Villanueva

History

Villanueva was founded on February 4, 1692, under the name Villagutierre del Águila, chosen by its first settlers to honor colonial officials of the day, among them the alcalde mayor of Juchipila, Pedro Salazar y Águila. Soon the name of the patron saint was added, as was the custom, making it Villa de San Judas Tadeo de Villagutierre del Águila. Because it was the last villa founded in this part of Zacatecas, people called it the new town, Villa Nueva, and that is the name that lasted.

A local legend tells of a statue of the saint kept at the hacienda of La Quemada. When the river flooded, the image was swept away and turned up several kilometers off, always in the same spot, where a man who looked like the saint asked that a church be built. The parish church stands there today, and the town grew around it.

Villanueva began as a farming community, and its motto means with the sword and the plow. It became a free municipality in 1917. Agriculture and cattle remain important, with commerce and tourism growing in recent years. It was named a Pueblo Mágico in 2023.