Once upon a time…

Who would have imagined San Miguel de Allende to be of such archeological significance. Its ruins demonstrate that not only did the opportunistic Spaniards favor this area for colonization, but our distant Mesoamerican countrymen also agreed it was a lovely place to inhabit. When one hears that they are discovering ruins here and there, left and right, one imagines a civilization of Teotihuacánic proportions, while in reality, what they have found is a religious center of tremendous significance.

The book Archeological Sites of Guanajuato, a product of the ongoing archeological investigation, was presented in the Angela Peralta Theater in San Miguel de Allende, home of one of the most important sites in the region, la Cañada de la Virgen. On hand for the presentation was Dr. Juan Alcocer Flores, the Director of the Institute of Culture for the State of Guanajuato (IEC); Guillermina Gutiérrez, the Director of the Guanajuato branch of the National Institute for Archeology and History (INAH); San Miguel City Councilmen Javier Arteaga, in representation of the Mayor of San Miguel, Jésus Correa; Sarah Hoch, the director of the Expresión en Corto International Film Festival; and Verónica Agundis, the director of Education and Culture for San Miguel de Allende, among others.

Dr. Alcocer Flores compared his visits to la Cañada de la Virgen to the travels of the wandering gypsy acrobat Melquíades a Macondo, in the Gabriel García Márquez novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. Naturally all felt privileged to count with the presence of Gabriela Zepeda, the archeologist in charge of this particular site.

Dr. Alcocer mentioned that the works realized by the IEC, in terms of material used for the restoration and maintenance of the sites, look to build a sense of inclusiveness, because the restorations would be futile if no one cared about the buildings. He extolled the model employed by the IEC of shadowing INAH’s development of nearby communities, whose common goal is to incorporate the inhabitants into the project while stimulating the local economy.

Javier Arteaga, representative for Mayor Jesús Correa, added that there is still much work left to be done in this area, and that it will require the efforts of all three levels of government to give the utmost sustainability to the project.
Archeologist Gabriela Zepeda surmised that the eleven years of exploring and uncovering la Cañada de la Virgen were just now bearing fruit during the presentation of this book, a product of the work of the three levels of government and the efforts of various anthropologists and archeologists who have worked on the project over the years.

The presentation of the book, Archeological Sites of Guanajuato, will tour through the State’s Central Library in León, as well as have presentations in the cities of Abasolo, Pénjamo, Ocampo and Guanajuato, where the places and dates have yet to be determined.