Mineral de Pozos: A Guanajuato Ghost Town Prepares to Boom Again  The discovery of silver deposits in central Mexico in the 16th century gave rise to cities that were to become some of the nation's most important. And by also establishing themselves as state capitals and centers of commerce and education, silver mining cities such as Guanajuato, Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí were able to remain viable through the ensuing political and economic turmoil of Mexican history.
But in those mining cities that were not able to diversify their interests, political, economic, and geological instability eventually conspired to render them ghost towns. Such was the case with Mineral de Pozos, 35 km northeast of San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato state, a ghost mining town now regaining its footing as Mexican citizens and foreign artists repopulate the area and as curious tourists venture to learn of the city's fascinating past. The best place to start a tour of Pozos is at the Santa Brigida mine three km northeast of town, for this is where the story of Pozos begins. In the late 16th century, Jesuit missionaries traveling in the area of a Camino Real outpost called Palmar de la Vega encountered the local Pames Indians. Struck by the Indians' elaborate silver jewelry, the missionaries asked to be shown where the mineral had been found. The Pames brought them to the Santa Brigida site and the Jesuits began an open-pit silver mining operation there in 1576. Silver mining would continue at Santa Brigida until 1767 when King Carlos III expelled all Jesuits from Nueva España. The mine then remained inactive until a North American company reopened operations in the 1870's. Today at Santa Brigida, visitors enter the site via a dusty dirt road, first passing by the three sentry-like ovens that once smelted the mine's ore. Further past the ovens, the road ends at the ruins of storehouses, sediment pools, and machinery buildings that ring the gaping, now-overgrown pit mine. At the head of the complex sits the well-preserved, fortress-like presidio, which functioned as a fortified storehouse for the mine's precious minerals. The watchtower fitted with rifle slits serves as a reminder of the security threats ever-present during the early days of silver mining. After a stroll around Santa Brigida, head to the hillside west of the town center for a glimpse at the next chapter in the history of Pozos. In the late nineteenth century, deposits of mercury and silver, among other minerals, were discovered here and Pozos entered its boom period. Soon, some 50 companies were operating more than 300 mines in the area and the local population soared to over 50,000. The town - which was then called San Pedro de los Pozos in honor of the more than 250 wells supplying the mines - quickly became one of the most important in the region. Mexico's dictator president Porfirio Diaz initiated several public works projects in the town, including a new school and telephone service, making Pozos the first city in Guanajuato state to be connected by telephone. As thanks for his interest, in 1897 the local citizens once again renamed their town, this time as Ciudad Porfirio Diaz. Now, former mining operations from this period litter the hillside landscape in various stages of decay. Of these, perhaps the one most interesting to visitors is the largest: the abandoned Angustias mine of the Cinco Señores company. Enter through a (usually) attended gate about 2 km. up the road from town. Then, passing counter-clockwise around the main compound at the head of the complex, you can see the ruins of the workers' chapel, the old mercury pools, and two crumbling arches that once provided housing for the massive stone-crushing machinery. Down from the machinery platform, a well-constructed pozo sits to the right. Stop and drop a rock in, then listen for the splash to get an idea how far down these wells descended - some reached depths of up to 180 meters. The well-worn path continues on behind the main compound, passing the ex-hacienda of the richest of the five Spanish owners. From there, the trail winds its way down to a large, open mine shaft which you can explore if you've got the courage and a good flashlight. Angustias and the other mines around the town continued to flourish during the Porfiriato, but as was the case with its namesake president, the Mexican Revolution of 1910 spelled the beginning of the end for Ciudad Porfirio Diaz. Mexican revolutionaries, needing financial resources to maintain their efforts, repeatedly raided the town for its silver. In the process, they scared away the North American and European owners of the mines who took their modern equipment and technical expertise with them. When the revolution ended, the town once again had a new name: Pozos de Mineral. Bereft of modern extraction and crushing machinery, local miners reverted to antiquated methods in an effort to keep the mines working. But economic and geological forces were working against them; the world silver market was in a state of decline and the mineral veins below Pozos were reaching exhaustion. The mines struggled along, but when workers broke into an underground river in 1926 and flooded the tunnels, Pozos was finished as a mining center. With little else in the city to support them, workers and their families fled and Pozos became a ghost town. Today, many features of Pozos' ghost town period remain for visitors to admire. There's the half-finished Iglesia del Señor de los Trabajadores, a mine worker project abandoned during the turmoil of the Revolution years that hulks over the town from a hilltop east of the jardín central. And scattered about the town there are the ruins of the school, the town bullring and the old train station that serve as reminders of Pozos' boom town past. But Pozos is a ghost town no longer. After bottoming out with population figures under 200 during the 1950's and 60's, the town has experienced a rebirth in recent years and now boasts a citizenry of 2,300 and growing. Mexican farmers and ranchers as well as people working in San Luis de la Paz have returned and Pozos and the town fairly buzzes with schoolchildren and commerce. In addition, artists - many of them foreigners - have turned Pozos into an upcoming arts center. Now, colorfully restored homes and galleries alternate with abandoned buildings along Pozos' streets. Local craftsmen carve out a living making and selling pre-Hispanic musical instruments in shops and booths around the Plaza Zaragosa, and the town and its environs have become a popular location for movie sets. Pozos and its environs have been featured in such recent Hollywood productions as "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" and "Starring Pancho Villa as Himself," and local rumor has it being considered for use in the upcoming "Zorro 2" film with Sir Anthony Hopkins. From colonial outpost to boom city to ghost town, Pozos de Mineral has had a fascinatingly varied history. And with its recent rebirth as an arts center and viable family community, it's now a place that has as much to promise for the future as it has to say about the past. By Jonathan Clark - reporter for EL UNIVERSAL/The Herald english daily publication Return to top |
