Zacatecas

Zacatecas is a very old colonial town and the capital of the state with the same name in the centre of Mexico. It is the most famous and richest of the Mexican silver cities and once contributed a good part to the Spanish wealth of the early modern times. Today, Zacatecas lives mainly from tourism, whereby most tourists come from the inland. I visited the city twice for one day each, the first time with Adriana, the second time one week later with Jonathan.

The first thing I got to know in Zacatecas was the aqueduct "Acueducto el Cubo" and the hotel Quinta Real which is built around the oldest bullring in North America. The staff of the hotel was very friendly and welcomed us even though we didn't spend a night in the hotel.

In Spanish, an Alameda refers to an avenue, a promenade with trees or a similar place. The term originally derives from the tree álamo (poplar). In Zacatecas, however, poplars have never grown because the climate is much too dry. The Alameda was a very good place to start our tour exploring the city as there is a little cultural space which informs you about the history of the town as well as touristic destinations within the whole state of Zacatecas.

A must-see when visiting Zacatecas is the old mine "El Edén" which is situated directly within the city centre. Its history begins barely 40 years after the foundation of the city in 1546. The period of greatest boom of this mine was during the 17th and 18th centuries, extraction was based mainly on silver and gold. Due to the floods in its tunnels and the proximity with the city, in 1960 its exploitation finished, 15 years later it was opened again for the tourism. You reach its interior by taking a little train. I was doing this tour twice and I wasn't disappointed to have paid two times the entrance fee, as the two guides arranged the tour completely differently. I learned a lot about the mining industry like e.g. that there died at least four people each day within this mine just because of falling down the ladder. The miners were poorly equipped, the first helmet was invented in 1907, and they had to transport rocks weighing up to 150 kg upwards on their backs. The mine consists of seven levels, of which only a fraction is accessible today. A small section has been converted into a discotheque, which opens its doors on weekends. There is also a museum which shows a lot of precious stones and minerals, not only from Zacatecas, but from all over the world.

Zacatecas was the first Mexican city to own a cable car. The current cable car, however, is a new one which was put into operation in 2016. From the exit of the mine "El Edén" you can directly take the cable car to the beautiful hill "La Bufa", crossing a part of the city. The length of the new cable car is 642 metres and it travels at 19 kilometres per hour. We went for the one cabin which has a transparent floor to enjoy the full panoramic view.

The Cerro de la Bufa served as a home to several Chichimecan/Zacatecan tribes before the conquest of the Spaniards, from whence the city Zacatecas received its name. It lies to the east of historic downtown Zacatecas and is 2,610 meters above sea level. It can be reached either by the cable car, climbing up a road on foot or bicycle and it is even accessible by car from the other side. At the top of the hill you can visit several places of interest like the Santuario de la Virgen del Patrocinio or the Mausoleo de los Hombres Ilustres.

From the hill La Bufa you can also see that the surroundings of Zacatecas are used for wind turbines. This wind park doesn't produce energy for the population of Zacatecas though but the energy is directed south to a huge manufacturing plant of Nissan in Aguascalientes. Of course, a lot of handicrafts are presented in Zacatecas and also at the Cerro de la Bufa, as almost everywhere in Mexico.

The first time I got up the hill vía the cable car, the second time I climbed it myself together with Jonathan early in the morning to avoid the heat during the day. While we were walking up the hill we could watch a procession in the city centre on the occasion of Labour Day. The procession was accompanied by loud brass music, which sounded up to the hill. When we reached the mausoleum we coincidentally saw another cultural event: A delegation from Río Grande, a community located approx. two hours north of Zacatecas, had come to celebrate their annual dancing event. Only senior citizens over 70 years of age are allowed to take part in the dance performance. The oldest man who participated this year was 84 years old but we were told that there is also a man with over a hundred years who is still dancing in Río Grande.

Historic downtown of Zacatecas has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1993, furthermore it is part of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. Due to a cultural festival, which took place in Zacatecas during my stay, many streets of the city centre were decorated beautifully with music instruments, lanterns, umbrellas and other colourful items. One item e.g. are the Ojos de Dios, the Eyes of God, which are spiritual objects traditionally created by weaving a pattern of yarn on a wooden cross. Usually several colours are used.