| If you have never gone to Pozos Guanajuato and | | | | with a beautiful golden chime. But just recently in |
| live or visit San Miguel de Allende Mx, then you | | | | early 2000 government officials took the bell down |
| definitely want to make a day trip to Mineral de | | | | for maintenance and sent it to Mexico City, from |
| Pozos Mexico. I recently took a trip out to Pozos | | | | which it never returned. It was replaced with an iron |
| Guanajuato, a small day trip about an hour from San | | | | bell, and the gold one disappeared. Some say it is at |
| Miguel de Allende Mx. I never really thought much of | | | | the ex-Presidents private rance (typical Mexican |
| Mineral de Pozos, because its such a small dot on the | | | | government). |
| map, but it is actually a very interesting little Mexican | | | | There are many other small communities within Pozos |
| town. | | | | Guanajuato where there are other mines. In one of |
| While on our tour we learned what very few visitors | | | | these communities we talked with another old |
| know. We learned that Pozos Guanajuato was once | | | | gentleman, the now care taker. This old gent was |
| a really wealthy mining town and had a population of | | | | around 80 years old, and he said he was still one of |
| more than 50,000 people in the 1700´s and | | | | the very last workers in the mines. When he was a |
| 1800´s. It was founded mainly by foreigners, | | | | child, he had carried stones out of the mine by |
| people from Italy, France and Spain. But when the | | | | wheelbarrow. He said he was about eight at the time. |
| mines were depleted, the town was literally | | | | He told us that the restored hacienda that sat on the |
| abandoned in the 1920´s. So now these great | | | | property had once belonged to Porfirio Diaz ( a very |
| limestone buildings stand in solace and beauty, like | | | | important Mexican revolutionary) who used the |
| beacons calling out to something greater. Most have | | | | hacienda as a place to house his prisoners of war, |
| no roofs but the stone is in tack and the melting | | | | and he made the prisoners work in the gold mines. It |
| furnaces stand as they were once built. | | | | was a perfect way to fund a revolution. |
| These ruins of elegant, strong and statefull buildings | | | | Today the hacienda is being legally fought over. The |
| are truly beautiful, something that comes out of | | | | original owner passed away, without leaving a will, or |
| movies, but are even more so when you start to | | | | any descendants, so the property was possessed by |
| talk to locals of the area. When I took the time to | | | | another local under the "squatters law", who without |
| talk to the local people, they have some truly | | | | any legal right says it is now his property. Of course |
| interesting stories to add to the relics. Apparently the | | | | after this happened, suddenly, nephews and nieces |
| very first University in Mexico was in Pozos | | | | showed up for the original legal owner and now the |
| Guanajuato. It was a school for gold smiths and silver | | | | property is being legally fought over. Who knows if |
| smiths, founded in the 1700´s. The building | | | | any of this is true. It may just be local gossip, and |
| now stands in ruins, but is a magnificent sample of | | | | fun to listen to these old legends. |
| architecture of the time, and really very large. It's a | | | | What is known is that Pozos Guanajauto has become |
| huge building that stands in the middle of nowhere, | | | | a popular place for foreigners. This is because |
| among cacti and brush. | | | | property can be purchased cheaply. Pozos is |
| On our trek we walked through the walled garden | | | | becoming popular because it is a quaint, peaceful, and |
| hotels, had lunch in the outdoor café, and | | | | authentic old Mexican village, which has had very little |
| then walked down to the park near the cathedral | | | | changes over the centuries. The town has two |
| and started talking to two resident who were | | | | beautiful hotels, a couple of restaurants, and about |
| 103,and 105 years old respectively (brother and | | | | 50 foreign artists making their home here. It really is |
| sister), possibly the oldest citizens in Pozos | | | | a quaint place to visit, just be sure to take sturdy |
| Guanajuato. | | | | walking shoes, because you may want to go down |
| They told us some wonderful stories, about how the | | | | one of the mines. Be careful though, when we went |
| cathedral bell was once made of pure gold and for | | | | down the lights went out for about 10 minutes. We |
| more than three hundred years, the bell would toll | | | | had to stay exactly were we stood for that long. |