Telchac Puerto Municipality

Telchac Puerto Municipality (In the Yucatec Maya Language: “Port of Rain or necessary water”) is one of the 106 municipalities in the Mexican state of Yucatán containing 173.73 square kilometres (67.08 sq mi) of land and located roughly 70 kilometres (43 mi) northeast of the city of Mérida.[2]

Telchac Puerto
Municipality
Principal Church of Telchac Puerto, Yucatán
Municipal location in Yucatán
Telchac Puerto Location of the Municipality in Mexico
Coordinates: 21°20′26″N 89°15′47″W
Country	Mexico
State	Yucatán
Government
• Type	2012–2015[1]
• Municipal President	José Humberto Marrufo Ramírez[2]
Area
• Total	173.73 km^2 (67.08 sq mi)
	[2]
Elevation [2]	1 m (3 ft)
Population  (2010[3])
• Total	1,726
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (Central Daylight Time)
INEGI Code	083
Major Airport	Merida (Manuel Crescencio Rejón) International Airport
IATA Code	MID
ICAO Code	MMMD

History

It is unknown which chieftainship the area was under prior to the arrival of the Spanish. After the conquest the area became part of the encomienda system.[2] Telchac is listed as belonging to the Spanish crown from 1549 to 1607 when Alonso Carrio de Valdés and María de Argüelles Cienfuegos traded it for Sisal and became encomenderos. In 1688 it passed to Ambrosio de Argüelles and in 1698 Eugenia de la Cerda y Figueroa was recorded as encomendara.[4]

Yucatán declared its independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821 and in 1825, the area was assigned to the coastal region with its headquarters in Izamal Municipality. Later it passed to Motul Municipality and in 1927 was part of Telchac Pueblo Municipality. In 1932 it was designated as its own municipality.[2]

Governance

The municipal president is elected for a three-year term. The town council has four councilpersons, who serve as Secretary and councilors of public works, public lighting, and ecology.[5]

The Municipal Council administers the business of the municipality. It is responsible for budgeting and expenditures and producing all required reports for all branches of the municipal administration. Annually it determines educational standards for schools.[5]

The Police Commissioners ensure public order and safety. They are tasked with enforcing regulations, distributing materials and administering rulings of general compliance issued by the council.[5]

Communities

The head of the municipality is Telchac Puerto, Yucatán. The other populated areas of the municipality include Boxactún, San Juan, Santa Barbara and Santa Elena. The significant populations are shown below:[2]

Community	Population
Entire Municipality (2010)	1,726[3]
Telchac Puerto	1618 in 2005[6]

Local festivals

Every year from 29 September to 4 October the town holds a celebration for St. Francis of Assisi.[2]

Tourist attractions

• Church of San Juan de Dios, built in the colonial era
• Archaeological site of Xcambo
• Archaeological site of Misnay

Telchac Puerto port is small but has commercially operating fishing fleets for fishing and packing sardines and for fishing jack crevalle, snook, and spotted seatrout in the lagoon and “jettied pass.” There are also a number of fishing restaurants along the malecon or esplanade on the sea front.[7][8]

Lighthouse

The port town has light house named Talchar which is off the beach about 55 kilometres (34 mi) away from Progresso. It is a concrete tower of 12 metres (39 ft) height. The tower has four ribs and is fitted with a lantern and gallery. Its active focal plane is also 12 metres (39 ft) and the light gives three white flashes at an interval of 8 seconds.[9]

References

1. "Diaper still not decided whether in coalition in Yucatan" (in Spanish). Villahermosa, Mexico: Oro Negro. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
2. "Municipios de Yucatán »Telchac Puerto" (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 July 2015.
3. "Mexico In Figures:Telchac Puerto, Yucatán". INEGI (in Spanish and English). Aguascalientes, México: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI). Archived from the original on 6 May 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
4. García Bernal, Manuela Cristina (1978). Población y encomienda en Yucatán bajo los Austrias (in Spanish). Sevilla: Escuela de Estudios Hispano-Americanos. p. 515. ISBN 978-8-400-04399-5. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
5. "Telchac Puerto". inafed (in Spanish). Mérida, Mexico: Enciclopedia de Los Municipios y Delegaciones de México. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
6. "Telchac Puerto". PueblosAmerica (in Spanish). PueblosAmerica. 2005. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
7. Concord & Concord 2003, p. 363.
8. Shook 2013, p. 93.
9. "Lighthouses of Mexico: Southern Gulf Coast". Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 7 August 2015.

Bibliography

• Concord, Bruce; Concord, June (2003). Adventure Guide to Yucatan, Cancun and Cozumel. Hunter Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1-58843-370-1.
• Shook, Phil (2013). Flyfisher's Guide to Mexico. Wilderness Adventures Press. ISBN 978-1-932098-97-6.