Леон қаласы: Мексиканың ірі өнеркәсіп және мәдени орталығы

León (leˈon), officially León de Los Aldama, is the most populous city and municipal seat of the municipality of León in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. In the 2020 Intercensal Survey, INEGI reported 1,721,626 people living in the municipality of León, The metropolitan area of León recorded a population of 2,140,094 in the 2020 state Census, making it the seventh most populous metropolitan area in Mexico. León has a large leather industry, making shoes, boots, belts, jackets, and other leather accessories for national and international markets. The leather industry earned its inhabitants the nickname of "green belly" (panzaverde in Spanish) because of the green tainting in the workers' bodies resulting from treating leather. Its first class services and hotel industry make it an important commercial center in Mexico with numerous options for entertainment, gastronomy, leisure activities, arts, and recreation. It is also considered one of the most environmentally friendly cities in Mexico and has a high number of cyclists, in part because of integrating a network of bike lanes into the SIT system. In March 2012, it received an award as "City Water Champion", mainly due to great progress in the areas of sanitation, wastewater reuse, and energy cogeneration from biogas.

About 70 percent of all shoes made in Mexico come from León and the surrounding area. In addition to the Leather crafting, there are also industrial chemical, plastic, polymer, transportation, and container companies. The presence of the automotive industry includes a General Motors plant in the nearby municipality of Silao. In the financial sector, León is home to the national headquarters of Banco del Bajío, owned by Salvador Oñate, and to the regional headquarters of Banamex, and HSBC, among other banks.

A newly built facility within GTO Inland Port's premises speeds up the logistics process. Clearing customs in a border city or seaport is no longer a requirement for companies located in GTO Inland Port. Now they use this very convenient facility.

A rail container yard is now offering inter modal services for rail transportation. The facility is operated by the largest rail company in Mexico and has one of the longest rail spurs in the country.

In the Poliforum there are trade fairs throughout the year. The principal two are Sapica (Shoe Fair), and ANPIC (suppliers of the shoe industry).

The main church is called the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Light and is the seat of the Archdiocese of Leon. Construction of the church was begun in 1746 by the Jesuits and is a combination of Baroque and Neo Classic architectural styles. Construction was halted only eight months after it began when the Jesuit order was expelled from Mexico by the Spanish Crown. The Obregon family, however, took over its construction, continuing into the 19th century. The Archdiocese of Leon was created in 1864, with its first bishop, José María de Jesús Diez de Sollano y Dávalos helping to get the towers and cupola completed as he chose the church as the seat. It was finally completed and consecrated on 16 March 1866. Pope Benedict XVI officiated a mass here in 2012.

Its full name is the Santuario Expiatorio del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (Expiatory Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). Construction of this shrine was begun in 1920 by Bernardo Chavez with the support of Bishop Emeterio Valverde y Téllez. It is neo Gothic in design, based on the old European medieval cathedrals but much of the outside wallspace is without decoration. Its work was halted by the Cristero Wars. Since then construction has continued off and on and it is considered 90% complete. An important source of income for the shrine's construction is the sale of crypts. This practice was begun in 1924. A chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Lourdes was begun in 1935 and later a chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe, which is separate from the main building, built between 1935 and 1939. A shrine with stained glass windows includes local allegories.

The current Municipal Palace is of the Ionic order and occupies part of the site of the old "Colegio Grande del Seminario de los Padres Paulinos" (Grand Seminary College for Pauline Priests) who had to abandon the city in 1860. From 1861 to 1867 it was a military barracks. After the French Intervention, it was remodeled to conserve its original architecture by Coronel Octaviano Rosado to become the seat of government on 21 March 1869. The patio of the building contains (in 1972) a bronze statue of Benito Juárez to commemorate the centennial of his death. Since then, the building has had a number of additions such as the dome that now covers this patio, and a number of murals. These murals were painted in 1972 and 1973 by Jesus Gallardo covering the walls of the main stairwell and the hallway of the upper floor around the patio.

This arch (Arco de la Calzada de los Héroes, in Spanish), topped by a bronze lion, began construction in 1896 and has been modified a number of times since then. The first lion was added in 1943 by Francisco Lozornio Castillo made of bricks and mortar. This was replaced by the bronze one in 1958. The idea for a bronze lion was that of the matador Antonio Velázquez, a native of Leon, whose bravery in the ring earned him the nickname of the "Heart of Leon" ("Corazón de León", in Spanish). Not long before his death in 1959, he complained that the brick lion should be replaced with a better work of art, causing something of a commotion in the Leon community. This caught the attention of sculptor Humberto Peraza Ojeda who made the one that sits atop the arch today.

The city's main professional Association football team is Club León, which is one of the foremost teams in Mexico, eight time league champion, now playing in the Liga MX. The team's stadium, Estadio León, also bears a Catalan name: Nou Camp. FIFA World Cup games have been played there (1970 and 1986). A new franchise with the name of Curtidores appeared in the Primera División A in the mid 1990s, but, after being champion in 1999 and earning the right to play in the Primera División, was sold and moved to Puebla to become Puebla, F. C. In 2007 a new franchise named Union de Curtidores began playing at Segunda división. Nowadays, there are several football teams in the city playing in the Tercera División: Atlético ECCA, Juventud Cuerera and Conmudaj, among some others. Club Leon also has a women's section that plays in Liga MX Femenil.

Since 2004 the city has hosted the headquarters of Rally Mexico located at the Centro de Convenciones Poliforum Leon, which is one round of the World Rally Championship. Thousands of fans camp at the nearby Sierra de Lobos and Sierra de Guanajuato mountains to watch the rally; the service park is also located and visited by fans at the Poliforum Leon. The Rally takes place in three cities: Guanajuato, Silao and León.

Since 2004, León has a basketball team, Lechugueros, which plays in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). They play in the Domo de la Feria (formerly known as Auditorio Municipal). Before this team, the city had other professional basketball teams: Lechugueros (original franchise), Zapateros, Pony León and Atléticos. These teams participated in the CIMEBA (Circuito Mexicano de Básquetbol), which was the main basketball league of Mexico in the 1970s and 1980s.

León had two baseball teams in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol: Cachorros de León, in the late 1970s, and Bravos de León, in the late 80's. Bravos, after becoming champions of the league in 1990, and due to financial problems, were sold and moved to Minatitlán, Veracruz. After many years of unsuccessful attempts to bring back baseball to Leon it was announced on November 1, 2016, by the assembly of presidents of the Mexican League, the approval the entry of Leon, Guanajuato, subject to certain conditions. The Bravos De Leon returned to play in 2017.

León has been a host city for the yearly ATP Challenger Tour since 1992.

Leon hosts an annual event on the Web. com Tour. In 2015 the event was held from April 13–19.