Join us for an amazing trip to the old mining town of Zacatecas which was founded in 1546 after the discovery of silver deposits in the area by 4 Spaniards who risked their lives looking for gold, but instead ended up finding silver. This remote territory was inhabited by indigenous Zacateco Chichimeca who were known as hunters and gatherers, but also as great warriors. For several decades the Spaniards kept sending expeditions to what is known today as Arid America in the northern portion of México which includes the states of Baja, Sonora, Nuevo León, Durango, San Luis Potosí, Aguas Calientes, and the northern portion of Guanajuato where San Miguel is located. In most of these states the terrain is semi-arid. It doesn’t rain as much as it does in Meso-America (from San Miguel to the south all the way to El Salvador) and that is the reason the Chichimecas groups moved constantly, which made it very difficult for the Spaniards to be able to catch up with them in order to evangelize them with the help of Franciscan friars.
By mid 1500s, the Spaniards found rich silver deposits in the mountains of Guanajuato. Rumors spread and many Spaniards continued coming looking for wealth, but of course, the Chichimecas continued attacking on and off. Finally an order came from the Viceroy to establish the second Camino Real (Royal Road) in the Americas in 1555. The beginning of this Royal Road was in México city, and passed through Tepeji del Rio, San Juan del Rio, Querétaro, San Miguel, and Guanajuato to Zacatecas. The idea was to protect the people who were coming or going to the mining towns of Guanajuato and Zacatecas, by establishing presidios (small fortresses) one day’s walk from each other.
Then after 1558, the Spaniards decided to extend the Camino Real all the way to Santa Fe New Mexico and from there to Texas and California. They were able to accomplish all of that with the help of Franciscan friars who struggled for 50 long years before they were able to convert most of the Chichimeca groups in northern México.
There were mining towns in Chihuahua, Coahuila, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo etc, but Guanajuato was the richest of all, producing one third of the world’s production in the 18th century. Zacatecas was the second richest and it is no wonder that both cities have similar architecture--European style like Spanish Baroque and Neo-classic and very beautiful.
One of the bloodiest and most memorable battles of the Mexican revolution took place in Zacatecas in 1914. The generals Pancho Villa, Felipe Angeles, and Pánfilo Nátera, joined forces to fight the dictatorship of Victoriano Huerta. They fought for several weeks resulting in the death of 10,000 revolutionaries on both sides. At the end, Villa’s, Angeles' and Natera’s forces prevailed, defeating the federal forces, and continuing on to the capital in México City.
The places we will visit in Zacatecas include:
- The Pedro Coronel Museum. This artist spent several years in Europe where he traveled around buying and exchanging pieces for some of his work. Over the years he gathered a unique collection of art from China, Japan, India, Egypt, Africa etc. some of the pieces are from Dali, Picasso, Miró, Braque, Chagal, Basarelli, Kandinsky, Goya, etc. The building is the former XVII Jesuit College.
- Mina el Edén, this mine started producing silver and gold in 1586, but, like Guanajuato, the height of production, was the XVII and XVIII centuries. The mine closed down in 1960, due to flooding in the mine tunnels and also because being so close to the city center affected operations. We will ride a train to take us in the mine, so we’ll be able to explore it.
- The Rafael Coronel Museum. Rafael also was a talented artist like his brother Pedro, but Rafael's real passion was collecting wooden masks from different indigenous dancers all over México. There are almost 11,000 masks in this museum, the largest collection in the world.
- We will visit a former Franciscan convent that was built in the XVII century as the second College for the Propagation of the Faith in North America. From here Franciscan friars were sent to evangelize indigenous groups to the north. The convent holds one the most impressive exhibitions of XVII-XVIII century paintings from Cristobal Villalpando, Juan Correa, Nicolas Rodríguez and, my favorite, Miguel Cabrera, who painted a huge painting that covers a whole wall. Cabrera also painted several amazing paintings related to the life of the founder of the Jesuit order, San Ignacio de Loyola. It is one of the best convents in México.
- The Manuel Felguérez museum. Felguérez also spent time in Paris as a disciple of Ossip Zakine at the Academy of the great Chaumiére. This museum holds an impressive collection of abstract pieces.
-
The Zacatecano Museum was founded in 1826 and was formerly the second most important mint in México. The museum has Huichol folk art, an amazing collection of old Mexican coins, archeological artifacts, and iron work from the colonial era.
- We will ride the teleférico (cable car) over the city--one of the highlights--with impressive views of the beautiful city of Zacatecas. We will ride from the hill of la Bufa (where the bloody battle took place in 1914) to the center of town, and back to the hill of La Bufa.
- We will be walking in downtown and visiting colonial buildings including one of the most impressive baroque Cathedrals in México. The iron work in balconies is so amazing that seems like there was some kind of competition going on for many many years. As a result, some have very impressive designs.
- On the way back to San Miguel, we will stop in San Luis Potosí for lunch and visit the mint where Mexican coins are made. They also make coins for some other countries. Buying commemorative coins is possible at the Mint's store.
A visit to this city will be memorable as not many people know anything about this unique city. It is kind of remote, roughly 5 hours away driving, but we will stop along the way to stretch and snack.
|
$750 dbl / 1050 sgl
4 nights accommodations No meals included Group size limited to 10 $300 USD deposit is need to assure your place CLICK HERE and follow steps for payments online Deadline for registration: April 1st For more information, contact Olivia at admin@globaljusticecenter.org and/or MX phone 415 153 9174 |