pozos. a once great mining town. here is the history from their web site:
A SHORT HISTORY OF MINERAL DE POZOS
Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the region was populated by nomadic tribes such as the Pames, Jonas and others collectively know as the Chichimeca. Their ancestors still live in the area to this day.
In the middle of the Sixteenth Century, after the discovery of silver in Zacatecas, a leg of the Camino Real passed through the valley below and to the north through the present day city of San Luis de la Paz. To protect the wagon trains moving north and south, the army established an outpost called Palmar de Vega, the first settlement of Pozos.
At around the same time, Jesuits arrived in San Luis to evangelize the local population. Legend has it that they brought the priests silver that they mined near the military outpost in an area know today as Santa Brígida (Saint Brigit in English). The mineral wealth was at the surface and the indigenous inhabitants had a very simple operation to extract it. The Jesuits began to mine the area using existing European techniques and continued to do so until 1767 when they were expelled from all the Spanish Realm.
Mining ceased until 1844 when the modern era of mining begins in Pozos with limited mercury extractions. By this time , the area is know as San Pedro de los Pozos. In 1871, what remained of the Jesuit mining operation was acquired by Francisco Torres and JM Cobos. Two years later The Parkman family of the England acquired title to the property.
With discoveries of lodes just to the west of town, Pozos begins to grow in importance as a mining district towards the end of the Nineteenth Century. Within a few years Pozos enters a boom period and, in honor of then President of Mexico, Porfirio Diaz, who was also one of the town's most important promoters, the town was elevated to the status of municipality and renamed Cuidad Porfirio Diaz. By 1895, there were 500 mining concerns, 306 operating mines and 70,000 to 80,000 residents. The Mexican stock exchange, the Bolsa de Valor, is founded to promote shares in Pozos mines beginning with Cinco Señores.
1910 marked the beginning of the Mexican Revolution and the beginning of the end for Pozos. The cessation of mining operations during the fighting and the subsequent flooding of the mines combined with a dramatic fall in the world price of silver to cause the mines to begin to close. Finally, with the advent of the Cristeros War in 1926, the last mine, the Angustias-Dolores, closed a year later in 1927.
By the 1950s, there were perhaps only 200 or less people living in Pozos.
In 1982, then Mexican President Jose Lopez-Portillo decreed Pozos a National Historic Monumental Zone recognizing Pozos's importance historically.
Today, according to the most recent census, the population has grown to 2,223 mostly farmers and herders or people who commute to nearby towns and factories. However, many US expatriates and others have begun to establish Pozos as a center for art.
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Now this story differs from the one we were told. Rather than the revolution ending the mining, we were told it was because of flooding because workers flooded the mines...as a result of an explosion between warring mining families. I haven't found any evidence to support this warring family thing, but it does seem that the mines did flood when an underground river was struck, thereby ending the little bit of mining that was left after the silver prices declined.
We were also told this was an outpost for banditos and other criminals during the time after the mass exodus. Again, I can find no evidence to support this, though it seems feasible. After all, what tourist industry would want to advertise that the residents of the town are all descendents of criminals?
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Having said all of this, I can only say I love Pozos. I love its decaying sleepiness. The quiet lack of commerce. The abandoned ruins. The crumbling paint. The feeling of something forgotten and magical. The light. It's a beautiful, strange, and wonderful place. I can imagine myself doing work there. It's a place with no distractions. If I were to ever get a PhD (which I won't), this is where I'd go. Anyway, besides the ruins and the light and a lovely lunch, we were treated to a performance by a group who plays pre-colombian traditional music with hand-made instruments. it was amazing! what lovely people and what great music! it was a major highlight of the trip. it was inspiring to hear this music survive through so much turmoil and adapt to our current culture and still communicate so powerfully, so lovingly. it made me again think about the people who who are trying to end their culture by not sharing their languages. what if this group didn't make this music for us? it is true that we are tourists...outsiders. is it cheapening what they make? is our commercialism distancing them from the real purpose of their music? are we tainting them? can we truly understand all of the levels of meaning in these pieces? these are tough questions to consider. but without placing judgement on those who have chosen not to pass down language, i must say i am so grateful that this group was willing to share with us. they taught me much about culture, and have given me a great appreciation and a desire to gain more knowledge. and on a personal level, i walk away moved and with a great love of their work and the place.
As Candice said, Pozos rocks. And she knew I'd like it.
But how can you be an artist and not?
