 |
| Hacienda ruins |
 |
| Hacienda tower with gun slits |
In
a time before backhoes and jackhammers, sewer systems, and electric
lights, in a highland filled with wild cattle and endless vistas,
hundreds of haciendas of the wealthy created a network of commerce and
life across Mexico.
Yesterday,
Jim Cook led us on a walk back in time as we toured the ruins of four
of those haciendas and tried to imagine a different world ... one where
it required gun slits to protect your property.
When
Jim and his wife Carole arrived in Ajijic almost eleven years ago, they
began to document their travels and adventures in what has become an
extremely popular and informative travel blog … Jim and Carole’s Mexico Adventure. Jim
generously invites people to join him on his explorations, so we met
early yesterday and headed out to explore a way of life that no longer
exists.
 |
| From home to bank to ??? |
The
ruins we toured were mostly two-to-three hundred years old: an
eye-blink on the grand scale of history, and yet close enough to our own
time to see the relentless forces of change.
Two hundred years ago a wealthy land owner built a casa grande attracting the likes of revolutionary hero Miguel Hidalgo y Castillo on November 24,1810, only two months after his famous "Grito de Dolores" calling people to join him in the Mexican rebellion.
The hacienda included housing for at least some of his workers, his own opera house (where Porfirio Diaz attended a performance), and a railway and station.
 |
| Plaque commemorating Hidalgo's visit |
However,
the owner's world and fortunes changed: his home became a bank, his
chapel the town church, the opera house a library and event center, and
the railroad station sits surrounded by chain link fencing, waiting for
the next wave of change. Today, even the bank is gone yielding to
progress as a central plaza develops.
 |
| Abandoned railway station |
As we walked through these ruins, though, I also
saw the relentlessness of life: weeds and cactus growing on the tops of
crumbling walls, cows and goats thriving in a feed lot of what probably
used to be a grand garden, flowers blooming on a broken aqueduct that
ran for at least a half-a-mile across the former lands of the hacienda, a
pony suckling his mom while we watched.
Also,
of course, what would any adventure be without a story? At one of the
haciendas, we met a man who shared a name with a famous artist. He
showed us some ancient artifacts he had found ... for sale, of course. A
great deal of conversation ensued about their beauty and authenticity.
It added to the richness of the day.
The
oldest building we saw was a Hospital for Indios en Santa Cruz El
Grande. It was apparently built in 1534 with an outdoor cross where
large gatherings of native people were "converted." Services were
ongoing when we arrived so we could see inside the structure but did not
go in.
I have to wonder what I would see if two-, three- or four-hundred years from now, I could walk through my world of today.
Which of today’s wonders will be repurposed into something I can’t even
imagine today … and which will become simply ruins to make people of
the future ponder the past?
“This, too, shall pass,” the philosophers say. Yesterday made me think we should add the words ... "but life goes on."
Thanks
to Jim Cook and all the caretakers and key-carriers who generously
opened their buildings and their days to share their history with our
small caravan of explorers.
 |
Stopping for a picnic along the way.
|
Jim’s itinerary for the day and the google map for where we would be exploring:
Hacienda La Campana-
near Poncitlán. 19th century (possibly earlier) ruins at the edge of
the small pueblo of the same name. Very interesting and photogenic site
with beautiful countryside.
Hacienda San Jacinto - 18th century (at least) ruins in the small pueblo of same name. Also photogenic
Hacienda Atequiza
- 17th century, located in town of same name. One of the largest and
most famous of Guadalajara area haciendas. In 19th century, the owner
built his own opera house and railroad station. Very interesting
hacienda chapel is now the town church.
Hacienda Miraflores- Only a couple of miles from Atequiza. 18th century ruins with some very unusual 19th century additions.
Excelente artículo. El pasado se convierte en el presente!
ReplyDelete