Tepatitlán de Morelos is a city and municipality founded in 1530, in the central Mexican state of Jalisco. It is located in the area known as Los Altos de Jalisco (the 'Highlands of Jalisco'), about 70 km east of state capital Guadalajara. It is part of the macroregion of the Bajío. Its surrounding municipality of the same name had an area of 1,532.78 km2 (591.81 sq mi). Its most distinctive feature is the Baroque-style parish church in the centre of the city dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi. Other notable sites include the kiosk that sits on the Plaza de Armas in downtown (ornamented with iron, it was built in France, and brought to the city), the Temple of San Antonio, and the city hall (Palacio Municipal). The latter is one of the most distinctive features in the city, built in neoclassic-baroque style.
The nickname of the city is "Tepa". It is also the largest producer of eggs in Mexico, the largest pork producer in the state, and the primary milk basin in the country, as well as a large producer of tequila. The fleur-de-lys can be seen in a number of public spaces and buildings, including the Santuario de Guadalupe and the Santuario del Señor de la Misericordia, which houses an oak-carved crucifix that, according to the legend, was found by a poor farmer on the Cerro Gordo in 1835; every year from 25 to 30 April, the city hosts the Feria Tepabril which celebrates the Señor de la Misericordia.
Tepatitlán means "Hard Stone Place", in the Nahuatl language. But recent artifactual discoveries indicate that the name may actually have a different meaning than the one that is conventionally accepted. The matter has yet to be settled conclusively by scholars and officials.
