Today I went to the Casa de Moneda, which was, to my disappointment, under renovation and inaccessible. After drying my tears, I stumbled upon an abstract art museum of Manuel Felguerez. Abstract art is not necessarily my favorite, so it was experienced with feigned interest.
I eventually made it to the statue of the Zacatecas miners.
It is a nice, respectful, and simply tribute to the workers. Apart from that, it doesn’t address any other issue. No pejorative language to Spain or the gachupines. Nothing. After that, I learned that the archives were also closed. But now I know exactly where they are in ZAC.
I was able to take a lot of footage today on the camera. I am slowly getting over my photographic shyness, partly because I feel very safe here. I took a lot of footage of a concert, a large market, a wedding, street performers, etc. But my activity was limited due to the rain.
I’m somewhat disappointed that the Casa de Moneda was closed.
Similarly, considering the importance of ZAC during the colonial period - because of its silver production - I’m disappointed with the way in which the city deals with its history. Perhaps my expectations were high. But, let me explore more in order to make a better assessment.
It is oft said that ZAC has an “old world” or “colonial” feel. Unfortunately, it cannot escape the touch of globalization. Best Western Hotels and Starbucks abound. That’s the nature of the beast I suppose.
On my way to the small Museo de la Toma de Zacatecas, which commemorates a battle on the hill, I saw a street vendor kiss his money while doing the Catholic “sign of the cross” with his right hand. Curious to see it again, I bought a 10 peso bag of cookies. Sure enough, the man repeated the gesture and said “gracias a dios por el dinero.”
There is a small collection of banknotes and coins at the museo atop el Cerro de la Bufa.
It seems, at first glance, that Zacatecanos have a janus-like relationship with their silver-mining history. There are, to draw a metaphor, two sides to this coin. One face looks to the future by exploiting an insignificant amount of its silver production history for economic prosperity (silver jewelry fairs, mine tours, etc). The other face looks to the past, but perhaps with its eyes cast down in historical defiance or ambivalence (there is not much else regarding this part of its history except for silver jewelry fairs, mine tours, and a few statues. In other words, I was shocked to see that there is not much more here than this). Perhaps with the renovation of the Casa de Moneda, a new era in the way ZAC treats its history will develop. But we will leave that for posterity to judge.
I cant hold steadfast to my observations, as I have only been here for 4 days. But considering how much this town prospered with its silver mines (which, according to Spanish law, all silver had to be minted into coinage) in the 250-or-so years prior to the struggle for Mexican independence, it is curious to see only a handful of minor (pun: miner) references to this period like the statue, the various colonial buildings, a mine tour, etc.
It is clear this place prospered in history, as it is beautiful. And it is clear it is prospering now. But I wish this history was embraced a bit more.
Tomorrow, Guanajuato.
I eventually made it to the statue of the Zacatecas miners.
It is a nice, respectful, and simply tribute to the workers. Apart from that, it doesn’t address any other issue. No pejorative language to Spain or the gachupines. Nothing. After that, I learned that the archives were also closed. But now I know exactly where they are in ZAC. I was able to take a lot of footage today on the camera. I am slowly getting over my photographic shyness, partly because I feel very safe here. I took a lot of footage of a concert, a large market, a wedding, street performers, etc. But my activity was limited due to the rain.
I’m somewhat disappointed that the Casa de Moneda was closed.
Similarly, considering the importance of ZAC during the colonial period - because of its silver production - I’m disappointed with the way in which the city deals with its history. Perhaps my expectations were high. But, let me explore more in order to make a better assessment. It is oft said that ZAC has an “old world” or “colonial” feel. Unfortunately, it cannot escape the touch of globalization. Best Western Hotels and Starbucks abound. That’s the nature of the beast I suppose.
On my way to the small Museo de la Toma de Zacatecas, which commemorates a battle on the hill, I saw a street vendor kiss his money while doing the Catholic “sign of the cross” with his right hand. Curious to see it again, I bought a 10 peso bag of cookies. Sure enough, the man repeated the gesture and said “gracias a dios por el dinero.”
There is a small collection of banknotes and coins at the museo atop el Cerro de la Bufa.
It seems, at first glance, that Zacatecanos have a janus-like relationship with their silver-mining history. There are, to draw a metaphor, two sides to this coin. One face looks to the future by exploiting an insignificant amount of its silver production history for economic prosperity (silver jewelry fairs, mine tours, etc). The other face looks to the past, but perhaps with its eyes cast down in historical defiance or ambivalence (there is not much else regarding this part of its history except for silver jewelry fairs, mine tours, and a few statues. In other words, I was shocked to see that there is not much more here than this). Perhaps with the renovation of the Casa de Moneda, a new era in the way ZAC treats its history will develop. But we will leave that for posterity to judge.
I cant hold steadfast to my observations, as I have only been here for 4 days. But considering how much this town prospered with its silver mines (which, according to Spanish law, all silver had to be minted into coinage) in the 250-or-so years prior to the struggle for Mexican independence, it is curious to see only a handful of minor (pun: miner) references to this period like the statue, the various colonial buildings, a mine tour, etc.
It is clear this place prospered in history, as it is beautiful. And it is clear it is prospering now. But I wish this history was embraced a bit more.
Tomorrow, Guanajuato.
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