Apaseo el Grande is a Mexican

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...

 city (and municipality

Municipalities of Guanajuato

The Mexican state of Guanajuato is divided into 46 municipalities :- References :*Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía : «Principales resultados por localidad 2005 » ....

) located in the state of Guanajuato

Guanajuato

Guanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato....

. The municipality has an area of 415.26 square kilometres (1.37% of the surface of the state) and is bordered to the north by Comonfort

Comonfort

Comonfort is a Mexican city located in the state of Guanajuato. The municipality has an area of 485.90 square kilometres and is bordered to the north and northeast by San Miguel de Allende, to the east by the state of Querétaro, to the south and southwest by Empalme Escobedo, Apaseo el Grande,...

 and San Miguel de Allende

San Miguel de Allende

San Miguel de Allende is a city and municipality located in the far eastern part of the state of Guanajuato in central Mexico. It is 274 km from Mexico City and 97 km from the state capital of Guanajuato...

, to the east by the state of Querétaro

Querétaro

Querétaro officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro de Arteaga is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and its capital city is Santiago de Querétaro....

, to the south by Apaseo el Alto

Apaseo el Alto

Apaseo el Alto is a Mexican city located in the state of Guanajuato. The municipality has an area of 491.81 square kilometres and is bordered to the north by Apaseo el Grande, to the east by the state of Querataro, to the south by Jerécuaro and Tarimoro, and to the northwest by Celaya...

, and to the west by Celaya

Celaya

Celaya is a city and its surrounding municipality in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, located in the southeast quadrant of the state. It is the third most populous city in the state, with a 2005 census population of 310,413. The municipality for which the city serves as municipal seat, had a...

. The municipality had a population of 68,738 inhabitants according to the 2005 census..

In pre-Columbian

Pre-Columbian

The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...

 times the region was known as Andahe or "Close to the water" and Atlayahualco or "Place of where water flows" by the Otomí

Otomi people

The Otomi people . Smaller Otomi populations exist in the states of Puebla, Mexico, Tlaxcala, Michoacán and Guanajuato. The Otomi language belonging to the Oto-Pamean branch of the Oto-Manguean language family is spoken in many different varieties some of which are not mutually intelligible.One of...

 and Nahua inhabitants. It was eventually known as Apatzeo or "Yellow flower," by the P'urhépecha

P'urhépecha

The P'urhépecha, normally spelled Purépecha in Spanish and in English and traditionally referred to as Tarascans, are an indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of the Mexican state of Michoacán, principally in the area of the cities of Uruapan and Pátzcuaro...

. It received its present name of Apaseo el Grande in 1525 upon conquest by the Spaniards

Spanish people

The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....

. It was the first city to be founded in what is now the state of Guanajuato.

The municipal president of Apaseo el Grande and its many smaller outlying communities is Dr. Ernesto Muñoz Ledo.