Mineral de Pozos is a tourist attraction

Published August 22nd, 2021

Just 50 minutes from San Miguel de Allende, in the municipality of San Luis de la Paz, is a place that, at a certain period of its history, was considered a ghost town; it is Mineral de Pozos, a place that in recent years has become a tourist attraction for those who like to visit quiet towns, taste exotic food, go hiking and explore extreme places by going into mines.

And soon it will also be the favorite place for those who enjoy a good mezcal, because this year Mineral de Pozos, will host the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles (Concours Mondial de Bruxelles) in its Mezcal edition.

This mining town, which despite the years seems to have stood still in the time since it was abandoned by its inhabitants in the Porfiriato era, will make you fall in love with its cobblestone streets, bumpy adobe, roads that are still dirt roads, but in good condition to ride in your car or on an ATV tour.

THE MINING TRAGEDY

In spite of the fact that Mineral de Pozos has more than 300 mines where gold and silver were extracted, only 10 are accessible, the rest have not yet been adapted to be able to enter, so they are quite dangerous.

It is worth mentioning that this town ceased to be a mining town after some workers, while digging at the bottom of one of the mines, drilled a well, which caused the water to flood all the mines located in this town, at that time called Ciudad Porfirio Díaz. Nearly 10 thousand workers perished drowned inside the mines.

After the tragedy, relatives of the dead workers held demonstrations outside the mining haciendas, asking for compensation for the almost 10,000 families affected, which led the businessmen to return to Europe and abandon the town, in order to avoid being ruined.

Seeing that the main economic activity of Mineral de Pozos was in decline, the nearly 60 thousand inhabitants began to loot the town and then abandon it, leaving only a little more than 160 inhabitants by 1940.

RESURGENCE AS A TOURIST ATTRACTION

Nowadays, Mineral de Pozos is beginning to take strength as one of the major tourist attractions of the State of Guanajuato, being able to visit, descend, walk and climb through the Guadalupanas, Angustias, Argentina, Cinco Señores, La Calavera, La Piratas, San Rafael, Mina Dolores mines among others; which are part of haciendas such as: Cinco Señores, El Triángulo, Santa Brígida (where the Jesuit ovens are located), tourist attractions most visited by tourists.

Other attractions are the Escuela Modelo (Model School), where during the Porfiriato period, the boys were offered classes in goldsmithing, laundry, and saddlery, while the girls were offered classes in manners, values, and housework. The school was divided into two sections, one for girls and the other for boys, and it also had dungeons, where boys and girls who were caught living together were locked up and punished in these dark places.

Once in Mineral de Pozos and to enjoy its gastronomy, there are restaurants located in the downtown area, such as Cielito Lindo or Los Escamoles, where you can enjoy delicious Maguey worms accompanied by mezcal or a succulent escamoles (ant roe) considered the Mexican caviar.

It should be noted that the first three days of December of this year, in Mineral de Pozos will be held, for the first time in Mexico, the International Contest of Brussels in its Mezcalera edition, where Mezcaleras from all over the country will compete and of course from Pozo, a town that has had its denomination of origin for five years.

To fall in love with Mineral de Pozos on the first visit it is advisable to take a tour for 250 pesos per person, which lasts approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, where you can visit Hacienda Cinco Señores and go into its mines under the supervision of certified guides. This was verified by Ángeles Terain, a tour guide certified by the State Government.

There is also the option of staying several days to fully enjoy this ghost town, for which there are hotels with costs from 1,500 pesos per night, inns for 800 pesos, cabins for 500 pesos, and a camping area for 150 pesos.