Mineral de Pozos

We spent the day on Monday, walking through the ruins of a once large and grand silver mining operation in the small town of Mineral de Pozos, about an hours drive east of San Miguel.  We were here several years ago but the energy of the place drew me back. 

Silver has been mined here from long before the Spanish arrived in Central America and in it's hey day, over 50,000 people lived and worked here.  When the Spanish came to Mexico and discovered it's wealth, they began shipping the silver back to Spain, through the port at Veracruz.  It's interesting to think of all the antique jewelry that's floating around Europe right now that may be made from Pozos silver!

While mining, the Spanish broke through to an underground river which was full of arsenic and resulted in the closure of the mine.  The French took over the rule of Mexico in the mid 1800's and when they arrived in Pozos and found the mine unworkable, they blew up and destroyed all the buildings.  The bullet holes are still visible in a large and once beautiful school that was modeled after European schools of the time.

The buildings above were the living quarters for the family who owned the mine called The Cinco Senores.  It too was once opulent with large rooms and beautiful courtyards.

The serenity and peace of this place is almost palpable.  The last time I was here, I was awed by the silence in the hills.  This time I felt it again but realized that it wasn't so much the silence but the sound of the gentle wind blowing through an otherwise silent landscape.  I don't think I've ever felt such an amazing sense of peace in a place...and this comes from a die hard ocean lover.

 

This is the original mine entrance.  Built in a pre-explosive era, it was mined completely by chisel and hammer.  Both men and women worked in this mine, carrying the ore out on their backs...men carrying 180 lb. sacks of ore and women, 125 lbs.  I was talked into going down into this tunnel to see an alter that had been placed there in the late 1600's and is still looked after today by the current caretakers. 

All I could think of was "Kate, you crazy lady!  This country is literally crawling with rattlesnakes and you're going down into this hole?"  Just to be on the safe side, I sent WW, (the Winged Wonder), in first!  My hero!

These are some of the family members who look after the historic mine site.  They also sell pieces of ore, crystals and geodes that they find on the site. Rock lover that I am, I'm happy to say that I'm packing a few choice crystals home in my suitcase.  I'll have to throw something away to make room for them, but most of the clothes I brought with me are so ratty from wearing them non stop for the last 2 months, that it will give me great pleasure to toss them when I leave!

This cute little guy wasn't going to be happy until he had shown us his goats!  We told the ladies that I'd be putting their picture on my website and that people from all around the world would know about them...they thought this was very cool so if you ever get to Pozos, tell them you saw their picture on the internet!

The town of Pozoz is growing once again.  Many North Americans have discovered this serene little town and it's recently come to the attention of some artists who prefer it to San Miguel. There are a couple of small, luxury boutique hotels here and we stopped for lunch at one of them.

This is the sink in the ladies bathroom of the hotel and was hand carved from stone by a well know Guanajuato carver!  Unique to say the least.

At an altitude of 8,000 ft., Mineral de Pozos is well off the beaten path so most visitors to San Miguel never make it there.  It's a haven for mountain bikers, photographers, artists and rock hounds as well as for those who want to experience some of Mexico's intriguing history.  There's really not a lot there but for some, that's what draws them.

I'd go just for the amazing sense of peace I felt...sitting on the rocks and listening to sound of the breeze drifting through the cactus and mesquite.  In the hills of Pozos it's easy to believe that all is right with the world.

Comments

[Serena]

You have conveyed a wonderful sense of the history and peacefulness of Mineral de Pozos in this post, Kate. A pleasure to read and, if I do ever visit Mexico, I will make note to visit this spot for sure. Beautiful photos, as always!

[stephanie]

You are one of my favorite travel writers! I'm glad to know of Mineral de Pozos.

[martie]

I don't think I've ever enjoyed history so much! Thank you Kate!!

[William Conklin]

The pictures are good but the history a mixture of rights and wrongs. The original location, Palmar de Vega was set up to protect a spur of the Camino Real similar to San Miguel. Difference is that when the Jesuits brought in to pacify the local people(Janes & Pames, often lumped into Azrec name of Chichimeca) they saw a lot of silver jewelry and found that came from a surface vein. They started mining, primarily what is now called Santa Brigitta, in mid-1500's and continued till Jesuits expelled, 1767 I believe. The hornos, ovens, that are symbol of Pozos were built the end of 1500s by the Jesuits. Mining struggled on till the Mexican revolution but then collapsed between 1810 and 1820. With the discovery of gold in the "western hills" in the 1840s mining started back up but nothing much until Porfirio Diaz elected in 1877 and relaxed the laws on foreign investment. This led to a boom in Pozos between 1890 & 1910 where there were over 300 mines in operation. The school that you mention is Escuela Modela and was built about 1895 by Diaz as part of effort to modernize Mexican education so unlikely had French bullet holes. In fact the French under Maximilan had little effect on Pozos although there are places in Guanajuato that he dedicated. Pozos had electricity, telephone & a railroad at this point and actually renamed the city Ciudad Porfirio Diaz.In addition when Cinco Senores was formed as an integrated mining complex, the Mexican stock exchange, Bolsa, was foprmed to trade its stock. This started collapsing with the revolution of 1910 when many of the miners left to fight and the mines were attacked causing many of the mine owners to take their equipment and leave. The water table in Pozos is surprisingly high and the mines required pumps to operate. After the war, the pumps were gone and the mines flooded. There was also a downturn in silver. This all meant that only a few mines opened. This also when an explosion supposedly hit an underground river causing more flooding. Then in 1926 & 1927 there was the Cristeros war and Pozos a leader in the Cristeros movement. As punishment the city charter was taken and Pozos was made part of San Luis de la Paz. With all this, Pozos again hit bottom in the 1950s with some 200 people. It is recovering as you said with 2500-3000 people. There are now about 20 full time expats, anther 30 that are part time with a house there and some 30 more that own land.
Sorry for the long note but Pozos is a special place with a very interesting history.

[Nick Hamblen]

kate.....we live and work in mineral de pozos. so appreciate your sensitive and beautiful depiction in words and photos of this magical place. we hope you return soon!
niCk hamblen

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