Celestún Municipality

Celestún Municipality (Yucatec Maya: "terror of stone") is a municipality in the Mexican state of Yucatán containing 868.63 km² of land and is located roughly 105 kilometres (65 mi) west of the city of Mérida.^[2]

Celestún
Municipality
Principal Church of Celestún, Yucatán
Seal
Region 1 Poniente #011
Celestún Location of the Municipality in Mexico
Coordinates: 20°51′33″N 90°24′00″W
Country	Mexico
State	Yucatán
Mexico Ind.	1821
Yucatán Est.	1824
Government
• Type	2012–2015[1]
• Municipal President	Rosa Alba Acosta Narváez[2]
Area
• Total	868.63 km2 (335.38 sq mi)
	[2]
Elevation [2]	3 m (9.8 ft)
Population  (2010[3])
• Total	6,831
• Density	7.864/km2 (20.37/sq mi)
• Demonym	Umanense
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (Central Daylight Time)
INEGI Code	011
Major Airport	Merida (Manuel Crescencio Rejón) International Airport
IATA Code	MID
ICAO Code	MMMD
Municipalities of Yucatán

History

There is no accurate data on when the town was founded, but it was a settlement before the conquest and was located in the chieftainship of Ah-Canul. After colonization, the area was one of the few that did not become part of the encomienda system, and was established in 1718, as a town under the jurisdiction of Sisal, where it served as an important source of salt.^[2]

Yucatán declared its independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821^[4] and the area was transferred from Sisal to the Maxcanú Municipality in 1872. In 1918 the area became its own municipality.^[2]

Governance

The municipal president is elected for a three-year term. The town council has four councilpersons, who serve as Secretary and councilors of heritage and public monuments; public security; public works, nomenclature and recruitment; and public buildings and ecology.^[5]

Communities

The head of the municipality is Celestún, Yucatán. Among the other populated places of the municipality are Calan, Chamúl, Chín, Hoyuelos, Man, Stal and Tzate. The significant populations are shown below:^[2]

Community	Population
Entire Municipality (2010)	6,831[3]
Celestún	6243 in 2005[6]

Local festivals

Celestun Flamingos

Every year from 1 to 12 December the town celebrates the feast of the Immaculate Conception. There is also an annual celebration on 1 June for Navy Day.^[2]

Tourist attractions

• Church of the Immaculate Conception
• Birding