Artist Picnic @ Cañada de la Virgen

Cañada de la Virgen is an Otomi archaeological site that has been recently excavated. Located in the state of Guanajuato, the site was first discovered 1998 and the official excavation by the National Institute of History and Anthropology began in 2002. Public access was first allowed in 2011. Opened five years ago, Cañada de la Virgen features seven large pyramidal architectonic structures of different sizes, that were part of a city which flourished here between 540 and 1050 AD. It is only 30 minutes outside San Miguel. Perched upon a small mesa surrounded by canyons, is made up of four patio/pyramid complexes, an ancient artificial pond and a ceremonial causeway covering the 16 hectares that is now government property. Complex A, termed ‘The House of the Thirteen Heavens’, served as a horizon clock, an observatory and a burial ground for the elite. It is aligned to the rising and setting sun and the movements of Jupiter and Venus at auspicious moments related to the Otomi calendar. Researchers also discovered Complex B, known as ‘The House of the Longest Night’, and Complex D, ‘The House of the Wind’.