Xocchel Municipality

Xocchel
Municipality
Principal Church of Xocchel, Yucatán Principal Church of Xocchel, Yucatán
Region 3 Centro #103
Xocchel Location of the Municipality in Mexico
Coordinates:
Country	Mexico
State	Yucatán
Government
• Type	2012–2015
• Municipal President	Leydi Guadalupe Castro Gamboa
Area
• Total	53.65 km2 (20.71 sq mi)
Elevation	14 m (46 ft)
Population (2010)
• Total	3,236
Time zone	Central Standard Time (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	Central Daylight Time (UTC-5)
INEGI Code	009
Major Airport	Merida (Manuel Crescencio Rejón) International Airport
IATA Code	MID
ICAO Code	MMMD
Website	Official Website

Xocchel Municipality (In the Yucatec Maya Language: “counting magpies) is found” is one of the 106 municipalities in the Mexican state of Yucatán containing (53.65 km²) of land and located roughly 45 km southeast of the city of Mérida.

History

During pre-Hispanic times, the area was part of the chieftainship of Ah-Kin-Chel. After the conquest the area became part of the encomienda system. In 1753, two women were the encomenderas for Xocchel, Catalina Guerrero y Ulbarri and María Enríquez de Novoa, responsible for 207 indigenous people.

Yucatán declared its independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821. On 30 November 1840 a partition was made assigning Xocchel to the Izamal Municipality. In 1988, it was made its own municipality.

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 service, nomenclature, cemeteries, and parks.

Communities

The head of the municipality is Xocchel, Yucatán. The other populated areas are Much, El Paraíso, Santa Cruz, X-lelbé, and Yaxquil. The significant populations are shown below:

Community	Population
Entire Municipality (2010)	3,236
Xocchel	2905 in 2005

Local festivals

Every year from 24 to 29 June, the feast of San Juan Bautista, patron saint of the village, is held.

Tourist attractions

• Church of San Juan Bautista