Jerez Part 5 of 7: Interesting sites near the Plaza Principal include Plaza Tacuba, Hotel Posada San Miguel, & Jardin Migual Hidalgo

 

Cowboy detritus. An old wagon wheel, a milk urn, and several harnesses are some of the items standing by the door of a shop located at Plaza Tacuba. The state of Zacatecas is pais del vaquero (cowboy country) and the shop contains all sorts of objects peculiar to Mexican cowboy culture. While some of the items in the store are antiques, others are new.

In this part of my Jerez series, we'll take a look at some attractive sites to be found within a block or so of the Plaza Principal. In addition to Plaza Tacuba, these include Hotel Posada San Miguel, Jardin Miguel Hidalgo, and Theatro Hinojosa. Rest assured that this list by no means exhausts the interesting places to visit in this area.

Plaza Tacuba

Las Portales de las Palomas face the broad expanse Plaza Tacuba. The steeple of Parroquia de la Concepción Inmaculada can be seen in the upper right. The name of Las Portales de las Palomas (The Doorways of the Doves) is a reference to two stone doves on the upper level of the arcade whose beaks touch in a kiss. The doves are connected to a local legend, according to historian Tony Burton in his book Western Mexico, A Traveler's Treasury. 

The legend says that two powerful hacendados (hacienda owners) arranged a marriage between the son of one and the daughter of the other. The boy and girl were appalled by the idea but publicly agreed to the marriage. However, they secretly made a suicide pact and carried it out by leaping to their deaths from one of the balconies above the arcade. It's a great story but, like all Mexican legends, it should be taken with a grain of salt.

View down the length of Las Portales. The structure was built by Hilario Llamas, owner of Hacienda Santa Fe. He had acquired the site in 1856 from a priest who was being transferred to Zacatecas. In 1861, Llamas applied to the Jerez authorities for permission to build an arcade along the front. His proposal was initially rejected, but an appeal to the Governor of Zacatecas finally succeeded. Both the arcade and Plaza Tacuba were finished in 1864 and soon the homes and business establishments of the elite surrounded the new Plaza. 

Las Portales de las Palomas was built with commercial space on the ground floor. The second floor was reserved for the Llamas family's residence. In 1887, they were among the wealthy families who objected when city mayor Rafael Paéz proposed moving the Jerez market from the Plaza Armas (now called Plaza Principal) to Plaza Tacuba. The elite simply couldn't stand the idea of all those scruffy vendors in their midst. In spite if their fierce resistance, Páez prevailed (See Part 3 of this series for the full story).

Artesanias y Novedades El Moreno is on the north end of Las Portales. I love antiques and this place drew me in like a magnet. Draped over the red wagon wheel are a pair of leather chaps, which are protective gear that cowboys wear over their pants while riding through thorny mesquite country. I am addicted to hats and, while visiting this shop, I purchased a handsome straw sombrero. I still wear it regularly, six years later. 

Beside another wagon wheel, I found a rustic wooden pack saddle. While hiking in the back country, I have often seen saddles like this strapped onto burros carrying heavy loads up mountain trails. Many "antique" items like those displayed are still in daily use by the campesinos I encounter while traveling Mexico's back roads. As William Faulkner famously wrote, "the past is never dead. It's not even past."

An old sombrero and a tangle of bridles hang from a wall. Although most campesinos now seem to favor American-style trucker caps, I still run across a few who wear traditional wide-brimmed sombreros like this one. Most of the time, however, you only see them on charros (rodeo riders) and members of mariachi bands.

In July of 2020, a fire broke out in one of the stores along Las Portales de las Palomas. It raged for some time before it was finally brought under control. Tragically, almost 50% of the old structure was damaged. News coverage from the time of the fire stated that its origin was undetermined. I haven't visited since the fire, so I can't say for sure whether Las Portales de las Palomas has been (or can be) fully restored, but I certainly hope so.

Hotel Posada San Miguel

Entrance of Hotel Posada San Miguel. The mansion was built by a wealthy family during the colonial era and now serves as a boutique posada (inn). Hotel Posada San Miguel is located at #24 Calle De La Parroquia, approximately two blocks southeast of the Plaza Principal. A plaque to the right of the front door commemorates a 2003 visit by Mexican Cardinal Javier Lozano.

Hacendados often did not live full-time on their rural properties. Instead, they employed professional administrators to run them on a day-to-day basis. The hacendados and their families preferred the comforts and cultural offerings of city life and usually chose to reside in sumptuous townhouses like this and only visited their haciendas seasonally. 

The hotel's elegant dining room was obviously built for entertaining. In addition to the owner's extended family, those seated around a table like this might have included other hacendados, prosperous merchants, local officials, military officers, and priests. Such gatherings cemented the bonds between the various parts of the local ruling elite. The tragically-ended marriage associated with Las Portales de las Palomas might well have been arranged around a table like this.

A beautiful old grandfather clock stands in the foyer. The hotel is filled with lovely antiques. Those who transformed the old mansion into a posada preserved many of the original features. These include a central courtyard surrounded by arched Gothic/Arabic portales and a comfortable living room with a grand fireplace. 

Jardin Miguel Hidalgo

Jardin Miguel Hidalgo is a tranquil, shady plaza. The Jardin  (garden) is located on the western end of the block that it shares with Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (see Part 4).  Above, a tall plinth is topped with a bust of Padre Miguel Hidalgo, the first great leader of Independencia (the war for independence from Spain). The broad walkways leading to the plinth are lined with  benches.

Bust of Padre Miguel Hidalgo. A man with a very complicated personality, Miguel Hidalgo (1753-1811) was a Catholic priest who led a remarkably bohemian lifestyle. He had a common-law wife and several children and appears to have enjoyed wine and song as well. He launched Independencia on September 15, 1810 by ringing the church bell of Dolores, Guanajuato. Once the residents had assembled, he addressed them with his famous grito (cry) for freedom.

Hidalgo did not survive the first year of the war. He was captured and executed in 1811, following the defeat of his forces. Other insurgent leaders rose to replace him and were defeated and executed in turn before the final victory in 1821. Hidalgo is especially revered for his decree against slavery. Although slavery wasn't formally abolished in Mexico until 1837, this still preceded its abolition in the U.S. by 28 years.

Teatro Hinojosa

Entrance to Teatro Hinojosa. The theatre borders the northern side of Jardin Miguel Hidalgo. It was built by the master craftsman Dámaso Muñeton, who also constructed the Edificio de la Torre (see Part 4). Construction lasted for 19 years, from 1871 and 1890. Muñeton used Ford's Theatre in Washington DC as his model. It was the site of Abraham Lincoln's assassination in 1865. In 1882, the internationally famous soprano Angela Peralta (1845-83), known as the "Mexican Nightingale", performed here. 

Muñeton's work was commissioned by Jerez politician Jose Maria Hinojosa Escobedo. He was a member of the Llamas family, the same family who built Las Portales de la Palomas. His last name, Escobedo, indicates he may also have been related to the family that built the lovely Humboldt Portales at the Plaza Principal (see Part 2). Hinojosa involved the whole community in the building project, including local prisoners who did stone work.

Women chat in front of ornate doors at the west end of Teatro Hinojosa. The horseshoe-shaped interior of the Teatro has seating in the balconies and boxes all around the sides, but no seats on the main floor. Instead, chairs are set up there during performances or other events. Carbide lamps and a huge mirror in the back of the theatre once provided its lighting.

Under the stage there is a remarkable hydro-acoustical device. By filling or emptying a pit with water, the volume of the actors' voices can be increased or decreased. During the Revolution, Teatro Hinojosa  served as a military barracks. Later, it was used as a school, a public library, a movie house, and a meeting hall. In 2006, it was reopened as a theatre and public auditorium.

This completes Part 5 of my Jerez series. I hope you have enjoyed it. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question in the Comments, please include your email address so that I may reply in a timely fashion.

Hasta luego, Jim