Acapulco

For other uses, see Acapulco (disambiguation).

Acapulco
City
Acapulco de Juárez
Acapulco skyline
Diana Fountain
Skyscrapers in Diamante
Acapulco Cathedral
Fort of San Diego
La Quebrada
La Roqueta Island
Puerto Marqués
Coat of arms of Acapulco
Coat of arms
Acapulco is located in Guerrero
Acapulco
Acapulco
Location of Acapulco within Guerrero
Acapulco is located in Mexico
Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco (Mexico)
Coordinates: 16°51′49″N 99°52′57″W / 16.86361°N 99.88250°W / 16.86361; -99.88250
CountryMexico
StateGuerrero
MunicipalityAcapulco, Guerrero
FoundedMarch 12, 1550
Government
 • Municipal presidentAbelina López ()
Area
 • City1,880.60 km2 (726.10 sq mi)
 • Urban
85 km2 (33 sq mi)
 • Metro
3,538.5 km2 (1,366.2 sq mi)
Elevation
(of seat)
30 m (100 ft)
Population
 (2020 census)
 • City658,609
 • Density350/km2 (910/sq mi)
 • Metro
852,622
DemonymsAcapulqueño (a)
Porteño (a)
GDP (PPP, constant 2015 values)
 • Year2023
 • Total$10.3 billion[1]
 • Per capita$10,100
Time zoneUTC−6 (CST)
Postal codes
39300–39937
Area code744
WebsiteOfficial website (in Spanish)

Acapulco de Juárez (Spanish: [akaˈpulko ðe ˈxwaɾes] ⓘ), commonly called Acapulco (/ˌækəˈpʊlkoʊ/ AK-ə-PUUL-koh,[2][3] US also /ˌɑːk-/ AHK-;[2] Nahuatl languages: Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, 380 kilometres (240 mi) south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicircular bay, Acapulco has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico's history.[4] It is a port of call for shipping and cruise lines running between Panama and San Francisco, California, United States.[5] The city of Acapulco is the largest in the state, far larger than the state capital Chilpancingo. Acapulco is also Mexico's largest beach and balneario resort city.[6] Acapulco de Juárez, Guerrero is the municipal seat of the municipality of Acapulco, Guerrero.

The city is one of Mexico's oldest beach resorts, coming into prominence in the 1940s through the 1960s as a getaway for Hollywood stars and millionaires.[7] Acapulco was once a popular tourist resort, but due to a massive upsurge in gang violence and homicide numbers since 2014, Acapulco no longer attracts many foreign tourists, and most now only come from Mexico itself. It is both the ninth deadliest city in Mexico and the tenth-deadliest city in the world as of 2022;[8] the US government has warned its citizens not to travel there.[9][10] In 2016 there were 918 murders,[11] and the homicide rate was one of the highest in the world: 103 in every 100,000.[12][13] In September 2018 the city's entire police force was disarmed by the military, due to suspicions that it had been infiltrated by drug gangs.[14]

The resort area is divided into three parts: the north end of the bay and beyond is the "traditional" area, which encompasses the area from Parque Papagayo through the Zócalo and onto the beaches of Caleta and Caletilla, the main part of the bay known as "Zona Dorada" ('golden zone' in Spanish), where the famous in the mid-20th century vacationed, and the south end, "Diamante" ('diamond' in Spanish), which is dominated by newer luxury high-rise hotels and condominiums.

The name "Acapulco, Guerrero" comes from Nahuatl language Aca-pōl-co, and means "where the reeds were destroyed or washed away"[15] or "at the big reeds",[16] which inspired the city's seal, which is an Aztec-type glyph showing two hands breaking reeds.[4]

The "de Juárez" was added to the official name in 1885 to honor Benito Juárez, former president of Mexico (1806–1872). The island and municipality of Capul, in the Philippines, derives its name from Acapulco, Guerrero. Acapulco, Guerrero was the eastern end of the trans-Pacific sailing route from Acapulco to Manila, in what was then a Spanish colony.

  1. ^ "TelluBase—Mexico Fact Sheet (Tellusant Public Service Series)" (PDF). Tellusant. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Acapulco". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  3. ^ "Acapulco". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Estado de Guerrero: Acapulco de Juárez". Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México (in Spanish). Mexico: INAFED. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
  5. ^ "History of API Acapulco, Guerrero". Administracion Portuaria Integral (in Spanish). Acapulco, Guerrero. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
  6. ^ "INEGI Census 2005" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
  7. ^ Stacy, Lee (2003). Mexico and the United States. New York: Marshall Cavendish Publishing. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7614-7403-6.
  8. ^ "50 of the most dangerous cities in the world". USA Today. August 14, 2019.
  9. ^ Ramsay, Stuart (February 26, 2018). "Acapulco, Guerrero: The resort killed by drugs, guns and gangs". Sky News. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  10. ^ "Mexico Travel Advisory". travel.state.gov. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  11. ^ Partlow, Joshua (August 24, 2017). "Acapulco is Now Mexico's Murder Capital". The Washington Post.
  12. ^ Bonello, Deborah (September 26, 2018). "Marines swoop on Acapulco as entire police force in faded resort city infiltrated by cartels". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  13. ^ "Entire Acapulco police force disarmed due to links to drug gangs". NBC News. September 26, 2018. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018.
  14. ^ McCluskey, Mitchell & Gallón, Natalie (September 26, 2018). "Mexican authorities seize control of Acapulco police force". CNN. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018.
  15. ^ Robelo, Cecelio A. (1912). Diccionario de Aztequismos (in Spanish). Mexico: Imp. del Museo N. de Arquelogía, Historia y Etnología. pp. 43–44.
  16. ^ Nahuatl -pōl- is an augmentative suffix, and it also is a verb root meaning "destroy".