Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro, in the Mexican state of Michoacán, is a small village near the Parícutin volcano. The city is called "Nuevo" (Spanish for "New") because the original San Juan Parangaricutiro was destroyed during the formation of the Parícutin volcano in 1943. Along with the village of Parícutin, San Juan Parangaricutiro was buried beneath ash and lava. The tops of cathedrals in old San Juan Parangaricutiro still protrude from the volcanic deposits.
Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro is located about 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) west of Uruapan and 16-kilometer (9.9 mi) east of the peak of Parícutin in central Michoacán. The village’s postal code is 60490.
Like many places in Mexico, it is locally known by several unofficial names. "San Juan", "Nuevo San Juan", and "Parangaricutiro" are all variations. San Juan Parangaricutiro is also famously known as Parangaricutirimícuaro, the longest place name word in Mexico. Some believe that “Parangaricutirimícuaro” is an urban legend and does not exist. It is the object of the folklore of many fictitious fables. The word itself is a tongue-twister and it is also used in longer tongue-twisters that include nonsense words similar to Parangaricutirimícuaro e.g.: "El pueblo de Parangaricutirimícuaro se va a desparangaricutirimicuarizar. Quien logre desparangaricutirimicuarizarlo primero será un gran desparangaricutirimicuarizador."
Famous quotes containing the words san and/or juan:
“The gold-digger in the ravines of the mountains is as much a gambler as his fellow in the saloons of San Francisco. What difference does it make whether you shake dirt or shake dice? If you win, society is the loser.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Is that the Craig Jurgesen that Teddy Roosevelt gave you?... And you used it at San Juan Hill defending liberty. Now you want to destroy it.”
—Laurence Stallings (1894–1968)