Acatic

Acatic is the seat of the municipality of the same name in the Altos Sur region of Jalisco, about 60 km from Guadalajara at 1,684 metres above sea level. It had 13,033 people at the 2020 census, a little over half of the municipality's population. It calls itself the "Gateway to Los Altos": the words are on the welcome arch at the entrance to town, crowned by the Virgin of Candelaria, and the municipal coat of arms carries two keys with the same meaning, because it is considered the western gateway to the Altos region. The name comes from Nahuatl and is read as "among the reeds".

The area was home to the Tecuexe and Caxcan peoples. Pedro Almíndez Chirino took possession of the place in 1531, its people rose against the Spanish in 1540 and joined the Mixtón War the next year, and in 1542 the town was named San Juan Bautista de Acatic. The main church was raised in the mid-16th century, dedicated to the Virgin of Candelaria in 1780 and rebuilt in 1904, as a plaque beside its main door records. Acatic became a municipality on 10 October 1820.

Today the economy rests on food manufacturing, which employs more than half of the municipality's insured workers, and on farming; more than 80% of the municipality's land is farmland, and the red of its soil is the main colour of the coat of arms. The big fiesta is 2 February, Candlemas, and on the following day people traditionally exchange gifts at home or in the main garden, called "mi Candelaria". Holy Week brings a living Way of the Cross through the streets. Local cooking means birria and barbacoa, with buñuelos, ate and cajeta for dessert, and crafts include drawn-thread embroidery, otate and reed baskets and stone molcajetes.

North of town the land drops into the canyons of the Verde and Santiago rivers, a protected natural area covering about 6% of the municipality. Down there are the Salto de Damián and Velo de Novia waterfalls and the thermal pools of Rancho El Venado.