Durango, officially Victoria de Durango, named after the first President of Mexico, Guadalupe Victoria, is the capital of the state of Durango. Founded in 1563 as a town meant for mining silver, the city instead grew around the large iron deposits of Cerro de Mercado. The mining bonanza led to the construction of many colonial-era mansions in the city's center.

During the War of Independence, many leaders were executed in Durango on July 17th, 1812. Durango joined the Mexican Revolution in 1911, but its capture and burning by insurgents in 1913 plunged the city into a decades-long depression. Recovery has only begun in the past decade as droughts and industrial development pushed rural migrants into Durango.