Map - Cherán

Cherán is a municipality located in the Mexican state of Michoacán, which is situated in the central western portion of Mexico, extending west to the Pacific Shore. Cherán itself lies in the northwestern portion of Michoacán, about 360 km west of Mexico City and approximately 123 km west of the state capital of Morelia; its average elevation is 2251 m above sea level. The Municipio (municipality) of Cherán is reported to have a population of 16,243, while the Localidad (town) of Cherán is officially accounted to have a population of 12,616, including 5,827 men and 6,787 women.

Cherán is one of a contiguous group of eleven Municipios that are demographically denoted as Purépecha. Inhabitants speak the Purépecha language, as well as the local variety of Spanish. Cherán is noted for its unique style of government that followed a 2011 civil uprising over local concerns about corruption and crime. The area is now treated as a self-ruling indigenous community, largely free of federal intervention.

In his book Crossing Over, Rubén Martínez explains that Cherán means "a place of fear" in the Purépecha language, alluding to its unfriendly landscape of "abrupt, irregular peaks and chasms" which bodes disaster to anyone taking a careless step.