Mexican State Capitals Queretaro, Queretaro
The conspirators planned Mexico with a card game.
Date Visited: 10/11/2019
The oldest known history for Queretaro goes back to the third century when the tribal group called the Otomi established themselves in the valley that is today known as Queretaro. In about the 13th century the Aztecs came in and took over the area. The Aztecs were brutal and required the Otomi to regularly give tribute, which not consisted of just goods but also people so that they could be sacrificed in Tenochtitlan(Mexico City). When the Spanish came in 1521, the Otomi were very happy to help the Spanish, and they did. The Otomi quickly became converted to to the Catholic religion and Santiago de Queretaro became a hub of agriculture and mineral wealth to the Spanish empire.
The Spanish brought a lot of progress to the area. People like Father Juniper Serra came in and built five churches before he went on to California. A man named Senor Marques built a giant aqueduct system that brought in fresh water to the city center. It went well for several centuries but the locals once again found themselves building things only to have to once again pay tribute to Mexico City.
Mexico independence is rooted in French revolutionary ideas.
The people of Queretaro could consider themselves to be Francophiles in that Mexico has always has had this think were they admire all things from France. The local business were known to hang around and talk a lot about the French Revolution. It was during a card game in 1810 that a group of conspirators got together and formed the idea of Mexico as an independent nation. Unfortunately, old Spanish haciendas are really drafty and there were lots of people listening in on that card game and soon all the conspirators were arrested by Spain, but the idea lived.
Today Queretaro is a travel hub and is rapidly turning into manufacturing town. One thing about this that is fun is that there are a lot of Comida Corrida places. A Comida Corrida place is a homemade meal designed for a working person. The particular place I went was a two part menu that was for $65 MXN (about $3.50 USD). For the first course you could pick soup, rice or pasta. I chose pasta. For the second course you get one of six options. I picked beef in salsa for my next course that came with rice, beans, tortillas, and a big jar of tamarindo juice.
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The story of the Zacatecana is very creepy and a bit gory.
The city is very clean.
Queretaro is a UNESCO world heritage site.
Primera Plus luxury bus.
Seats in Mexico luxury buses fully recline.
Lost of industry going into Queretaro.
The bus station in Queretaro is big and very modern.
The aqueduct allowed Queretaro to grow to what it is today.
Loved this house with all these colorful pots.
Old Spanish churches are everywhere.
El Senor Marques who brought water to the city via aqueducts.
Government Palace.
The streets of Queretaro are very twisty.
Mexico independence is rooted in French revolutionary ideas.
The original Mexico conspirators.
An early painting that shows each cactus leaf as a state of Mexico.
Queretaro is very green and very clean.
A map of the history of the world according to 1850.
This was a different version of Nebuchadnezzar I had not thought of before, kind of paints the statue as more weak.
Inside the Zacatecana house you can see what life was like in the 1800s.
The story of the Zacatecana is a very creepy story.
Monument to Spanish knights.
Junipero Serra established 5 churches in Queretaro before going to California.
Santa Cruz alter.
The Santa Cruz church is known as the “cupola”(dome) church because it has so many.
Comida Corrida are quick working man restaurants.
The menu at El Tocino is very simple.
Course 1 was pasta.
Course two was beef, beans, and rice.
These people were waiting for tacos de canasta. (fried tacos made in a basket)
Queretaro is recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Mexico City airport is a hub to almost all of Mexico.
I love how clean it is. Did you see many tourists from the US there?
Not a lot of tourists, but I did see a few.