The historic sites of Haciendas de Corralejo & San Gregorio, in the Bajío Region of Guanajuato

Entrance to Hacienda San de Gregorio's courtyard. The view is toward the gate and through it to the street. The view from the street of the front of the casa grande reveals only the gate and the high casco wall and it was not very photogenic. Accordingly, all of my shots here are of the area within the casco, including the courtyard, the interior of the casa grande, and the ruins of the old bodega (barn) in the rear.

We visited this hacienda the same day we stopped at Hacienda Santa Ana Pacueco (see previous post). After Santa Ana Pacueco, we headed to San Gregorio, passing through the pueblo of Ex-Hacienda de Corralejo on the way. We didn't stop at Correlejo due to limited time, but it is an historic landmark that is worth a look. I include a photo and a little information about it below.

How to get to the area. To save space in this posting, I refer you to the directions given to Hacienda Santa Ana Pacueco, up to the point where you turn off Highway 110 onto the 90D cuota (toll road) which bypasses La Piedad to the north, heading toward Irapuato. Continue to a toll booth which marks the end of 90D and the beginning of Highway 90, a libre (non-toll) road. 

Highway 90 is a good road. It is 4-lane, divided, and high-speed, except as you pass through the town of Pénjamo. About 9km (6mi) past Pénjamo, look for a tall statue in the median strip on your left. About 200m (219yds) past the statue is a retorno (turn around) on your left. There, you reverse direction on Highway 90. Don't miss this turn or you will have to travel a considerable distance before you can cross the median again. 

Take your first right, opposite the statue. This is the road that will pass through the pueblo of Hacienda de Corralejo and continue on to the pueblo of San Gregorio. On the way to Hacienda de Corralego, you will pass through a small town called Estación Corralejo with a facility making Tequila Hacienda de Corralego. This is not the pueblo with the ex-hacienda, which is still about 4km (2.5mi) further on. 

Near the entrance of the actual pueblo of Hacienda de Corralego, the road takes a dog-leg turn to the left. This is the historic site, where you will see a small church and some low ruined walls. After your visit, continue on the same road to San Gregorio. The town has two entrances, but the second (western) entrance is better marked. To help you find the Hotel Hacienda de San Gregorio, here is a Googe map. You can expand this Google interactive map to examine any portion of the route.

Ex-Hacienda de Corralejo

Parroquia del Señor de la Misericordia and the historic ruins. The church used to be the capilla (chapel). The Correlejo hacienda was founded in 1566 by Don Alonso de Angulo y Montesino. I have little information about him except that while living in Michoacan in 1554, he paid Ximón Rodríguez "500 gold pesos, due to the purchase of a black slave named Cristóbal, from the land of Zape, and 12 horses, 9 saddled…" During the 141 years after its founding, the estate grew into one of the largest in western Mexico. 

Inventories from the early 18th century* show that, between 1707 and 1728, Hacienda de Corralego owned 41 sitios de ganado major (for cattle, horses), 26 sitios de ganado minor (for sheep, pigs, goats) and 28 1/2 caballerias (farmland for wheat, corn). All this totaled a whopping 233,000 acres, stretching over parts of today's Guanajuato, Michoacan, and Jalisco states. An assessment in 1707 valued the property at 68,567 pesos. The hacienda also owned 14 mulatto slaves valued at 3,330 pesos.

In 1657, the Alcocer family acquired the property and held it until 1707, by which time it was heavily in debt. So heavily, in fact, that the Alcocers owed 2,768 pesos in back pay to their 28 shepherds and 8,725 pesos to other workers. Even worse, they had taken loans from the Church for 72,834 pesos, more than the estate was worth. The 1707 assessment was part of a sale to an absentee owner, who then hired a series of professional administrators to run the place. 

By 1728, the new administrators had increased the sheep herd to 24,000, the cattle to 2,700, and brood mares to 2,250. The presence of 85 oxen indicates an increase in cultivated land. In the middle of the 18th century, one of these administrators was a man named Cristóbal Hidalgo y Costilla. Between 1759 and 1761, he built the Parroquia shown above, a remarkably quick project for the time. 

Previous to this project, Cristóbal had married Ana Maria Gallaga. In 1753, a son was born to them in the casa grande. His parents named him Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and he later became a priest. On September 15, 1810, it was his grito (cry for revolt) on the steps of his church in the pueblo of Dolores that launched the Mexican war for independence from Spain. The fact that the Father of Mexican Independence was born and raised here gives the site its historic significance.

*Haciendas and Ranchos in the Mexican Bajio, D.A. Brading, Cambridge University Press, London, 1978. Pages 22-24

Hotel Ex-Hacienda de San Gregorio

Exterior

Google satellite view of the hacienda's casco and adjacent field. The buildings within the casco wall include the casa grande in the upper left with the red-tiled roof, a work area behind it with a row of pillars on the right. The large field to the right, with the red marker, was once possibly an orchard or food garden for the household or perhaps a pasture for the horses.

This hacienda was founded in 1580 and, compared to Santa Ana Pacueco and Corralejo, it grew slowly and appears to have remained relatively small, at least during its first 150 years or so. By 1718, the estate possessed only 2 sitios de ganado major and 2 caballerias for a total of 8,778 acres. The reasons for this are unclear because the records from this early period are sparse.

Arcade to the right of the entrance gate. (Photo from Hotel ex-Hacienda San Gregorio website) The entrance gate gives access to the central courtyard, which has arcades supported by pillars on three of its sides. The doors along this side open into bedrooms. This would be a lovely spot to enjoy breakfast or an afternoon drink. 

Despite the hacienda's relatively small size, dramatic events involving two colorful but very different characters occurred on its property during the Mexican War of Independence. 

The first character was a young officer named Javier Mina. He is honored by a street named after him near my condo in Ajijic. At a young age, Mina  became a general in the insurgent army fighting the Spanish. Martín Francisco Javier Mina y Larrea was born in 1789, the year the French Revolution began. The ramifications and aftershocks of that great convulsion shaped his short 28-year life. 

The son of a wealthy farmer in Navarre, Spain, Mina began to study law in Zaragoza at the age of 18 and became an attorney. The French Revolution was an exciting period in history and he absorbed many of its ideals. However, by 1808, all that had devolved into tyranny under Napoleon Bonaparte.

Jerry, one of our Hacienda Hunters, photographs the courtyard. The casa grande was built in classic colonial style. The single-story rectangular structure faces inward to the courtyard. The four sides contain the kitchen, dining room, and various living areas including bedrooms. All are accessed from the courtyard. The mountain peak jutting over the wall in the background is part of the Sierra de Pénjamo, which contains hiking trails and historic sites like Fuerte de los Remedios and Cueva de Padre Torres.

In 1808, Napoleon decided to invade his erstwhile ally Spain, depose its king, and install his own brother Joseph on the throne. This resulted in a fierce Spanish insurgency against the usurper. From this struggle, the term guerrilla war was created. 

The young lawyer Javier Mina soon raised an insurgent force of over 1,200 infantry and 150 cavalry. With them, he harassed the French forces for two years until 1810, when he was captured and imprisoned in France. When Napoleon's government collapsed in 1814, Mina was finally released.  

This lovely old fountain is one of the courtyard's highlights. Such fountains are another classic feature of Mexican haciendas. In the early years, a courtyard like this would have been a work area for the domestic servants. Later, in the 19th century, casa grande courtyards were often transformed into gardens where the hacendado (owner) and his family could relax. The pattern of stones in the grass suggests that the courtyard may have once been fully cobblestoned.

While Mina was imprisoned, things had changed in Spain. King Ferdinand VII (son of the king deposed by Napoleon) had abolished the democratic government set up to oppose the usurper Joseph and re-imposed absolute monarchy. Mina participated in an abortive plot against Ferdinand, but had to flee to France when it was discovered. He then traveled to England, where he was recruited to join the independence movement that had begun under Hidalgo in 1810.

Hacienda Hunters explore one of the courtyard's arcades. This arcade runs along the side of the courtyard that is parallel to the front of the hacienda. The doorways along it open into bedrooms. The arcade itself provides an open living area for guests.

In 1816, the young insurgent leader traveled to Baltimore, in the United States. There, he was encouraged and financed by Spanish and American merchants who hoped to profit from an independent Mexico. In April 1817, Mina arrived in Tamaulipas, Mexico. He was now a general of the insurgency and led a force of 250 men made up largely of ex-officers from all sides in the Napoleonic Wars. Mina intended to join insurgent leader Guadalupe Victoria in southern Mexico, but did not get beyond the area of the Bajio region.  

Some of the arcade's decorations. An antique birdcage stands beside the winged and sword-brandishing statue of Archangel Michael. Decorations with religious themes are common in Mexican haciendas. Catholicism dominated life in the colonial and early Republic eras, particularly in the rural areas. The Reform War (1858-61), the Mexican Revolution (1910-17), and the Cristero War (1926-29), have greatly diminished the power of Mexico's Church, but it still plays a significant role in daily life.

While he had had some success using guerilla tactics in Spain and Mexico, Mina was generally unsuccessful in more conventional warfare. He was besieged by Spanish regular troops in the insurgent stronghold near Léon known as Fuerte Sombrero (Hat Fort), but escaped before it finally fell to the Spanish. 

Interior

The dining room has a large table with seating for at least ten. The red-tile floor is still another traditional feature. Tile floors are easier to sweep and mop than those of wood or covered by rugs. Such dining rooms were used to entertain guests and as meeting places for business or political affairs.

After the fall of Fuerte Sombrero, Mina attempted to relieve the siege of another insurgent fortresss, the Fuerte de los Remedios (Fort of the Remedies). The remains of this stronghold stand in the Sierra de Penjamo on lands once belonging to Hacienda de San Gregorio. They are about 2 km (1.2mi) from the casa grande and are accessible today by hiking trail.

The execution of General Javier Mina. Unfortunately, Javier Mina's attempt to drive the Spanish away from Fuerte de los Remedios was unsuccessful. He was captured in October of 1817 and taken to Silao, near the city of Guanajuato. However, Mina was soon returned to Pascual Liñán, the commander of the Spanish forces besieging Fuerte de los Remedios. 

Hoping to demoralize the defenders, Liñán executed Mina by firing squad within sight of the fort. The insurgents continued to hold out, but two months later the stronghold fell. Some of the defenders surrendered, while others escaped. The dramatic death of  Francisco Javier Mina y Larrea ended his heroic and tempestuous life and established Hacienda de San Gregorio's connection to the history of Independencia.

Along one side of the dining room is a large sideboard/buffet. In the background is the entrance into a kitchen that looks capable of serving up quite a feast. Notice the antique clock on the wall with the Roman numerals for time markers.

Among those who escaped the fall of Fuerte de los Remedios was the other character who figures in the area's history and in one of its grisly legends. Padre José Antonio Torres (1770-1819) was one of the warrior-priests who, like Hidalgo, were attracted to the independence movement and rose in it as leaders. He should not be confused with another insurgent leader of the same name, but who was not a priest. 

Sitting room fireplace. This space was part of a suite entered from one of the arcades along the courtyard walls. Arranged around the curve of the fireplace chimney are various small tools typical of those used by hacienda blacksmiths for attending to the hooves of horses. Little touches like this provide a lot a character to the old casa grande.

Padre Torres was entirely unlike Javier Mina, almost a polar opposite. To begin with, Torres was a criollo (Spanish, but born in the Mexico), while Mina was a peninsulare (born in Spain and therefore socially superior). Torres had never traveled the world, like Mina, but lived his life entirely in Guanajuato and Michoacan. 

He was older than Mina and managed to outlive him, but not by much. Torres was also disobedient, treacherous, greedy, and murderous. In short, he lacked the noble ideals and heroism so prominent in Javier Mina. His death, unlike Mina's, was not one of great drama, but sordid and almost trivial. 

Bedrooms are simple but comfortable. Their decorations match the hacienda style. This must be a room meant for families, given the second bed. I have noticed this in many haciendas, both those kept as museums and those converted into boutique hotels. Mexicans, who tend to have larger families than those living north of the border, usually travel together and often all sleep in the same room.

During Torres' work at the vicarage of Cuitzeo de Porvenir in Michoacan, Hidalgo's revolt broke out. The padre soon joined the insurgent movement and began campaigning in Michoacan and around Pénjamo in Guanajuato. Like Mina and other insurgent commanders, Torres had some success against the Spanish with guerrilla tactics, but usually failed when he tried to take on royalist forces in conventional warfare. 

Some of his guerrilla actions appear to have been little more than banditry but, in fairness, the line between insurgency and banditry was pretty thin in this period. Torres was known--and hated--for sacking and burning ranches and smaller towns like Yuricuaro. He had learned to target them because they were the easiest targets for supplies and loot.

Rear area

The back wall of the casa grande, facing the enclosed work area.  Like the courtyard, the surface of this space appears to have been completely cobblestoned at one time. When the hacienda was a functioning ranch/farm, this work area would have been heavily used, often during the rainy season. The cobblestones helped avoid excessive mud.

Torres set up his headquarters at Fuerte de los Remedios, and began attacking the Spanish. When Javier Mina and other leaders arrived in the area, Torres traveled to Fuerte Sombrero to meet with them. He agreed to cede command to Mina and support him, but did not actually comply. Instead of cutting off Spanish supply routes to relieve the siege of Fuerte Sombrero, Torres confronted the royalists in an open battle and was defeated, forcing the fort's abandonment.

Pillars line one side of the work area. These would have supported the roof of either a bodega (barn) or possibly a stable for the hacendado's horses. I have visited enough haciendas to be able to fairly accurately identify the uses of some of these spaces, according to their location and current appearance. However, other areas often present a complete mystery.

After his disastrous loss of Fuerte Sombrero, Torres then retreated to his stronghold at Fuerte de los Remedios, but was besieged by Pascual Liñán. In spite of Torres disobedience at Fuerte Sombrero, Javier Mina attempted to come to his rescue at Los Remedios, but was defeated, captured, and executed. When Los Remedios finally fell, Torres was among those who escaped. According to local legend, he took along mules loaded with bars of gold.

 

The casco wall shows two layers of construction. The outer layer is stone and probably a product of the 19th century. Behind it is the old adobe wall, possibly dating back to the 16th century. Many haciendas contain sections built centuries ago. During periodic renovations and updates, the old adobe structures were not torn down but simply covered over by stone, brick, or plaster. Inspecting the ruins of an older hacienda is like doing an architectural autopsy.

The legend about Torres' escape with the gold also says he murdered the men with him and either buried the gold or dumped it over a ravine along with the bodies. For many years, local treasure hunters have searched for the gold without success. 

What is not legend is that he lured his lieutenant Lucas Flores to a card game and then ordered his summary execution because Flores had tried and failed to bring supplies to Los Remedios during the siege. At another time, Torres executed a prominent political rival named Remigio Yarza without just cause. 

The Hacienda Hunters with our hosts, the owners. The older gentleman in the center wearing a red sweater and blue jacket is Señor Antonio Alcocer. His wife Señora Pimenta is on the far left. They were very kind and welcoming and eagerly showed us around their beautiful place. Señor Antonio speaks some English and we were able to communicate, particularly since some in our party were fluent in Spanish.

Padre Torres continued to loot and burn local towns and ranches, making enemies among fellow insurgents as well as the royalists. His excesses finally spurred his supporters to change their loyalty to Juan Arago, a Spaniard who had followed Javier Mina to join the insurgency. Torres refused to accept this and joined with another group known as Los Panchones. They seem to have been particularly thuggish, which probably suited Torres' tastes.

On New Year's Day, 1819, Torres was killed rather ignominiously by Capitán Juan Manuel Zamora in a dispute over a card game. Torres had refused to surrender a horse left as security for a bet and the furious Capitán ran him through with a spear. Zamora himself was then killed by one of Los Panchones. Thus ended the career of Padre José Antonio Torres. His activities at Fuerte los Remedios, actual or legendary, add to the fascinating history of Hacienda de San Gregorio.

This completes my posting on Haciendas de Corralejo and San Gregorio. I hope you enjoyed the photos and stories. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question remember to include your email address so that I may respond in a timely manner.

Hasta luego, Jim

 

Hacienda Santa Ana Pacueco: Historic estate in the Bajio region

View of the hacienda's front arcade. This beautiful old structure was built during the first half of the 18th century, but the origin of the hacienda itself dates all the way back to the mid-16th century. I first noticed this place many years ago, when Carole and I were passing through the small city of La Piedad on our way to San Miguel de Allende. I got only a brief, tantalizing glimpse of it while we were caught up in a traffic snarl, but the image stuck with me. 

I wanted to check it out, but we had just disentangled ourselves from traffic and were eager to press on to our destination. Fourteen years later, while planning a trip to look for old haciendas in the state of Guanajuato, I recalled the mysterious structure and decided to include it in the adventure. Tracing my original route, I re-discovered the old casa grande you see above. Some on-line research provided me with the information I present in this posting.

How to find the hacienda. Head north on the Guadalajara-Chapala Carretera. A few miles past Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos, turn right on Highway 35 toward Ocotlán. Pass through Ocotlán to the entrance of the 15D cuota (toll road), and head east toward Mexico City. Just past the second turnoff to La Barca, take the exit for Vista Hermosa. 

When taking this exit, you first pass through the caseta (toll booth) and, after a short distance, reverse direction at a retorno (turn-around). Stay to your left and follow the sign toward Yuricuaro on Highway 110. Heavy truck traffic between the Vista Hermosa exit and Yuricuaro (about 20km or 12.4mi) will slow you down, but this is the only tedious part of the route. Once you are well past Yuricuaro, look for an exit onto the 90D cuota, which branches off Highway 110 toward the left. 

90D bypasses La Piedad to the north toward Irapuato. After approximately 8 miles, turn right at the exit off 90D toward La Piedad. Follow this road until it dead-ends into Highway 110. Then, turn right and follow the highway about 1 mile until you see the casa grande and its attached capilla on your right. For a Google interactive map, click here.

Exterior views of the Casa Grande

Satellite view of the casa grande and its capilla (chapel). The front of the casa grande is on the right side of the photo, bordered by a street called Calle Manuel Doblado. The structures above follow an architectural pattern which can be found throughout Mexico. The casa grande is square in shape and has a long arcade along its front side, with a series of arches supported by a row of columns.

Within the square structure is a another square which forms a large, unroofed courtyard. The living spaces and bedrooms of the casa grande open onto the courtyard from the sides of the square. The Capilla de Santa Ana is attached to the left side of the casa grande (along the bottom of the photo). This placement is similar to that of the chapels I have found at many other haciendas.

During our short visit, we were unable to access the hacienda's interior and I could only photograph its exterior features. However, we did get to see the inside of the capilla, which is still used as a church. If we had had more time, we might have located someone with a key to the casa grande, but we had other sites to visit and had to move on. This site definitely deserves a return visit. 

Arcade along the front of the casa grande. The banners attached to the columns appear to be the remains of a recent fiesta. Hacienda Santa Ana Pacueco's history stretches from the mid-16th to the mid-19th centuries. Its origins date to 1554, when the governor of Nueva Galicia, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, granted 14 sitios de ganado mayor (cattle grazing land) to an early conquistador named Juan de Villaseñor y Orozco. This amounted to 61,446 acres and Villaseñor later obtained more from Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza. 

Villaseñor's descendants added even more to the estate. His daughter Maria Orozco married Captain Garcia de Contreras y Figueroa.  Their lands, when combined, became the core of a latifundia (collection of haciendas) that eventually became the largest in western Mexico. Over the next three hundred years, Santa Ana Pacueco alone grew to more than 100 sitios de ganado mayor (438,900 acres), extending into the states of Jalisco, Michoacan, and Guanajuato. 

View of the interior of the front arcade. Beyond the arch at the far end, a cylindrical defensive bastion can be seen. The Villaseñor latifundia was later purchased by Marcos Garcia de Sotomayor, whose son Gabriel inherited it around the year 1631. Upon Gabriel's passing, his daughter Luisa de Castro acquired Santa Ana Pacueco. Her son, Captain Alonso de Estrada Altamirano, significantly increased the hacienda's size through more land purchases. 

In 1645, Captain Estrada bought 98 additional sitios to graze cattle and other livestock. In addition, he acquired 213 caballerias (land for growing corn and wheat), amounting to 22,578 acres. Santa Ana Pacueco was well-situated for its primary markets, which included Guadalajara to the west and the mining center of Guanajuato not far to the north. When the Captain died in 1696, he willed his property to his brothers. However, after a few years they decided to sell it. 

One of our party peeks through the door of the main entrance. My friend Jim B was trying to find a way in, but had no luck. Notice the Cross of Lorraine above the entrance. Similar two-barred crosses date back to the Crusades of the 11th century AD. They are often found in heraldic contexts and on coats-of-arms. This one may relate to the noble family who once owned the property and built the casa grande and its capilla.

In 1702, the Captain's brothers sold Santa Ana Pacueco to Pedro Sanchez de Tagle, a member of one of the richest and most powerful families in Nueva España. The Sanchez de Tagles had grown wealthy as merchants in Mexico City. From there, they expanded into mining and later into the ownership of several large haciendas. In 1710, Pedro Sanchez de Tagle bought the vast Hacienda Cuisillos, located to the west of Guadalajara. 

Corner bastion of the casco wall surrounding the casa grande. 

At many haciendas, bastions such as this guard the corners of walls surrounding the casa grande, capilla, stables, and other key structures. The wall and the structures inside were called the casco (helmet) because they contained the nerve center of the whole operation. The casco wall at this site can still be seen in the previous satellite photo.  

Notice the crenelations at the top and the gun slits on the sides. Bastions were defensive positions against native warriors, bandits, insurgents, and rogue military units during periods of unrest. Haciendas were juicy targets for raiders seeking food, horses, weapons, money and whatever else might be available, including women. Some cascos I have visited contained escape tunnels. At others, there are hollow walls where women and valuables could be hidden. 

Wall and buttresses of the bodega. The old bodega would have stored the hacienda's grain and other harvested crops. In the satellite photo, it stands across an alley called Calle Tarimoro from the casco. Notice the rough construction of the building. Generally, the best architectural features at a hacienda are found in its casa grande and capilla. At other sites I have visited, the bodega has been located within the casco, but in this case it stands just outside.

The Sanchez de Tagle family became so wealthy that they were able to provide loans to the Viceregal government to fund its army and fleet. In appreciation for this support, the King Philip V of Spain elevated Luis Sanchez de Tagle (1642-1710) to the rank of Marquess de Altamira in 1702. A marquess is just below a duke and above a count. Luis became the first of a long succession of Marquesses de Altamira. 

La Capilla

Facade of the Capilla de Santa Ana Pacueco. The capilla is attached to the left side of the casa grande. As is the case with many haciendas that were broken up after the Revolution, this capilla has become a church that serves the whole community.

The facade of the capilla displays several interesting architectural features. Two Crosses of Lorraine are placed just above the entrance and at the top of the campanario (bell tower). Two Neo-Classic pilasters (non-loadbearing pillars) frame the entrance. Other Neo-Classic features include four stone finials in the shape of vases, with two on either side of the campanario. 

When his uncle Luis died, Pedro Sanchez de Tagle became the 2nd Marquess de Altamira. Pedro is known as the "Father of Tequila" because he built Nueva España's first tequila factory at Hacienda Cuisillos. Since he had no male heir upon his death, his daughter Manuela became 3rd Marchioness (the female version). Her daughter, the 4th Marchioness Luisa Perez de Tagle, married Juan Rodriguez de Albuerne y Miranda in 1732. It was Luisa and Juan built the the casa grande and capilla we see today. 

Baroque-style decoration over the capilla entrance. Decorations in the Mexican Baroque style tend to cover every square inch of available space. This can clearly be seen in the floral decorations carved into the cantera stone arch and lintel above. This architectural tendency has sometimes been called el horror vacui (the fear of empty space). 

The Neo-Classic style was a reaction to Baroque and began to supplant it in the 18th century as colonial-era structures were repaired, upgraded or replaced. Thus, finding a mixture of these styles in structures from this period is not unusual. While Baroque can sometimes seem over-the-top, I generally find it more interesting and a lot more fun than Neo-Classic.
 

The campanario has three bells, each of a different size. I am happy to say that this old capilla does not have one of the loudspeakers which, all-too-often, are used to produce bell chimes. Instead, the sound of bells is produced the old-fashioned way, using pull-ropes. 

In addition to her title of Marchioness de Altamira, Luisa Sanchez de Tagle and her family benefited from titles and offices held by her husband, Don Juan Rodriguez. He was a judge in the Royal Courts of Mexico and Guadalajara, which gave him influence over the course of important lawsuits. As General Auditor of War and Knight of the Military Order of Santiago, he could profit from supplying the military with horses, mules, and supplies from his haciendas. 

As General Superintendent of Azogues, Don Juan controlled the sale of mercury to mine owners. Mercury is a chemical that was vital to the silver refining process. As Consultant to the Inquisition, he held great power over all of Nueva España's inhabitants. Finally, as a member of His Majesty's Council, he had access to the Crown. It was not unusual for wealthy men like Don Juan to hold multiple public, religious, and military offices which they often used for personal benefit.

Interior of the Capilla de Santa Ana Pacueco. There were several people praying in the nave when we visited, including one kneeling directly in front of the altar. By my quick estimate, this room could handle about one hundred people, which is large for the capilla of a typical hacienda. No doubt this reflects the wealth and power of the former owners. Services here would have brought together quite a number of family members, guests, and employees. 

A gold retablo stands against the wall behind the altar. A retablo is an architectural feature associated with the 17th-18th century Baroque style. These structures are often found behind altars. Retablos contain niches for religious paintings and statues, both of which appear above. The statue at the top is of Santa Ana (St. Anne). 

Retablos are often made from carved wood which is then gilded or painted gold, as seen above. The spiraling Solomonic  columns that frame the paintings are another Baroque feature. Legend has it that the Emperor Constantine visited the ruins of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem and brought back similar spiraling columns to decorate a church he was building.

A stone arch frames the entrance of the altar area. The floral decorations are another example of Baroque style. In the 19th century, ownership of Hacienda Santa Ana Pacueco passed from the Sanchez de Tagle family to others and the great latifundio was eventually broken up. 

One of the reasons for this was political. Following the conclusion of Mexico's War of Independence in 1821, the Mexican government passed a series of laws expelling Spaniards. When these took effect between 1827-34, it forced sale of the hacienda by owners who had retained their Spanish citizenship and thus had to leave. 

This concludes my posting on Hacienda Santa Ana Pacueco. I hope you enjoyed it and, if so, you will leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below. If you leave a question, please include your email address so that I may respond in a timely manner.

Hasta luego, Jim

 

Peralta Part 3 of 3: The Ancient People

Teotihuacán-style mask found in a burial at Peralta. Stone masks like this are closely associated with the Teotihuacán empire (100-650 AD). The history of that empire overlapped the first three hundred years of Peralta's history (300-900 AD). Trade between the two was extensive and this led to cultural exchanges, including the use of stone masks in burials.

In this third and final part of my Peralta series, we'll take a look at artifacts from the site's museum that illuminate various aspects of the life of Peralta's ancient inhabitants. These will include objects of daily life, trade practices, burial practices, and how the city came to be abandoned. To locate Peralta, see Part 1.

Overview

The author, perusing a display at Museo de Peralta. The museum is located near the site's parking lot. It is here that you pay the modest $39 peso ($1.86 USD) fee prior to visiting the ruins. The display above explains some of the history and culture of El Bajio (The Lowland). 

El Bajio is the region between Querétaro and Jalisco from east to west, and from the mountains of Guanajuato in the north to those of Michoacan in the south. During the Classic and Epi-Classic periods (100-900 AD), the region was thickly settled. It contained a number of substantial cities, including Peralta with its 10,000 inhabitants. 

Artifacts of daily life

Ceramic items like this were used to prepare and serve food. The plate demonstrates the high level of artistry of pre-hispanic potters. Cultivated plants provided food staples such as maiz (corn), beans, squash, chiles and amaranth. Together, these provided a remarkably balanced and healthy diet.

Maiz was so important to pre-hispanic societies that it appears prominently in many creation myths. From it, the ancient people made tortillas, tamales, gruel, and a drink called atole. Only a handful of animals were domesticated for food, including turkeys and dogs. People supplemented their diets with wild plants, as well as game animals such as deer, rabbits, birds, and insects. 

A bowl with an unusual base caught my eye. I have not seen a bowl set on a base like this at any other ancient site I have visited. Most of the pottery and other artifacts in the displays were recovered from tombs or burial sites. Ceramics like this left on the surface stood little chance of surviving over the millennia. This makes the discovery of intact tombs an especially important source of information about ancient cultures.

Grave robbing is the bane of archeology. Often, robbers will smash pottery to see if valuables are stored inside. Even when stolen items are intact, they will have lost the context in which they were recovered. Cultural information can be inferred from the positions of objects in relation to one another. The level soil in which they were discovered can reveal time frames. Looting destroys all this. 

Pots were sometimes etched with abstract designs. Ceramics were decorated in a variety of ways that included etching of designs like this or painting with human or animal scenes. Pots like this might be created for domestic use or for local or long-distance trade. Ceramics might also be brought in from elsewhere as trade items. There is much more pottery on displayed at the museum than I have space to show here.

Whistles were used during dance performances and rituals. These were carved from bone, but others were crafted from wood or clay. Wind instruments like whistles were sometimes used in rituals associated with the Wind God Ehecatl, one of the most important deities worshipped at Peralta. A large Circular Structure devoted to Ehecatl was found within the Recinto de los Gobernantes (Enclosure of the Governors). See Part 1 for more details.

In addition to religious rituals, whistles were used by hunters to mimic animal noises and by warriors to terrify enemies with shrieking sounds. Curanderos (healers) used them to induce a dream-state in order to treat certain illnesses. They were also employed in death rituals related to human sacrifice. Although modern scientists are able to produce sounds using these ancient instruments, they don't really know what the music played on them sounded like.

Tobacco was smoked in bone pipes. The pipes above show that tobacco was definitely used at Peralta. In fact, the use of tobacco in the Americas goes back at least 12,300 years. Pre-hispanic people used tobacco for religious rites, as medicine for earaches and toothaches, as a trade good, for ceremonial gifts, and sometimes as a medium of exchange.

Obsidian arrow heads have been found in various sizes. Obsidian can be crafted into a wide variety of tools and weapons, including arrowheads. The edge of this volcanic glass can be sharper than modern surgical steel. The arrowheads above were likely used for hunting. The smallest would have been for birds and other small animals, while the larger ones were for deer, peccary, or other large game. The tip of the one on the lower right is broken off, possibly from hitting bone.

Trade and trade routes

Porters were used to haul a variety of trade goods. The painting above is a detail from the work of an indigenous artist shortly after the Spanish arrived. The lack of pack animals in pre-hispanic times meant that human porters usually carried trade goods. Interestingly, some of the porters above are approaching boats, possibly to utilize water transport. The Rio Lerma passes near Peralta and is navigable by small boats on much of its 750km (450mi) length. 

Mesoamerican trade routes stretched from New Mexico to Honduras and reached both the Pacific Coast and the Caribbean. One region where many of them crossed was El Bajio. The merchants who organized the caravans had their own god, whose painted image decorates the walls of the Epi-Classic city of Cacaxtla (near Puebla), a contemporary of Peralta. While it was well-nourished by its fields of maiz, beans, and squash, trade made  Peralta rich.

Obsidian cores and tools. A core is a chunk of raw obsidian. By carefully striking it, large flakes can be removed. Further striking can then transform the flakes into various sharp-edged instruments. Millennia of practice enabled ancient people to fairly quickly produce tools and weapons or to replace those that were lost or broken.

The obsidian trade was as important to pre-hispanic societies as the oil trade is for modern countries. A significant source of the volcanic glass has been found near present-day Penjamo, only about 33km (20mi) from Peralta. Scientific analysis of an obsidian tool found in Texas showed that the volcanic glass from which it was crafted may have come from Penjamo, demonstrating the extent of the pre-hispanic trade networks. 

Painted bowls were traded widely in Mesoamerica. Although ceramics are both weighty and fragile, they were also a major trade item. In fact, archeologists have long used pottery and potsherds as markers to understand trade between different city-states. Whole systems have been developed for naming different cultural phases according to pottery styles and for tracing the influence of one culture on another.

Bowls like the one above would have been considered luxury goods. With careful packing and handling, they would have been worth risking on a long trek. Elites shopping in the markets in distant city-states practiced conspicuous consumption, just as modern people do. Assuming the breakage was not significant, traveling merchants could make a healthy profit on their pottery.

Burial rituals

Human remains and grave goods recovered from an elite burial. The tomb was discovered within the Recinto de los Gobernantes. This gravesite was one of most important discoveries at Peralta because of the quantity and diversity of objects recovered. These included decorated pots, necklaces, wooden items, and knives and projectile points made from obsidian.

In some Mesoamerican societies, artificial cranial deformation was practiced. Elite families would bind the skulls of their infant children with wood and leather. This was done to elongate the skull so that, as an adult, the person would appear different from commoners. However, the adult skull in this burial shows no sign of elongation. This suggests that the practice was not followed by Peralta's elites. 

Large urn recovered from a tomb.  The style of the urn indicates that it was created as a grave good, rather than for practical use. This is a very old tradition in pre-hispanic western Mexico and is frequently found in El Bajio tombs. The damage on the side of the urn may have come from a partial collapse of the tomb. 

Urns were sometimes used for what archeologists call "secondary burials". Sometime after the original burial, bones would be collected and reburied elsewhere, often within a pot like this. The purposes and meanings of pre-hispanic secondary burials are not well understood and may have varied from society to society, as well as over time.

Teotihuacán masks were not meant to be worn by the living. They are too heavy and lack carved-out backsides to fit a human face. They were death offerings, meant to be placed in a shrine or tomb. Teotihuacan masks are easily recognizable because of their similarity. They are genderless, with wide-open eyes and mouths and a straight nose. Now empty, the eyeholes once contained white shells and black onyx to imitate eyes and the mouth had teeth made of bone. 

I have seen scores of masks like this at sites all over Mexico. Their close similarity suggested to me that they were not the creations of individual craftsmen but mass produced. In fact, recent scientific investigation shows that Teotihuacan manufactured them on a large scale, but at a site far from the capital city. Production occurred in the state of Puebla, possibly at the ancient city of Cholula. 

The end of Peralta: drought, invasion, or both?

Chicomoztoc appears in many Mesoamerican migration myths. During the last part of the 10th century, waves of fierce nomads from the northern deserts began to migrate south. Some tribes passed through El Bajio, seeking to escape a decades-long drought. Collectively, these Nahuatl-speakers were known as Chichimeca ("barbarians"). When they arrived in El Bajio, the drought had already caused crop failures and famines. It was at this time--around 900 AD--that cities like Peralta were abandoned. 

Chicomoztoc ("Place of the Seven Caves") appears in the origin myths of several Chichimeca tribes. The drawing above is from a 1550 AD depiction by one tribesman. In the myths, Chicomoztoc is usually described as a mountain containing a multi-chambered cave. It was the origin point, or at least a stop-over, on a great migration. In the tribesman's drawing, each of the chambers contains a different tribe. In some versions, the tribes departed separately over time. 

The Mexica (Aztec) version is the most famous. Even after they had won an empire, they still glorified their Chichimeca origins in the last great pre-hispanic wave of migrants. However, the myth may date back at least 600 years prior to the Mexica. In fact, each of the three great pyramids of Teotihuacán represents a mountain and each has a man-made cave beneath it. Some even have multiple chambers. The location of Chicomoztoc, if it actually exists, remains a mystery.

Chichimeca warriors attack a pre-hispanic city. Like Peralta, this city sits on a hilltop, surrounded by a wall similar to that of the Recinto de los Gobernantes. Also like Peralta, the hillside is covered with cactus and maguey plants. Winding around to the left of the hill is a river which could very well have been the Lerma, which passes near Peralta. Defenders stand behind the wall, fending off attacks from all directions. 

On the hillsides, some of the Chichimeca warriors aim obsidian-tipped arrows at the defenders. Others wave weapons called macuahuitls. These flat, wooden swords had edges filled by razor-sharp obsidian blades. In their other hands, the warriors hold up circular shields. This painting was created by an indigenous artist after the Spanish arrival, but is probably an accurate portrayal of pre-hispanic warfare at the time of the Chichimeca invasion of El Bajio.

Human skull, shortly after it was unearthed. What happened to Peralta's inhabitants? Were they massacred and their city razed? There is clear evidence of such destruction at about the same time at other Epi-Classic cities such as La Quemada ("The Burned Place"). The Spanish gave its ruins that name because the great conflagration that destroyed the city was still evident after 600 years. 

The defensive hilltop position and strong walls of the Recinto de los Gobernantes showed that its builders anticipated such attacks and may have experienced some. To date, archeologists have not unearthed evidence of destruction at Peralta similar to what had happened at La Quemada. However, news of the fates of La Quemada and other Epi-Classic cities such as Xochicalco, Cantona, and Cacaxtla would have spread rapidly across Mesoamerica. 

Such frightening news, combined with economic collapse caused by drought and the disruption of the Epi-Classic trade networks, may have resulted in a panicked flight to safer locales. One of those places could have been the rising Toltec state at Tula, in today's Hidalgo state. Lacking written records, we just don't know. What we do know is that El Bajio was depopulated within a few decades. Except for scattered bands of nomads, it remained empty for the next 600 years.

This ends Part 3 of my Peralta series and completes the series itself. I hope you enjoyed it. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below. If you do leave a question, please be sure to include your email address so that I may respond in a timely manner.

Hasta luego, Jim