Discover

:'''San Luis Potosí' is the name of both a state in Mexico and the capital city of that state. This article is about the city. For the state, see: San Luis Potosí.''
'San Luis Potosí', also called 'SLP' or simply 'San Luis', is the capital of and most populous city in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. At an elevation of 6,157 feet, the city is a thousand feet higher than Denver, Colorado.
San Luis Potosí is located in the central-western part of the state of San Luis Potosí at 22.16°N, 100.98°W. In the census of 2005 the city had a population of 685,934 while the municipality had a population of 730,950. The municipality has an area of 1,443.14 km² (557.2 sq mi). The metropolitan area of Greater San Luis Potosí, which includes the neighboring municipality of Soledad de Graciano Sánchez, had a population of 957,753.

Contents

Etymology

Generalities and History

Sister cities

Gastronomy

Sports

Higher Education and Scientific Research

References

External links

Etymology

The city is named after Louis IX of France (also known in Mexico as 'San Luis Rey de Francia', ''Saint Louis, King of France''), its patron saint. And 'Potosí' in reference to the fabulously rich mines of Potosí, Bolivia, discovered some forty years before the city was founded.

Generalities and History

A Franciscan Mission was established in the city in 1583, nine years before the city's founding in 1592. San Luis grew rapidly thanks to the region's rich gold and silver mines, a source of the Mexican treasures that filled the Manila galleons.
For a time in 1863 during the French invasion of Mexico, San Luis Potosí served as the capital of the republican government under President Benito Juárez.
The 'Plan of San Luis Potosí,' issued November 20 1910, was the opening shot of Mexico's revolution against the dictator Porfirio Díaz. The Mexican presidential election of 1910 was stolen when Díaz had his opponent Francisco I. Madero arrested and imprisoned. Madero fled and issued the Plan of San Luis Potosí, declaring the election void and calling upon Mexicans to take up arms against the government.
Today, the downtown is one of plazas and colonial architecture. The "Plaza de Armas" is home to a cathedral and governor's palace (1770), and on quiet evenings, chatting couples and families enjoy popsicles. The nearby "Templo de Nuestra Señora del Carmen," with its colorful tiled domes and famous altars, is considered among Mexico's finest churches. In addition, San Luis is home to the bullring Plaza de Toros Fermin Rivera.
Outside the city center, a modern industrial city has begun to grow.
The Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí (UASLP) is in the city. Based on a Jesuit College founded in 1624, the Instituto Científico y Literario was raised to the category of a university in 1923, and is now recognized as one of Latin America's best universities.

Sister cities

★ Tulsa, Oklahoma, [Pico Rivera, California]United States of America

★ Pharr, Texas,United States of America

Gastronomy

Potosinos are proud of their bright orange ''enchiladas potosinas'', often served fried with refried beans and guacamole.
The nearby town of Santa Maria del Rio provides the state with its sparkling mineral water, ''Agua de Lourdes.'' The water fills both store shelves and the cocktails of Potosinos -- who claim the water can cure a hangover.

Sports

San Luis is home to the aptly named Club San Luis, a soccer team in Mexico's first division. The team's home stadium is the Estadio Alfonso Lastras.
The city also has a basketball team, Los Santos de San Luis.

Higher Education and Scientific Research

The institutions of higher education that offer degrees at the bachelor level are:

★ El Colegio de San Luis Website

★ Escuela de Educación Superior en Ciencias Históricas y Antropológicas Eduard Seler Website

★ Instituto Potosino de Ciencia y Tecnologia (IPICYT)Website

★ Instituto Tecnologico de San Luis Potosi (ITSLP) Website

★ Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey - Campus San Luis (ITESM) Website

★ Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de San Luis Potosi

★ Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi (UASLP) Website

★ Universidad del Centro de Mexico (UCEM) Website

★ Universidad Cuauhtemoc - Campus San Luis Potosi Website

★ Universidad Interamericana del Norte - Campus San Luis Website

★ Universidad Interamericana para el Desarrollo - Campus San Luis Website

★ Universidad Marista - Campus San Luis Potosi Website

★ Universidad Pedagogica Nacional - Campus San Luis Potosi Website

★ Universidad Politecnica de San Luis Potosi (UPSLP) Website

★ Universidad Potosina Website

★ Universidad Tangamanga Website

★ Universidad Tec Milenio Website

★ Universidad Tecnologica de San Luis Potosi Website
IPICYT, UASLP and EL Colegio de San Luis are also world class research institutions that offer Doctorate degrees.

References

★ Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática

★ San Luis Potosí Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

External links

★ Gobierno del Estado de San Luis Potosí Official website

★ Ayuntamiento de San Luis Potosí Official website

★ English translation of the Plan of San Luis Potosí

★ UASLP website, with a brief history of their own

★ an example of another UASLP website, this time for Servicios Escolares

★ More history about SLP

★ Geri's account of SLP

★ Tourist Attractions & Pics