Bufa Hill facts for kids
Bufa Hill, also known as El Cerro de la Bufa, is a famous hill located just east of the historic downtown area of Zacatecas City, Zacatecas, Mexico. It's a very important place for the history and culture of the Zacatecas state.
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Name
People aren't completely sure how Bufa Hill got its name. One popular story says that Juan de Tolosa, one of the city's founders, named it "Bufa." This word comes from an old Spanish language called Aragonese. It means "pig bladder," which was used to describe the hill's unique shape.
History
Ancient Times
Bufa Hill is about 2,610 meters (around 8,560 feet) above sea level. Long ago, it was home to several tribes from the Aridoamerican region. The city of Zacatecas actually got its name from one of these tribes!
Some of the Chichimecan tribes that lived in the Zacatecas area were the Caxcanes, Guachichiles, and Zacatecas. The Zacatecas tribe was considered very important. Because of them, not only the city but also the entire Mexican state of Zacatecas got its name. The Caxcanes tribe lived in a big part of what is now Jalisco and Zacatecas.
Today, Bufa Hill is a popular place for tourists. It also marks the victory of the Battle of Zacatecas in 1914, which was a very important event in the state's history.
Spanish Colonial Period
Zacatecas became a mining city. Its four founding fathers were Juan de Tolosa, Cristóbal de Oñate, Diego de Ibarra, and Baltazar Temiño de Bañuelos.
When the Spanish arrived in what is now Zacatecas, they were looking for precious metals like silver. They traveled through a mountain path that led to a valley. Soon, they found a large mountain, which Juan de Tolosa named Bufa Hill.
By the year 1588, Bufa Hill was so important that it was even included in the city's official coat of arms. This was approved by King Felipe II of Spain.
Bufa Hill also played a role in the arrival of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and the start of the Mexican War of Independence.
