Mexican Haciendas in the State of Guanajuato

Historic Background

During the Spanish Conquest, Mexico had several drastic changes that transformed the way of life of its citizens. Besides imposing new laws and new culture the Spanish conquest of Mexico also attracted new adventures into the land. The land property regime was established by the Royal Spanish Crown, this authoritarian political system had absolute possession of all the conquest territories, giving the inhabitants and some of the most outstanding soldiers and royal pioneers only “permit-of-use” estates.

These encomiendas (right-of-use estates) were small, but throughout the years some (property) fusions, through marriages, illegal possession, or commercial operations took Haciendas to a massive-property-possessions system. Thus, it became the basic cell of the Colonial economic system. For the nature of this document, we emphasized two types of haciendas in the country, the agriculture haciendas and the Metal-Processing haciendas, (de beneficio).

Metal Processing (Beneficio) Haciendas

This type of haciendas had an important activity of processing (benefit) mine ores by using mercury to extract silver. Since the city of Guanajuato had some of the richest mines in the world a massive arrival of mining workers began to take place in the area. The processing haciendas held a secondary type of economy, the basic food and fiber products were provided by the Agricultural haciendas.

As time went by, the processing haciendas lost importance due to reduce silver extracting quantities. The growth in housing demand also caused these haciendas to loose their activity, leading to division of the haciendas to provide initial settlement for new cities and neighborhoods. Some of these haciendas have been absorbed by the development of human settlements and new cities. Only a few walls and old ruins are standing, some even have been used as basis or parte of new houses giving the cities a unique age fusion. The advantage metal processing haciendas give for a touristic project is that their appearance is attractive to tourist and they are located in cities. There are several restaurants and hotels constructed based on the old hacienda style most of them in old mining towns.

Agricultural Haciendas

One of the most important changes in Colonial Mexico as mentioned before was the property of land regime. The first states given by the Spanish Crown were rather small, since their only purpose was to populate the new territory. The growth of these economic cells was based on fusions, acquisitions, some illegal possessions and inheritances.

But what where Haciendas really like? The self-sufficient feudal like production system had a basic area called Casco, where housing facilities such as the Casa Grande in which the Patrones lived, were located a wekk as some more modest houses for administrative employees and house workers, a catholic chapel, although in some haciendas there were two chapels on order to have “social rules” (of division) respected, corrals, storing silos, mills and storage facilities called eras. Some of the haciendas also had complementary production depending on the region, such as a vineyards and wine factory.

During the splendor of Hacienda regime the State of Guanajuato was so important at the end of the 18th century that it was known as the grain provider of the Colonial New Spain. The explorer Alexander von Humboldt would describe the areas as the most attractive and best harvested fields of Mexico. He also added that these fields could only be compared to the outstanding beautiful French fields. In those times, Guanajuato was the second most populated area of the Spanish Colonies surpassed only by the Mexico City Valley.

The hacienda system survived successfully until the beginning of the 20th century. The social unrest of the world also influenced the Mexican society thus, initiating the 1910 Mexican Revolution. The excess of land ownership and power developed during the last three centuries provoked the hacienda system to enter in a painful agony. The landlords lost part of their properties because of Agricultural property reform leading to land re-distribution to the new born “Ejido”. The hacienda owners were able to keep their houses and a small property of land depending on the kind of soil, the rest of the land was distributed to workers in ejidos. But some owners abandoned their properties, since they were not able to continue their way of life. Some of the new ejido owners had destructive behavior targeted the Casa Grande that once belong to their old masters. Some of the buildings are still standing but vandalizing has damage them. In other cases, ejidos have played for the houses to be restored and maintained.

A few of these buildings were kept by their owners that recovered and converted them into private homes now. Some have been recovered as hotels or multiple housing facilities. This project gives old haciendas owners, who seek to support their project with a joint-ventures or sale of their properties, some hope to recover and use them in a touristic activity.

Text: Federico Vargas Somoza free selection from Isauro Rionda's book: Haciendas de Guanajuato, Guanajuato State Government, 1985. Translation: María Eugenia Olivares Navarrete. From the book: Haciendas del Estado de Guanajuato, Gobierno del Estado de Guanajuato, 1992.

Pictures were taken at Hacienda de San Diego del Jaral de Berrio, municipality of San Felipe Torresmochas, State of Guanajuato.

1.- Cone Silos form 18th Century
2, 6 & 7.- Trojes (grains story areas)
3.- Back door with access to attendants and server personnel for Hacienda owners.
4.- Glass Factory
5 & 10- Stable
8.- Silos with eras in the front.
9.- Chapel reserved for owners of the Hacienda
11.- Adobe walls still in use

The Hacienda of San Diego del Jaral de Berrio (in English)

In the Northern part of the State of Guanajuato, the San Felipe (city) jurisdiction is the location of the most outstanding and incredible, ancient large and beautiful hacienda in the country. The origin of the hacienda goes back to the end of the 16th century, Juan de Zavala was a Spanish settled in the area of San Luis Potosí and started livestock activities in the San Francisco Valley. This is the beginning of the “Zavala Hacienda”.

The hacienda kept growing, and in the 18th century the owners of the hacienda were doña Teresa Josefa Zaldívar y Retes de Paz y Vera and her husband Captain Andres de Berrio y Diaz Palacios Ortiz de Landázurri y Ayala (please note all those name are real), the hacienda kept that name until their son Miguel Berrio y Zaldivar was given the Royal title of Marquee of the Jaral by King Charles III, then the name of the hacienda was Hacienda del Marqués de Jaral de Berrio. During this time, the hacienda grew so much that its livestock could be put to pasture the property and be in 4 different states of Mexico form the State of Durango to the Mexico City Valley.

The horses from Jaral de Berrio were famous for their beauty and presence. Several of them were models for sculptures. There were also famous saying phrases that mentioned Jaral de Berrio in old Mexico. In 1810, Juan Nepomuceno de Moncada y Berrio, grandson of the first Marquee, was the owner of the hacienda and joined the Independence (war) revolt. When the independent troops were going to confiscate the property, he joins the royal army to defend his property.

In 1817, Francisco Javier Mina and his independent troops take control of the hacienda. At the end of the independence war the Emperor Agustín de Iturbide gave Jaun Nepomuceno the title of Knight of the Royal Order of Guadalupe and returned his property. In 1855 the hacienda had a population of 6500 people, it had a mail and a tax office, two schools, two hotels and its chapel was given a higher status, it became a church. In 1890, the railroad served the Haciendas with 2 train stations Juan Isidro de Moncada y Hurtado de Mendoza was the owner in those days.

The last owner of the hacienda in the beginning of the 20th century was Rutilio Rojas Rodríguez, he owned 5000 hectares of land. He bought the property form Doña Margarita, Juan Isidro´s daughter in law. After the land reform act was enforced the excess property of the hacienda was divided into an ejido property regime, the owner abandoned the house and the small property given to him. The ejido requested extension of ownership in order to rescue the house and repair it, they obtained such ownership and in 1991, based on the land-ownership act the ejido members gave property of it to Mr. Pedro Morales who is the current owner.

Text taken from book publish by the Government of the State of Guanajuato “Haciendas del Estado de Guanajuato”, 1992.

Sir Edward James and the surrealist art in Xilitla

I'm writing to you from the lowest point in Mexico, low in the sense of meters below sea level. I'm now at la Huasteca which is in the central area, towards the north of the Country in the State of San Luis Potosi. It is not too many kilometers from my home town (Salamanca) but it is in another part of the Sierra Madre Oriental.

Here you will find a very diferent way of life, weather and vegetation in comparision to other parts of Mexico. It is humid, but not as humid as the Caribbean shore. It is hot, but not as hot as it is in the Baja California Sur, everywhere is green with an abundance of vegetation. Here you will find it easy to drive from Mexico City to the north east, on the way you will pass by a marvel that is hiden by the green jungle; Las Pozas - please stop off to explore!

Here at Xilitla, as all over Mexico, history belongs to the ancient Mexican Huasteco people who lived in this area. They pay tribute to the Aztecs. The Aztecs as it was they who influenced their language. Money was in the form of feathers from exuberant big birds the area is plentiful with fruit and vegetables so these probably a means of payment too. After the Conquest, Franciscans Friars arrived, followed by the Dominicans, then the Augustians who were the third congregation to arrive in the New Spain to evangelize. A few years after their arrival in Mexico City the Augustians came here to Xilitla and built a Convent that resembled a fort, no doubt they were afraid of attacks by local indians.

There was no gold nor silver, so Spaniards went in different directions none seemed to care much about Xilitla, the town was abandoned. During the Independence war not much happened here, or in the century right after, so the town became smaller with very few people living or taking advantage of the fertile soil or the fruits of the land.

Mexican history gained British names during the XIX Century, when Britain, along with France where the powerful countries in the world at this time. Porfirio Diaz was the president of Mexico for 30 long years, he opened the borders to British investors and the industrial revolution came from the UK to Mexico. Rail roads were built, textile manufacturing and mining began. For more than 50 years, the second half of the 19th century, the British presence was strong. You can see their remains in remote parts such as San Quintin at Baja California Pacific Shore, or in Real del Monte in the State of Hidalgo. Here a British colony came to explote the silver mines and left their influence..., you can see their influence behind, you can see this in the blue eyes and red hair that you find occasionaly in the area.

But now that I'm at Xilitla, I'm learning one of the most fascinating stories which sounds more like a tale but is in fact very real. I'm referring to Edward James, born in Graywall, Scotland in 1907. He was the bastard grandson of Edward VII, son of Elisabeth Evelyn Forbes... he confirmed the rumor himself stating "I'm not the bastard son but the bastard nephew". His mother married one of the richest men in England, who has his empire in the USA, William James, the one who builds all rail tracks in the USA.

Born in the high end society, he recived a strict education, carried out with the precision of the British clock and was the Victorian way in the 20th century. He encountered several problems in introducing his new concepts of life into an old-fashioned society. In between the two wars, surrealist art began to florish, he had the first contact with Salvador Dali who introduced him to Luis Buñuel, then to René Magritte. Theese people were not stuck in aristocratic Victorian England, so with new ideas in his mind and with a substancial fortune, he moved before the Second War to New York, having big plans for surrealistic art, then he moved to California, but, big growing cities was not what he was looking for. He meets Leonora Carrington, another British surrealist artist who left England for the same reason and was established in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Edward James, an eccentric millionaire, decided to explore the country; he loves orchids and was looking for strange, rare species which only grows in la Huasteca, so he decided to go there.

It was 1944 when he met Plutarco Gastelum, a telegraphist who became his personal guide in Mexico. A few months after he became his guide they arrived in la Huasteca, right where those orchids gow here in Xilitla. The air, the weather, the ambiance combined to conquer Edward James. Akind of miracle or "signal" as he refers to it, took palce when he was swimming in a river which passed through an area where an enormous number of yellow butterfiles appeeared, he was shocked at the site and decided to buy the property and create his Garden of Eden.

The first thing he built was the pools; the river makes small cascades and James and Plutarco constructed the first and second pool around this. The garden with its perfect weather was ideal to grow thousand of orchids which were the most beautiful and fragant orchids you could find. James was coming and going, with houses all around the world, he had a sensitive eye for the new arts and left Plutarco to take care of the orchids. But in 1962, something happened that never had happens in la Huasteca.... snow. All of the orchids died.

Edward James was furious, all his years of his effort was destroyed in just two days. He decided to construct something undestructable, a Surrealist Garden with surreal cement plants and trees. So construction began; he built a castle with corridors to take you nowhere, and stairs that went to non-existing floors. He build fabulous baths and terraces overlooking the magnificent jungle. All from cement with an artistic concept to make the cement appears as if it were nature itself, an achievement seen rarely around the world. With a local worker he found the perfect match, in his mind he created the designs and passed the draqings to José Mendoza who turned them into the most beautiful, incredible and strange Garden of the Eden right here in Xilitla, Mexico.

This is Sir Edward James (1907-1984). The park is open every day from 9 to 5, guides are available upon request. The entrance fee is just 30 pesos, you can swim at the Pozas (pools), you will find a restaurant on the premises, some vendors at the entrance. I do not feel mosquitos or bugs at all. Xilitla is 350 kilometers from Mexico City... it is a must for your next trip to Mexico.

More about Sir Edward James at Wikipedia here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_James

If you are interesting in reading more posts at El Bable, please click English, here below.

One thousand reasons to visit Mexico now!

This is the way to El Bable, as in all over Mexico, every single angle gives you a shot straight to the file where you keep the best trip memories of life.

What is El Bable all about? Well, I have gotten some comments from English speaking people, so I’ll explain what this site is about. El Bable is the name of the ranch that belonged to my father, once upon a time, long time ago. It is not the real name, though… it was “El Baúl”, but, local people couldn’t pronounce it so they called it El Baule, and finally El Bable. I heard that several times during all my childhood. El Bable is the name of the language the Asturias in Spain speak, but I have nothing of Asturian blood in me. El Bable is, playing with words something close to Babel, so we are getting closer!

One of our best heritage in Salamanca becomes from the Augustinians fryers who in the 18th century decorated the interiors of San Augustin Church, the best Baroque décor ever made in Mexico.

As you can see, the subtitle says “El pasado perfecto del future incierto del verbo vivir”. What a sentence! I can translate as “The perfect past tense of the undertone future, from verb to live”. Reasons are various, we, in Mexico have the richest heritage we can imagine, from ancient civilizations to three long centuries of Spanish domination, to the mix of strong European, Chinese and Philippine influence. For most of the American tourist Mexico is a beach destination, but they are wrong, Mexico is much more than just a so called “Mexican fiesta”, much more than just a smiling face saying yes to all that you demand.

At the beginning of 20th century, artisans in el Bajio, the name of the area where Salamanca is, made some of the best decorations in the catholic churches, as an example here is the ceiling at El Señor del Hospital.

Mexican culture is so strong. Not all Mexicans can understand. Mexican culture is so rich not all visitors can see and understand. Not all Mexicans and visitors know the multifaceted way of the real Mexican life, so, that is what El Bable pertains to show. El Bable wants to take you to the real life in Mexico, to the other part of Mexico where no beaches are, but, where culture and heritage exist. So welcome to El Bable, I have a lot to show you!

Shall I say not to be afraid going into those small tiny restaurants? Montezuma revenge is coming from different reason, you may not believe, next time I post in English, I’ll let you know where the real revenge came from and how to avoid it. Comments are welcome.