Unión de San Antonio

Unión de San Antonio is the seat of the municipality of the same name, in Jalisco's Altos Norte region, right on the border with Guanajuato. At the 2020 census the town had 8,737 people and the municipality 19,069. It sits at almost 1,900 metres above sea level, on gently rolling, semi-dry land. The name recalls two royal roads that crossed here, one running from León toward San Juan and the other from Lagos to the Jalpa hacienda, beside a dam; "de San Antonio" comes from the first Franciscan chapel, dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua. In the early 1800s the place was the hacienda of San Antonio de los Adobes, and a decree of 31 March 1835 calls it Unión de San Antonio de los Adobes.

The centre has Plaza Independencia, the temple of the Señor de la Misericordia, now the parish church and current patron, and the temple of the Señor San Antonio, built in the 19th century and rebuilt in 1905. Nearby are parks such as La Turicata and the El Pedregal zoo. The economy mixes maize, wheat, alfalfa and agave with livestock, shoe-upper stitching and a dairy industry making asadero, Oaxaca, panela and requesón cheeses. Charrería is the main sport and there are several charro arenas.

The most visible fiestas are the Ascension Thursday pilgrimages, with a parade of floats, the May fiestas for the Señor de la Misericordia, San Antonio on 13 June, the Virgin of Guadalupe on 12 December and, on the weekend before Christmas, the Festival del Globo de los Altos. At the table, ask for birria, pozole and red mole; among sweets, jamoncillo and cajeta.