Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro

Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro is a small village in the Mexican state of Michoacán 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.[1] Along with the village of Parícutin, San Juan Parangaricutiro was buried beneath ash and lava. The top of the church of old San Juan Parangaricutiro still protrudes from the volcanic deposits.

Church ruins of the original San Juan Parangaricutiro

Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro is located about 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) west of Uruapan and 16 kilometers (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 toponym 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 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."

References
  1. Mexican volcanoes, Parícutin from the USGS describing the destruction of both San Juan and Parícutin.

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