Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia. The city was named after José María Morelos, a native of the city and one of the main heroes of the Mexican War of Independence.
Yacata pyramids of Tzintzuntzan
Spanish-Tlaxcalan conquest of Michoacan under conquistador Nuño de Guzmán
Purépecha coyote statue
Basilica of Nuestra Señora de la Salud in Patzcuaro
Purépecha, often called Tarascan, a term coined by Spanish colonizers which can be seen as pejorative, is a language isolate or small language family that is spoken by some 140,000 Purépecha in the highlands of Michoacán, Mexico.
A bilingual Purépecha/Spanish school in the Purépecha community of Janitzio, Michoacán. Since Mexico's 2000 indigenous language law, indigenous languages like Purépecha share the same status as Spanish in the areas in which they are spoken, and many schools offer the curriculum in indigenous languages.
Dictionary of the Mechuacan (Michoacán, Tarascan) language, Fray Maturino Gilberti, 1559
Prayer book in the language by J. J. Apolonio Maya dated 1849 (click to browse).
