Pueblos Mágicos facts for kids

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The Pueblos Mágicos Program (which means "Magical Towns Program" in Spanish) is a special plan started by Mexico's government. It's designed to show off towns across the country that are rich in culture, history, amazing food, cool crafts, and friendly people. The main goal is to bring more visitors to these smaller, often rural, towns.

This program helps people discover small towns where they can see unique local crafts, beautiful landscapes, and other fun things. The government created the 'Pueblos Mágicos' program to celebrate places that have special qualities and traditions. These towns offer "magical" experiences to visitors. A "Magical Town" is a place full of interesting stories, history, important events, festivals, and traditions. It also has great food and fun shopping. In short, it has a special "magic" in its culture and offers wonderful chances for tourism.

The program began in 2001. After nine years, with 32 towns chosen, it was improved and relaunched in 2010. The government added more money to help local efforts and made it a top priority. Each town received a budget to improve its buildings, look, and visitor experiences. They also made sure the towns kept their traditions and promoted their festivals. By 2012, 83 towns and villages in all 31 states had earned the "Pueblo Mágico" title. This program made local people proud, recognized their towns, and helped share Mexican culture and traditions with more visitors.

In late 2018, there were talks that the program might stop. However, in February 2019, a government official said the program would continue "more strongly than ever." Now, the tourism ministry still decides which towns can become Pueblos Mágicos and promotes the program. But state governors are in charge of giving money to projects in these towns.

On December 1, 2020, 11 new Pueblos Mágicos were added, bringing the total to 132. This included Mexcaltitán, one of the first "Magical Towns," which got its title back after losing it in 2009. As of August 1, 2023, there are 177 Pueblos Mágicos across all 31 Mexican states.

Why the Program Exists

The main goals of the Pueblos Mágicos program are:

• To offer more diverse and interesting places to visit inside Mexico, especially towns with important history and culture.
• To expand the types of tourism available in the country.
• To create and promote local crafts and support traditional festivals.
• To protect local traditions, culture, unique customs, and special foods.
• To help create new tourist activities like adventures, outdoor sports, ecotourism, festivals, local tours, food and wine events, and fishing.
• To make these towns even better and more popular for both Mexican and international visitors.
• To create jobs and help reduce poverty in these communities.
• This program also celebrates the hard work of local people who have kept their towns' cultural and historical treasures alive.

How a Town Becomes "Magical"

To be considered for the program, towns need to meet certain requirements:

• A town should have at least 5,000 people living there.
• It should be located no more than 300 kilometers (about a three-hour drive) from a city with good transportation or a strong market.
• The town's local and state governments must ask the Secretariat of Tourism to join the program. Then, officials will visit to see if the town has what it takes.

Here are some specific things towns need to have:

1. A special group called a "Pueblo Mágico committee." These are citizens who represent the town. If the town is accepted, this group helps make sure the town keeps its "Magical" title. They work with local people to make sure the program helps everyone. This group should have different kinds of people, no more than 15, who are willing to volunteer their time. Members should change every now and then.
2. An official agreement from the town council. This shows that local leaders support joining the program, which is very important for its success.
3. Support from the state government. State help is needed to provide money, especially for improving things like roads and buildings.
4. Money set aside for tourism projects. Each town must try to be different from other towns. Their plans should highlight what makes their town special.
5. An updated plan for tourism development that lasts at least three years. This long-term plan helps make sure the town keeps improving for tourists. The plan should be updated every three years.
6. Local rules and laws should be updated to focus on tourism. This helps protect visitors and people who work in tourism.
7. Proof of what makes the town special or unique.
8. Available health and safety services for tourists in case of an emergency.
9. Records of private and community money spent on tourism, like hotels, restaurants, tours, and museums.
10. Other things that the committee thinks are important for tourism.

The Selection Process

Here's how a town gets chosen:

• The town's citizens' committee and other important people gather all the needed documents and send their request to the Secretary of Tourism and the evaluation committee.
• They give a formal presentation with examples and details to the evaluation committee in Mexico City.
• The official committee includes people from the Secretariats of Tourism, Culture, Environment, and other government offices.
• The evaluation committee checks all the documents, makes sure everything is met, and visits the town in person. They then write a report about what they found.
• If all requirements are met, they approve the town. Then, the Secretary of Tourism visits the town, invites local leaders and residents, and officially announces the new "Magical Town." At the same time, the local committee takes an oath to represent the town's citizens.
• The local citizens and the committee are responsible for keeping the town's "magic" alive. The "Magical Town" title is not forever; some towns are checked every year.
• If a town doesn't meet all the requirements, the committee shares the details, and the town is asked to provide any missing information.
• If a town simply cannot meet the needed qualities, the committee sends a formal letter explaining why.

Mexico has more than 2,500 local areas, and hundreds apply to this program every year. Only a few are chosen. This is a very successful and respected program that brings many good things to local people, like more money and other benefits for their communities.

List of Magical Towns

#	Image	Town	State	Year Added
1		Huasca de Ocampo	Hidalgo	2001
2		Real de Catorce	San Luis Potosí	2001
3		Tepoztlán	Morelos	Added in 2001, title removed in 2009, but given back in 2010
4		Mexcaltitán de Uribe	Nayarit	Added in 2001, title removed in 2009, but given back in 2020
5		Taxco	Guerrero	2002
6		Tepotzotlán	México	2002
7		Tapalpa	Jalisco	2002
8		Comala	Colima	2002
9		Pátzcuaro	Michoacán	2002
10		Dolores Hidalgo	Guanajuato	2002
11		Cuetzalan	Puebla	2002
12		Izamal	Yucatán	2002
13		Tequila	Jalisco	2003
14		San Cristóbal de las Casas	Chiapas	2003
15		Real del Monte	Hidalgo	2004
16		Parras de la Fuente	Coahuila	2004
17		Valle de Bravo	México	2005
18		Mazamitla	Jalisco	2005
19		Álamos	Sonora	2005
20		Tlalpujahua	Michoacán	2005
21		Cosalá	Sinaloa	2005
22		Bernal	Querétaro	2005
23		Coatepec	Veracruz	2006
24		Real de Asientos	Aguascalientes	2006
25		Cuitzeo	Michoacán	2006
26		Santiago	Nuevo León	2006
27		Todos Santos	Baja California Sur	2006
28		Bacalar	Quintana Roo	2006
29		Jerez de García Salinas	Zacatecas	2007
30		Huamantla	Tlaxcala	2007
31		Creel	Chihuahua	2007
32		Capulálpam de Méndez	Oaxaca	2007
33		Ciudad Mier	Tamaulipas	2007
34		El Fuerte	Sinaloa	2009
35		Santa Clara del Cobre	Michoacán	2010
36		Tapijulapa	Tabasco	2010
37		Palizada	Campeche	2010
38		Jalpan de Serra	Querétaro	2010
39		Malinalco	México	2010
40		Zacatlán	Puebla	2011
41		Teúl de González Ortega	Zacatecas	2011
42		Tlayacapan	Morelos	2011
43		Mineral del Chico	Hidalgo	2011
44		Cadereyta de Montes	Querétaro	2011
45		Tula	Tamaulipas	2011
46		El Oro de Hidalgo	México	2011
47		Xico	Veracruz	2011
48		San Sebastián del Oeste	Jalisco	2011
49		Xilitla	San Luis Potosí	2011
50		Mineral de Pozos	Guanajuato	2012
51		Sombrerete	Zacatecas	2012
52		Angangueo	Michoacán	2012
53		Cuatrociénegas de Carranza	Coahuila	2012
54		Magdalena de Kino	Sonora	2012
55		Pahuatlán	Puebla	2012
56		Loreto	Baja California Sur	2012
57		Valladolid	Yucatán	2012
58		Metepec	México	2012
59		Chiapa de Corzo	Chiapas	2012
60		Comitán	Chiapas	2012
61		Huichapan	Hidalgo	2012
62		Tequisquiapan	Querétaro	2012
63		Batopilas	Chihuahua	2012
64		Chignahuapan	Puebla	2012
65		Cholula (San Pedro y San Andrés)	Puebla	2012
66		Pinos	Zacatecas	2012
67		Lagos de Moreno	Jalisco	2012
68		Tacámbaro	Michoacán	2012
69		Calvillo	Aguascalientes	2012
70		Nochistlán	Zacatecas	2012
71		Jiquilpan	Michoacán	2012
72		Tlatlauquitepec	Puebla	2012
73		Tzintzuntzan	Michoacán	2012
74		Mapimí	Durango	2012
75		Papantla	Veracruz	2012
76		Tecate	Baja California	2012
77		Arteaga	Coahuila	2012
78		Viesca	Coahuila	2012
79		Jalpa de Cánovas	Guanajuato	2012
80		Salvatierra	Guanajuato	2012
81		Yuriria	Guanajuato	2012
82		Xicotepec	Puebla	2012
83		Jala	Nayarit	2012
84		El Rosario	Sinaloa	2012
85		Aculco De Espinoza	México	2015
86		Atlixco	Puebla	2015
87		Candela	Coahuila	2015
88		Casas Grandes	Chihuahua	2015
89		Coscomatepec de Bravo	Veracruz	2015
90		Guerrero	Coahuila	2015
91		Huauchinango	Puebla	2015
92		Huautla de Jiménez	Oaxaca	2015
93		Isla Mujeres	Quintana Roo	2015
94		Ixtapan de la Sal	México	2015
95		Linares	Nuevo León	2015
96		Mascota	Jalisco	2015
97		Mazunte	Oaxaca	2015
98		Mocorito	Sinaloa	2015
99		Orizaba	Veracruz	2015
100		Palenque	Chiapas	2015
101		San Joaquín	Querétaro	2015
102		San José de Gracia	Aguascalientes	2015
103		San Pablo Villa de Mitla	Oaxaca	2015
104		San Pedro y San Pablo Teposcolula	Oaxaca	2015
105		Sayulita	Nayarit	2015
106		Talpa de Allende	Jalisco	2015
107		Tecozautla	Hidalgo	2015
108		Teotihuacán	México	2015
109		Tlaxco	Tlaxcala	2015
110		Tulum	Quintana Roo	2015
111		Villa del Carbón	México	2015
112		Zozocolco de Hidalgo	Veracruz	2015
113		Nombre de Dios	Durango	2018
114		Melchor Múzquiz	Coahuila	2018
115		Comonfort	Guanajuato	2018
116		Zimapán	Hidalgo	2018
117		Tlaquepaque	Jalisco	2018
118		Compostela	Nayarit	2018
119		Amealco de Bonfil	Querétaro	2018
120		Aquismón	San Luis Potosí	2018
121		Bustamante	Nuevo León	2018
122		Guadalupe	Zacatecas	2018
123		Isla Aguada	Campeche	2020
124		Zempoala	Hidalgo	2020
125		Ajijic	Jalisco	2020
126		Tonatico	México	2020
127		Paracho	Michoacán	2020
128		Santa Catarina Juquila	Oaxaca	2020
129		Tetela de Ocampo	Puebla	2020
130		Santa María del Río	San Luis Potosí	2020
131		Maní	Yucatán	2020
132		Sisal	Yucatán	2020
133		Pabellón de Hidalgo	Aguascalientes	2023
134		Santa Rosalía	Baja California Sur	2023
135		Candelaria	Campeche	2023
136		Copainalá	Chiapas	2023
137		Ocozocoautla de Espinosa	Chiapas	2023
138		Guachochi	Chihuahua	2023
139		Hidalgo del Parral	Chihuahua	2023
140		General Cepeda	Coahuila	2023
141		Ixcateopan de Cuauhtémoc	Guerrero	2023
142		Zihuatanejo	Guerrero	2023
143		Acaxochitlán	Hidalgo	2023
144		Metztitlán	Hidalgo	2023
145		Cocula	Jalisco	2023
146		Sayula	Jalisco	2023
147		Temacapulín	Jalisco	2023
148		Jilotepec	México	2023
149		Otumba	México	2023
150		Cotija	Michoacán	2023
151		Tlaltizapán de Zapata	Morelos	2023
152		Xochitepec	Morelos	2023
153		Ahuacatlán	Nayarit	2023
154		Amatlán de Cañas	Nayarit	2023
155		Ixtlán del Río	Nayarit	2023
156		Puerto Balleto	Nayarit	2023
157		San Blas	Nayarit	2023
158		General Terán	Nuevo León	2023
159		General Zaragoza	Nuevo León	2023
160		Huejotzingo	Puebla	2023
161		Teziutlán	Puebla	2023
162		Pinal de Amoles	Querétaro	2023
163		Cozumel	Quintana Roo	2023
164		Ciudad del Maíz	San Luis Potosí	2023
165		Tierra Nueva	San Luis Potosí	2023
166		San Ignacio	Sinaloa	2023
167		San Carlos	Sonora	2023
168		Ures	Sonora	2023
169		Frontera	Tabasco	2023
170		Teapa	Tabasco	2023
171		Ixtenco	Tlaxcala	2023
172		Córdoba	Veracruz	2023
173		Naolinco de Victoria	Veracruz	2023
174		Espita	Yucatán	2023
175		Motul	Yucatán	2023
176		Tekax	Yucatán	2023
177		Villanueva	Zacatecas	2023

Towns No Longer in the Program

Below are towns that were once part of the program but had their titles removed. This happened because they didn't meet the program's standards during checks. However, two of them later got their titles back! One town, San Miguel de Allende, was removed because it received an even higher honor: becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

#	Image	Town	State	Year Added	Year Removed
1		San Miguel de Allende	Guanajuato	2002	In 2008, it was removed because it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
2		Tepoztlán	Morelos	2001	Title removed in 2009; given back in 2010.
3		Mexcaltitlán	Nayarit	2001	Title removed in 2009; given back in 2020.

More About the Program

Some governments have tried to stop the program for political reasons. But because the program is based on local communities and helps them grow, these attempts have not worked. Statistics show that the Pueblo Mágico program has brought a lot of economic value and created many jobs for the towns involved. The program is seen as a great example both in Mexico and by other countries around the world.

See also

In Spanish: Pueblos Mágicos para niños