Hola!Today was spent touring Chihuahua, lunch in town, and then returning for dinner and a folk lore show this evening.
After loading up at 9:00AM our first stop this morning was at Quinta Luz, Pancho Villa's home in Chihuahua, now a state museum. Villa was a major figure in the Mexican Revolutionary War who started as a bandit in the mountains of Western Chihuahua State. He also found time for 25 wives and 28 children during his 45 years! The museum is managed by the Mexican Army and includes artifacts including the Dodge Touring Sedan he was assassinated in.
Across the street from Quinta Luz we were fascinated by the pottery demonstration provided by a husband/wife team who showed how they create fine replicas of ancient Indian art dating back 400 years. The hours required to make a vase like the one below is 4 hours for molding plus 6-8 hours of hand painting, and after all that work half of the pieces crack while being baked!
Quinta Gameros was built by a 60 year old suitor of 20 year old Rosa who, after it was built, said "No way, Jose!" A side note: the Chihuahua dog breeds were not started here but were imported Chinese breeds from the US who locals thought looked like local prairie dogs named Chihuahuas, hence the name. Chihuahua breeding farms are located here and it is a city landmark as you can see.
Then it was on to the Governor's Palace to learn more of northern Mexico history including the 300 years of Spanish domination and the Mexican War of Independence. Father Miguel Hildalgo, father of Mexican Independence was executed here when he came north to expand the uprising.
A 6 block stroll down Liberty Street's shops brought us to Plaza de Armas and Chihuahua's Central Cathedral. As you can see the church is massive and the plaza very beautiful. It was also very apparent today how clean the entire city is maintained. Central Chihuahua is very much a modern, vibrant city.
After lunch in a nearby Quinta (Large Home) converted to an eatery we returned to the RV Park for Siesta time.This evening was billed as our Welcome to Mexico Dinner and Folkloric Show and we had a great time. The margaritas were cold and delicious, the dinner OK, and a group of University students entertained us with folk dances from all over Mexico. The end to a great day in Northern Mexico!
Tomorrow it is on to Cuauhtemoc and a visit to it's Mennonite Community.
