C

hihuahua, City and State

 

April 26-28, 2003








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We made two visits to Chihuahua State, but only one to Chihuahua City. In April our visit took us to Chihuahua city first, then Hidalgo del Parral, and finally to the two Indian sites, Cuarenta Casas and Paquime. Late August brought us back to the state, this time to visit Creel, the gateway to Copper Canyon, and Guachochi, gateway to Sinforosa Canyon, the mining town of Guadalupe y Calvo, and a second visit to Parral.


The highlight of our visit to Chihuahua City was no doubt the Quinta Gameros museum. Once a private house built by a rich resident of the city, it is now a museum of art and architecture. the building itself is ornate, almost baroque, but inside the rooms are pure art-deco. The ground floor has four rooms that are furnished just as they were when the house was built and they are nothing short of stunning. There is a living room that we think puts Whistler's peacock room to shame, a dining room, a bedroom and a bathroom.

We also visited the Pancho Villa museum. Our first introduction to the legend of this most legendary of Mexican figures we learned lots. General Francisco "Pancho" Villa was a bandit, with the reputation of a Robin Hood, who offered his services and those of his band of outlaws to the Mexican revolutionary movement and became a successful military leader and ultimately a General. His story does not end happily, however. After the war he fell out with his revolutionary allies and was exiled for a while. In the end he negotiated a run-down hacienda (Hacienda Canutillo) for himself, his men, and their families which they fixed up and lived happily on until an assassin's bullet found Villa one day in Hidalgo del Parral.




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November 8, 2003