Short answers, pulled from the story.
Zapopan was officially settled by the Spanish in 1541 when Friar Antonio de Segovia placed an image of the Virgin Mary in the settlement on the 8th of December 1541. The area had been conquered earlier by Nuño de Guzmán in 1530, but permanent Spanish settlement did not occur until 1541 due to the Mixtón War.
The total population of the municipality of Zapopan amounted to 27,115 inhabitants in 1950 and exceeded one million by the year 2000. Between 1960 and 1970, the population grew 300% and reached 163,185 inhabitants before rising to 712,008 inhabitants in 1990.
The Tecuexes were the dominant local group known as Tecos who inhabited the area before the Spanish conquest. They built small shrines called cues mainly to worship the sun and revered Teoplitzintli as a principal deity associated with maize.
State decree 14358 elevated Zapopan from a villa to a ciudad on the 7th of December 1994. This status change followed its establishment as a free municipality under the 1917 Political Constitution of Jalisco.
Zapopan features three main archaeological sites including Ixtépete which contains a Teotihuacan style pyramid dating from the fifth century to the tenth century. El Grillo is located in the Tabachines housing subdivision and La Coronilla is situated in an area called La Experiencia.