Pinos English
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◈ To the southwest of Zacatecas, surrounded by red mountains, Pinos slips through time, its gaze fixed on its old mines. Everywhere you look are the long silhouettes of chimneys, yearning for the smoke they once emitted, and beneath them the old haciendas that once functioned as smelters.
People spend their days amongst ruins: they go into the church to pray to “Papá Jesús”, or they watch the sunset from a bench in the Jardín de las Flores, whilst the only baker who continues to bake bread, sells a bolillo de leche (milk bun) to a child; someone drinks mescal in the Puerto Arturo tavern, others take part in a handicrafts workshop in the patio of the old Franciscan convent; a woman peers down at the street from a balcony, she looks forward to December and the night when all the streets are lit by the multi-colored lanterns.
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◆ Go inside the town’s oldest cantina, Puerto Arturo, and drink mescal.
◆ Visit the underground passage, adorned with a black Christ, beneath the hotel El Mesón del Conde.
◆ Visit the Templo de San Francisco and the Municipal Institute of Culture in the convent next door.
At the end of the Hacienda Grande’s old shell, you will find Los Arquitos, a small aqueduct that is well worth a visit.
❖ Discover the Capilla de Tlaxcalita
If you venture into the Tlaxcala neighborhood, the old indigenous district, you will come across the Tlaxcalita Chapel. Dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary, this is an 18th-century construction.
Its interior walls are painted as if they were covered in a sky-blue tapestry, and the altar where the Virgin rests is a dissolving baroque altarpiece (so overburdened that you can no longer see the columns or the pilasters holding it up). Carved in wood and covered in gold leaf, this altarpiece is also home to sculpted cherubs and seraphs.
❖ Underground Passage
It’s worth spending a night or at least an afternoon in the boutique hotel El Mesón del Conde. This is an old mansion that has been semi-restored. Six comfortable bedrooms, a terrace perfect for watching the sunset, a small billiards room and a kitchen with walls covered in Talavera tiles all form a part of its appeal.
Make sure not to miss a visit to its underground passage, where a room adorned with mining tools awaits, and a little further along, a hidden image of a black Christ.
❖ Templo de San Francisco
The convent has seen a great deal of history pass it by, considering it has been a military barracks, a meat processor, and a school. It is currently the Municipal Institute of Culture.
The church and its convent were founded in 1603 and they both have the characteristic simplicity of Franciscan architecture. One single barrel nave with no domes, and a facade that has never known any kind of adornment, evoke sobriety. The interior, however, contains three stunning baroque altarpieces.
❖ Walk Along its Esplanades and Drink Mescal in Puerto Arturo
You will find the esplanades of Pinos charming. They are covered in trees, benches, and have an atmosphere of calm: visit the ones inside Jardín San Francisco, Jardín de las Flores and Jardín Juárez. Which one will you choose to spend a tranquil afternoon?
❖ Walk Through the Gardens of the Center
To one side of Jardín San Francisco you will find another garden, which is fenced. This is the Jardín de las Flores, which you enter through a colonnade with a clay finish. Inside is a universe of roses and benches which encircle a fountain with a lantern at its center.
A little further on you will see the fences of Jardín Juárez, populated by serene trees and a bust of Benito Juárez.
❖ Visit the Hacienda La Pendencia
This is an old 17th-century livestock hacienda that today makes mezcal. It is located 13 miles from Pinos.
Here you will get to know the process by which the heart of the agave, or the piña, is cooked with high-pressure steam in stone ovens, and then ground up with powerful mills pulled by a tractor, giving life to this delicious drink.
La Pendencia is a must-see during your stay in Pinos.
❖ Encuentro de Danzas Tradicionales
During the month of July, Pinos is filled with music, color, and folklore in this traditional dance event. Groups of dancers from Pinos take part in this event. You will see traditional dances not only from Pinos but also those which they perform at carnivals and religious festivals in other parts of the state and all over the country.
❖ Fiesta de los Faroles
From the 30th November to the 8th December the novena of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated. During these days, Tlaxcala street is lit up with colorful lanterns, and clay pots filled with fat burn bright. Pilgrimages of local communities arrive and the Virgin emerges from her chapel to walk through the streets.
On the last day, the day of the Fiesta de los Faroles or Lantern Festival, people who have come from other places, the young people who climbed the Cerro de la Gallina and then came down re-enacting the ancient arrive of the Tlaxcaltecas, and the runners who bring a lit torch all the way from the Basilica in Mexico City, all meet at the town’s entrance.
