Everything about Ciudad Del Carmen totally explained
Ciudad del Carmen (English: City of Carmen) is a city in the south west of the
Mexican state of
Campeche. Ciudad del Carmen is located at on the south west of
Carmen Island, which stands in the
Laguna de Términos on the coast of the
Gulf of Mexico. The 2005 census population was 154,197 people. In July 2006 Ciudad del Carmen celebrated its 150th anniversary as a city.
The city is nicknamed "The Pearl of the Gulf". Ciudad del Carmen was a small city mostly devoted to
fishing until the
1970s when
oil was discovered in the region; since then it has grown and developed substantially. To this day Carmen is known as one of the best locations to find
seafood in Mexico. As late as the early
1980s the city could long be reached only by
ferry boats called "pangas"; this changed with the construction of a causeway bridge to the mainland in the 1980s and another one in
1994 before the term of
President Carlos Salinas de Gortari ended. The construction of the first bridge was motivated by the sinking of one of the island's
pangas which resulted in the death of nearly everyone on-board. The bridge
Puente El Zacatal constructed in 1994 is one of the longest in Latin America.
This border area at the western edge of the
Yucatán Peninsula was previously part of the state of
Yucatán, then of
Tabasco; since
1863 it has been part of the state of Campeche. In
1840 the city had a population of about 7,000.
The city is also the seat of the state of Campeche's
Carmen municipality, which includes the city and the surrounding area. The 2005 census population of the municipality of Carmen was 199,988 people, second only to the capital municipality of
Campeche. There is a sense of rivalry among the inhabitants of the two cities.
The main university in Ciudad del Carmen is the UNACAR (Universidad Autonoma del Carmen).
History
Founded in the pre-Hispanic era, Ciudad del Carmen was an important location which served to connect the
Aztec and
Mayan civilizations. Between the
1500s and
1700s when the city of Campeche was a trade hub between Spain and New Spain (Mexico), Ciudad del Carmen was inhabited by pirates and served as a port for repairing ships and planning attacks against the Spanish.
The city got its current name on
July 16,
1717, in honor of the Virgin of Carmen, believed to be the protector of the island, when the Spanish forces, commanded by Alonso Felipe de Andrade evicted the pirates from the island and took control the city after a long period of occupation. Since then, every year at the end of July, Ciudad del Carmen turns into the very center of the regional social, cultural and religious festivities, on the fair that celebrates the island's protector virgin
(External Link
).
Petroleum
In the mid
1970s Ciudad del Carmen was transformed from a
fishing and
shrimping city into a hub for oil when
PEMEX discovered large amounts of
petroleum off the coast. Ever since Carmen has become a home for Mexican and foreign oil workers alike, including many
Texans, and now houses many foreign companies.
Politics
On
July 2,
2006 carmelitas voted for their mayor, and José Ignacio Seara of the
PAN resulted elected. He will be in office until 2009
Ecology
It is unknown to what extent the oil industry is affecting the rich but fragile ecosystem of the island and the surrounding areas. The first ecological disater occurred when
Ixtoc I, an exploratory oil rig, exploded on
June 3,
1979. The disaster was the largest unintentional oil spill in history. The uncontrollable deforestation of the island, driven by a lack of planning and overpopulation, endangers the natural habitat of the native fauna. Flocks of swallows were a common feature of the island rainy season (June to October). In the current circumstances, a more resilient species of bird, a scavenger and crow-like bird known as "picho" by the locals, is taking over the habitats of the native birds. The white sand of the seashore is widely polluted with empty bottles, metallic objects and numerous plastic items. There are no studies regarding the impact of pollution on native sea specias such us dolphins and shrimp. Ecological and social responsibility require immediate attention and actions from the part of the industry, government, educational and touristic sectors involved in this region of the world.
Image:Puertoreal_01.jpg|Puerto Real, one of the beaches in Carmen.
Image:CamaronFuente.jpg|The "Camaron" Fountain.
Image: CarnavalCarmelita.jpg|"Carmelita" Carnival.
Further Information
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