Culture

Mazatlan may be considered newer than other places in Mexico, but they do not consider the ancient origins of the city by the natives who were there before the Spanish conquerors came into Mexico. Even one of the Catholic churches is built on the foundations of an ancient Indian church structure that predated the Catholic Church by thousands of years.

The name Mazatlan is based upon the Nahutal Indian word Mazatl meaning the place of the deer. This is in the Aztec language which was not used in this area, so it appears that one of the interpreters of the conqueror of this area (Nuno de Guzman) was probably the originator of the name. Of course today, with over 600,000 inhabitants, few if any deer are seen. The reason that Mazatlan is a fairly young city is that the city itself did not become anything permanent until the 1820's.