Paracho
Encyclopedia
Paracho de Verduzco is a small city located in Michoacán
, Mexico
. Located at 19°39′0"N 102°4′0"W, about 100 kilometers (60 mi) west of state capital Morelia
, it serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Paracho. It has a population of some 16,500. The word Paracho means "Offering" in the Chichimeca
n dialect.
Throughout Mexico, Paracho is known as The Guitar Capital of The World. This is because they are reputed to make the best sounding guitar
s in all of Mexico. The town is full of music shops that sell handmade stringed instruments. Some instruments that can be found in Paracho are: 10-string mandolin
s, armadillo
-backed guitars and mandolins, and acoustic bass guitars, as well as regular guitars and mandolins. Many of the stores and workshops allow visitors to watch the guitar-making process directly.
A national music festival is held in Paracho once a year, usually the second week of August.
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Located at 19°39′0"N 102°4′0"W, about 100 kilometers (60 mi) west of state capital Morelia
Morelia
Morelia is a city and municipality in the north central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital of the state. The main pre-Hispanic cultures here were the P'urhépecha and the Matlatzinca, but no major cities were founded in the...
, it serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Paracho. It has a population of some 16,500. The word Paracho means "Offering" in the Chichimeca
Chichimeca
Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian"...
n dialect.
Throughout Mexico, Paracho is known as The Guitar Capital of The World. This is because they are reputed to make the best sounding guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s in all of Mexico. The town is full of music shops that sell handmade stringed instruments. Some instruments that can be found in Paracho are: 10-string mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
s, armadillo
Armadillo
Armadillos are New World placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one"...
-backed guitars and mandolins, and acoustic bass guitars, as well as regular guitars and mandolins. Many of the stores and workshops allow visitors to watch the guitar-making process directly.
A national music festival is held in Paracho once a year, usually the second week of August.