Santiago Maravatío 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 Bajío

Bajío

The Bajío is a region of Central Mexico that includes the plains south of the Sierra de Guanajuato, in the state of Guanajuato, as well as parts of the states of Querétaro and Michoacán .In general parlance, it is usually associated with the States of Guanajuato and Querétaro, although it only...

 (lowlands) of 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....

. With an area of 91.760 square kilometres, Santiago Maravatío accounts for less than 1% of the surface of the state. It is bordered to the north, east and southeast by Salvatierra

Salvatierra, Guanajuato

Salvatierra is a Mexican city located in the valley of Huatzindeo in the lowlands of the state of Guanajuato. With an area of 507.70 square kilometres, Salvatierra accounts for 1.66% the total area of the state...

 and to the west by Yuriria

Yuriria

Yuririapundaro, Guanajuato, Mexico, also known as Yuriria, is one of 46 municipalities in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. Its location and historical importance are key factors to the outstanding and significal importance of the municipality....

.

Santiago Maravatío was founded on July 25, 1540 and was named after St. James (Apóstol Santiago el Mayor), the patron saint

Patron saint

A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...

 of Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, in what had been a 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"...

 community (Maravatío in Purepecha means "Precious Place").
The municipality had a total of 7,151 inhabitants as of 2006 . The municipal president of Santiago Maravatío and its ten microregions is Rafael López Nava. The economy of the municipality is mostly based on agriculture and ranching.