Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
When I first visited Zacatecas twenty years ago, I came for the annual festival celebrating
the “Battle between the Moors and the Christians.” It's a 400-year-old tradition that lasts
for a week, and thousands participate. It's pure medieval pageantry: King Charlemagne
and Turks, ladies-in-waiting, clashing armies, drums and cannon fire, marches and faux
battles. Michelin likely would give it “Worth the Journey” rating. In 1992 speaking Span-
ish was, if not a must, very helpful. Today, the hotel bellboy is likely to speak better Eng-
lish than the hotel owner. In remote villages, someone is likely to have worked in El Norte
and now speaks English.
I took morning photos while the traffic was light and quickly discovered that my second
memory card was full. My gut wrenched when the best photo shop in town couldn't trans-
fer the contents of my billion-mega-byte-Fuji card to a CD. No studio in Zacatecas could,
but Sanborn's sold me a 256-mega-byte card for $85. I paid $70 for the billion-mega-byte
model.
The Toma de Zacatecas (Taking of Zacatecas) refers to the battlefield success of the Di-
vision del Norte led by Pancho Villa, but today I felt taken … taken by the beauty of the
city. Pancho's statute was atop La Bufa, the backdrop of Zacatecas, a colorado-red mono-
lith rising above the city, looking like the petrified humpback of some gigantic Jurassic
stegosaurus that had yet to be excavated. From La Bufa there was a
teleferico
(overhead
cable car) that rode above the city for an eagle's view and took you to La Mina Eden, the
source of mining millions and the best mining tour I've ever taken.
The Teatro was a 19
th
-century opera house with tiered galleries and stained glass win-
dows. Every Thursday the Municipal Band played on the steps in front of the Teatro. The
program ended with “La Marcha de Zacatecas.” The orchestra and the public stood. Chil-
dren, the youngest members of the band, were invited one-by-one to take the conductor's
baton and lead the band in playing their city's patriotic song.
I sat with the crowd on the Teatro steps, my knees hunched up. A discarded candy wrapper
floated past, landed in front of the band and danced, moved by invisible currents of wind
while I listened to the variety program. The orchestra played a Spanish Paso Doble, La
Bamba, Tequila, Solamente Una Vez and of course, La Marcha de Zacatecas. I had arrived.
Expenses: Hotel Condesa $34, meals $10, buses $41, taxi $3. Total: $88.
