About Zacatecas, Mexico

Zacatecas is an example of the splendor of the colonial era; the pink stone filigree used in its cathedral and monasteries dates from this period. The late 19th century also saw the creation of a number of enduring works such as the wrought ironwork adorning its balconies and the Teatro Calderón. At the same time, the city boasts traditions such as its traditional Mexican cowboys and silver and leatherwork and some of the most important museums in the country, including one with masks from every region and another with sculpture and painting ranging from the Greeks to Picasso, the nearby archaeological zone of La Quemada and the Viceregal Museum of Guadalupe.



Zacatecas: you can go down a mine or soar above the city in a cable car; stroll through its cobbled streets that take you into the past and explore the museums that keep objects frozen in time; discover its traditions and take part in its celebrations. Accustomed since its foundation to being a border, in the past, Zacatecas was a center of Mesoamerican culture and the bastion of the Conquest in its progress towards the north. Nowadays, the city shares the industrial vigor of the other northern states, the attachment to tradition of the south and is proud of its contribution to Mexico as a World Heritage site.



Founded in 1546 by the soldier Juan de Tolosa who swore he had found silver, despite his companions¡¯ mockery, the city soon proved him right and made him a wealthy man. Zacatecas was one of the most important capitals of New Spain: the Franciscans alone controlled 58 monasteries from there, their influence reaching as far as the south of the United States. In 1715, it had 40,000 inhabitants, a figure which, as a result of the wars that began with Independence, it was not to recover until the late 1960¡¯s. It entered the modern age in 1857 with the establishment of a photographic workshop and its inhabitants were astonished to see the city¡¯s first car in 1902. On June 23 1914, it was seized by Francisco Villa in one of the decisive battles of the Revolution.



With its three hundred thousand inhabitants, Zacatecas is located in the north of the tableland, at an altitude of 2,500 m above sea level in an irregular gully which causes it to rise and fall among the hills of El Cerro and La Bufa, its unmistakable symbol. It has a mild, dry climate, with an average temperature of 16º C although temperatures can fall to below zero in winter.