the Colorado Desert of Southern California.

The main economic activities of Sinaloa are agriculture, fishing, livestock breeding, tourism and food processing.[20] Sinaloa has on its license plates the image of a tomato, as the state is widely recognized for harvesting this particular fruit in great abundance from Los Mochis in the North to Culiacán in the central region of the state. Agriculture produce aside from tomatoes include cotton, beans, corn, wheat, sorghum, potatoes, soybeans, mangos, sugarcane, peanuts and squash.[21] Sinaloa is the most prominent state in Mexico in terms of agriculture and is known as "Mexico's breadbasket". Additionally, Sinaloa has the second largest fishing fleet in the country.[22] Livestock produces meat, sausages, cheese, milk as well as sour cream.

In terms of education, average schooling reaches 8.27 years; 4.2% of those over 15 years of age are illiterate, and 3.18% of children under 14 years of age do not attend school.[23]

Institutions of higher education include Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, TecMilenio University, Universidad Politécnica de Sinaloa, Universidad Politécnica del Mar y la Sierra, Universidad Politécnica del Valle del Evora, Universidad Autónoma de Durango, Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Sinaloa, Universidad Autónoma de Occidente and Universidad Casa Blanca.

The current governor of Sinaloa is Rubén Rocha Moya.[24] The state is represented in the Mexican Congress by three Senators in the upper house and fourteen federal deputies in the lower house.

Pedro Infante

An early 20th century banda .

An ulama player in Sinaloa.

Culturally, Sinaloa is part of Northern Mexico. Famous entertainers from the state include actor Pedro Infante, born in Mazatlán; singer Ana Gabriel, born in Guamúchil; singer and actress Lola Beltrán from Rosario; Cruz Lizárraga, the founder of Banda el Recodo; baseball player Jorge Orta, from Mazatlán; actress/comedian/singer Sheyla Tadeo, born in Culiacán; actress Sabine Moussier; actress/singer Lorena Herrera, from Mazatlán; and singer-songwriter Chalino Sánchez, from Las Flechas, Culiacán.

• Banda MS - Banda Sinaloense
• Arrolladora Banda el Limón - Banda Sinaloense
• Banda Los Recoditos - Banda Sinaloense
• José Manuel López Castro - Norteño Singer

• Sinaloa Cartel
• Las Labradas, an archaeological site located in southern Sinaloa

• C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Elephant Tree: Bursera microphylla, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
• Asociacion de Gestores del Patrimonio Historico y Cultural de Mazatlán. 2009. The Mesoamerican Ballgame-Ulama

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Sinaloa (category)

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Sinaloa".

• Geographic data related to Sinaloa at OpenStreetMap
• Official website (in Spanish)
• The History of Indigenous Sinaloa
• PBS Frontline: The place Mexico's drug kingpins call home