My Abuela Josefina's home is the only white cement house in her colorful colonia tucked away in the mountains of Northern Mexico. She lives in Zacatecas - the capital of the state of Zacatecas. The Mexican Tourism Board likes to term different towns Pueblos Mágicos or "magic tow" as a way to attract foreigners to lesser-traveled towns that preserve and nurture the native cultural roots of Mexico. Zacatecas is not labeled as a Pueblo Mágico, and the reason why is ingrained throughout the entire city.
city government building in Zacatecas
Zacatecas contains the indigenous Aztec language of the Nahuatl word, zaca, as a reference to the lush, green grass growing all over the Mexican mountainsides. However beautiful, the accuracy of this reference no longer stands true today. The foothills of Zacatecas are known to be rich in silver and gold. This feature, revered by the native population of Zacatecas, attracted Spanish colonizers in search of unfathomable wealth. Under brutal Spanish colonization, the native communities living in Zacatecas were subjected to slave labor in the mines, where many of them would die. For the lives of hundreds of native slaves, the Spanish colonial regime drowned in riches - which is the reason for the name of the mine: Mina El Edén. In 1960, the mine flooded and was decommissioned. Due to its continued importance to the history of Zacatecas, it is now a museum that converts to a nightclub that serves the best mezcal out of Tequila, Jalisco.
inside of Mina El Edén
The city is an enchanting fusion of Spanish influence and Mexican culture. It's the type of city where you can be eating tostilocos on the steps of a 200 year old baroque-inspired cathedral. You can still find the private neighborhoods of those who benefited from the generational wealth that came from the exploitative slave labor of native communities. Plazas are filled with stands of indigenous sellers of bead jewelry, and it is normal to see children weaving colorful patterns alongside their parents. The pink and orange hues exuded from the colonias in the city are unmatched. Walking down the narrow alleys connecting the colonias looks like a stroll around Bellagio or Madrid as much as it feels like the vibrancy of favelas in São Paulo. The entire design of Zacatecas is a intricate homage to the city's rich history.
Catedral Basílica de la Asunción de María
beaded jewelry stands
My cousins and I like to walk up and down the narrow walkways that line the blocks of pink and orange houses. We race down the steep steps and wobble into the aborrotes to buy cold water baggies. During the summer, the markets are filled with sweet, ripe tuna (cactus fruit) of all colors. At night, when it cools down and lights decorate the hillsides, we visit different taquerias and order whatever meat they're best known for. It's always funny when you see mariachis going from taqueria to taqueria, getting drunk men to play them their favorite corridors. The entire place swells with heartbreaking lyrics of Vicente Fernandez or Paquita La Del Barrio. I feel incredibly connected to the identity of Zacatecas. It's my Pueblo Mágico.
neighborhood plaza during the summer
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