About the Hacienda Molino de Guadalupe

Hacienda Molino de Guadalupe

This is Roger here. I have another set of photos to post to Picasa (click here), but I felt I needed to research the subject first. It took a while, but I finished this explanation and I hope some of you find it of interest.

Hacienda Molino de Guadalupe is the ruin we visited our third day in Tlahuapan. I found a reference to it on the Internet, in Spanish, but if you Google the name you can get a rough translation.

I surmise the property was farmland until the 1870s. The source does not say much about the earlier activity, other than a flour mill operated there (molino is Spanish for mill). The hacienda was purchased by Marcelino G. Presno in 1888 – the “MGP” visible on the highest tower at the administrative complex. Apparently he used his influence to have a rail spur built into the area. He also must have cut a deal with with the brothers Juan and Manuel Garcia, who built a spinning and weaving factory, "San Felix," in 1898. This facility had 5,056 spindles and 154 looms. Another factory was built in 1899, "La Asturiana," and a third was built later, "San Juan," bringing the total to 12,748 spindles and 424 looms.

La Hacienda Molino de Guadalupe was one of the largest and most important in the region, incorporating an area of over 13,000 hectares, about 50 square miles. Besides textile mills, it also had a faïence and porcelain factory, and a sawmill which provided a lumber and furniture factory in the city of Puebla.

The hacienda system developed in the colonial era. At first, the conquistadores were granted the "encomienda," the right to tribute labor from the Indians. In practice, this became a form of slavery. As the Indian population rapidly declined, the elite were given large landgrants to replace the value of tribute labor. They concentrated the surviving population onto them, making the newly landless Indians peones. The Indian way of life became debt peonage.

A hacienda's operation had some similarities to Appalachian coal company towns, but without the restraint our liberal tradition provided us. While the powerful in our culture were restrained by the Enlightenment values of the Founding Fathers, the powerful in Hispanic culture were only restrained by their individual distaste for cruelty and their respect for the Church.

Like company towns here, the workers owned little of their own. Coal towns had script, the haciendas had a credit system. Company stores were run by mining management, hacienda stores were run by hacienda owners, and both charged inflated prices. While miners "owed their soul" to the company store, the peons were effectively slaves. Like slaves, enforcement was by beatings. The debts of peons were passed onto their children, and to any buyers of the land. Escape in either system was difficult, especially for a family, since transportation was relatively undeveloped both in the Appalachians and Mexico. Even if the Mexican peon could get away, there was hardly any place to go. The haciendas occupied much of the available land in rural areas, and the owners cooperated in returning escapees.

In 1900 the General Census of Mexico counted 1236 inhabitants at Hacienda Molino. The 1910 census saw a decrease to 986 souls. Possible causes of the decline are the beginning of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, and a general decline in business. La Hacienda Molino de Guadalupe was among the first of the the estates to disappear after President Venustiano Carranza took power from Diaz (more about Diaz, perhaps the archtypical corrupt Mexican politician, later). As the source says, "from the beginning [of] the Revolutionary Movement Hacienda Molino de Guadalupe was the hardest hit in the region [and] Presno abandon[ed] [his] property…. The Hacienda was destroyed, its hull used as barracks for the army of General Domingo Arenas, and much of their lands distributed among the peasants [who] founded Agricultural Colony 5," that is, a communal farm

Despite the unrest, the factory "San Felix" continued to operate until the thirties, and the military use of the facility ended in the 1940s.

To me, the importance of the ruins is its connection to perhaps the most transformative parts of Mexican history, the end of the post-colonial period and the beginning of modern Mexico. I'll just quote a couple of paragraphs from Wikipedia:

"During the Porfiriato (1876–1911) [the period of Diaz' presidency], Mexico underwent rapid but highly unequal growth. [...] Taking "order and progress" as its watchwords, the Porfirian dictatorship established political stability and at least an image of social peace and the rule of law. The apparent stability of the Porfiriato brought increased capital investment to finance national development and modernization. Rural banditry was suppressed, […] foreign investment in mining boomed; and communications and transportation facilities were modernized as the Mexican railroad system, now owned almost exclusively by foreign investors, expanded …."

"The technocratic economic advisors of the Porfirio Diaz dictatorship ... were quite satisfied with the advances that the Mexican economy made between 1876 and 1910. Under the surface, however, popular discontent was reaching the boiling point. The economic-political elite scarcely noticed the country's widespread dissatisfaction with the political stagnation of the Porfiriato, the increased demands for worker productivity during a time of stagnating or decreasing wages and deteriorating work conditions, the cruel repression of worker's unions by the police and army, and the highly unequal distribution of wealth. When a political opposition to the Porfirian dictatorship developed in 1910, it quickly gave way to a popular insurrection against the economic foundations of the country's entrenched inequality."

That insurrection was the bloody, 10-year Mexican Revolution. The hacienda is a bridge across the days before and after the Revolution. We were fortunate to visit it. 

 

There is a labeled aerial photo of the complex here.

Final Thoughts

Don't get us wrong, we could adjust if we lived in Mexico, but there are some things we found so different from life here.

Security

Many people expressed concern about our safety. Except when we were crossing the street and taxis were bearing down on us, we felt safe, for several reasons. First, we think the degree of risk people projected was overblown, especially in Mexico City and Puebla. Next, the guide books and state department give tips on how to stay safe and places to avoid, and that was very helpful.

Finally, we were with Omar, who really was our guardian. We could have stepped into a situation out of naiveté on our own, but he was always looking out for where we would be vulnerable and not even aware of it. In addition to being with Omar, the friendliness and helpfulness of the Mexican people in general surely inhibits violent criminal behavior. We were not accosted in any way, even on the crowded subway. On the other hand, as a tourist, you lack trust because you expect people to try to take advantage of you – Omar constantly was checking the bill at restaurants to make sure we were not overcharged. It's annoying, but there is a difference between a little scam and an blatant crime, between easy opportunity and risking a dangerous situation.

The security we saw in public places was a little unnerving at first. It reminded Roger of his time in the Philippines 40 years ago. There is political and social unrest in parts of Mexico, as in many Latin countries, and seeing such a strong armed presence was actually somewhat reassuring. There were private security guards, police, and military everywhere. Unlike the US, these guys were plainly visible, usually armed with automatic weapons – Uzis, shotguns, M-16s – and wearing bulletproof vests. They were posted at government buildings, museums, markets, street corners, police stations, anyplace that might be a target these days. All the stores had security guards, but Sears was the most striking- men in black business suits with earphones, obviously not sales clerks, were in abundance.

The poverty.

The obvious number of poor people everywhere is daunting – beggars, street vendors even in the middle of traffic trying to clean windshields or sell something, homeless people. Even though West Virginia is a poor state and we have seen some of the poverty here in our little affluent part of town, its not in our face in the quantity or on a daily basis like it is there, nor in the extreme we saw on a regular basis.

Some faces and scenes still haunt us. One is the concertina player in a Mexico City marketplace, his wife held out her hat for change, his two pre-school children followed, a rope tied to their wrists to keep them from being separated in the crowd. The tiny, wizened old woman squatting on a corner in Oaxaca who spotted us from twenty yards away, the only Anglos on the street, and holding up her hand for a coin. The little boy crawling across the floor of the subway car, looking for shoes to shine. The young children weaving around the tables of the nice sidewalk café we were eating at, selling gum and trinkets. That's life without a social safety net.

The crazy traffic

At first, the traffic patterns seemed chaotic to us, but there was a sort of order to the flow, we just aren't sure what the rules are. We met some Americans living there who drive in Mexico City, but I'm not sure I could do it. The lanes are uneven and not clearly marked, there are not many stop signs, people blow their horns to signal they are coming through. The number of cars is unbelievable. There are huge speed bumps to slow traffic, which are so high that small cars carrying a load sometimes drag. Still, we did not see an accident the entire three weeks we were there – but it is not likely we could survive in that traffic..

The weak infrastructure

Not being able to drink the tap water requires some adaptations, like rinsing with bottled water after brushing your teeth. The locals avoid tap water as well, leading to a large consumption of plastic bottles. It is something that bothers us on an ecological level. We keep thinking of the floating plastic island in the Pacific, getting bigger and bigger.

People can't flush their toilet paper, so the bathrooms have trash cans with lids-just another nicety we have that was missed, especially at first when the paper had to be retrieved. Ewww.

We are thankful on a whole new level now

The conveniences that we enjoy and take for granted, like a washer and dryer, dishwasher, clean water, etc. are not part of the lives of many Mexicans. We will not forget to pause and give thanks for all we have.

But more importantly, a Friend at Meeting once posed the question soon after we returned – Why am I one of the lucky people in the world? If you believe that we are all equal to God, it seems important to reflect on this, and then do what you can to help others with your resources.

Memorias de México-Memories of Mexico

We can't believe we've been home for a week, and still can't get Mexico out of our minds. Karen bought two Mexican cookbooks and we have enjoyed several delicious meals. Wish we could find a place to get some of the fresh ingredients, like napolito cactus and epazote, a fresh herb. Oh well, just have to make do.

We have been thinking about some of our general impressions and observations that might not have made it into the daily blog, and wanted to write about these to keep it for our memory book, and also to inform interested readers.

Let's start with the positive things, or reasons we would love to return to Mexico. First, is the people. They are very hospitable and courteous. While we were with Omar's brother, it was customary for every person to shake hands and share a verbal greeting each time you entered the house. Omar and all of his family made us feel like their home was ours, and went out of their way to be wonderful hosts. People on the streets, and even on the crowded subway were always courteous.

Next, is the food. The markets are full of wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables, that are extremely cheap. You shop daily for your food, and never get underripe fruit. How we miss the fresh mangoes already! The variety of peppers is amazing. The smell of food cooking on the streets makes your mouth water. And, the homemade ice cream vendors- Omar's son, Ivan, loves ice cream, so we made frequent ice cream stops. Roger liked the beer, Victoria and Indio are two of the Mexican beers he wishes would make it to the USA.

Of course, the scenery was amazing- volcanic mountains everywhere. Land that is too steep for farming is full of cactus “forests”, and shrub-like trees. Agricultural land is often terraced and every bit of arable land is utilized. The strip of grass between the corn fields and the highway was used for grazing small herds of sheep, goats, or an occasional cow, complete with a shepherd to watch them.

Although Mexico City is somewhat dirty and very overcrowded, many of the buildings, both old and new have architecture that is a treat. They seem to value design as an important part of the landscape. We hinted at the beauty of the buildings several places in the blog-it really is something to behold up close and personal. The way they use color is refreshing to the eye.

The public transportation system is enviable. Although the subway is crowded, it only cost 30 cents, for unlimited transfers. The bus system from city-to-city or village-to-village is fantastic, with 3 levels of service to choose from. And, you can always hail a taxi, which is relatively cheap, at least for tourists. We wish some of our tax dollars could be used to develop such an efficient public transportation system.

Although Mexico City is a bustling metropolis, there is still a laid-back attitude about time. Punctuality is not particularly important. During Meeting for Worship at the Casa, people wandered in all during the hour. A set time for something is not an absolute, so once you get used to this way of thinking, (which was not easy for us), it is something to enjoy. Meals are to be savored, not rushed. If your plan doesn't happen today, it can happen tomorrow. It's important to savor the moments as they unfold.

More observations tomorrow.

Your turistas again someday in Mexico,

Karen and Roger

Una tarde en el Zócalo- An Afternoon on the Zocalo

We can't believe our last day has ended. We stayed at the Casa de los Amigos again last night, and it was difficult. Our room was next to the men's restroom, and it was like being in a college dorm. The Casa is involved in a program to asssist immigrants from all over the world, and it seemed that most of them were young African men. We decided that hostel living is not for us on an extended basis.

We attended Meeting for worship this morning, and it was a very moving experience, to share a common religious meeting with people from many different places. We met Ricardo and his wife again, and several other interesting people. A young Mexican man enjoyed praecticing his Engish with us. After Meeting, we decided to check into a hotel across the street, so we could have a more restful nights sleeep and our own bathroom. It is very basic, but clean, and cheap.

After checking in, we decided to go to the zocalo and see the National Palace, since we did not do that the first week we were here. We grabbed a taxi, and got our first taste of being ripped off without Omar. Omar kept telling us to trust no one, and he was right. The driver said the fare would be 70 pesos (about$7.00) to go 12 blocks, and when we got there, claimed he didn't have change for 100 pesos. Oh, well, not much we could do.

When we got to the zocalo, we couldn't believe the scene. It's like everybody goes there for Sunday afternoon entertainment. Vendors shouting out their wares lined several blocks. We held hands as we walked so we wouldn't lose each other in the bustling crowd. There were dancers in native costume -a very colorful sight. Finally, we wound our way to the Palace. It's a cross between the White House and Versaille. There are huge, inticate, and deeply symbolic murals by Diego Rivera that portray the history of Mexico. He was an amazilng artistic genius.

The musem inside is a maze of art work, relics, and explanations of the major historical events and people of Mexican history. After the museum section of the Palace, you pass the Hall of Presidents, with large portraits of all the Presidents. Then, there is room after room of grand halls with exceptionally elegant tapestries, chandeliers, parquette floors, etc. These rooms may still be used for official state occasions. We felt like we were in Versaille (or how we imagine it since we have never been there). When we exited, we were happy that we did not miss this before we left.

Beside the Palace is the old Cathedral, and we walked through it. Remember, many of the zocalos here have grand churches on them. Again, we were impressed with the ornate interior, but a little saddened that so much wealth in this country did not trickle down to the masses. As we strolled the streets, it was hard to see so many beggars - entire families, handicapped people, old people. We are blessed to live in a country that has a social safety net for its citizens. Here there are no unemployment or social security benefits here, few retirement plans, and little if any help for poor families . It makes me grateful for the people in our country who worked to make sure these conditions do not exist to the extent they do in Mexico.

After a 3-course lunch, we decided to walk back to the hotel, down one of the nicer streets, across Alemeda Park, and along Paseo del Insurgentes. We managed to make it back just before the afternoon rain. All in all, it was a very nice way to spend Karen's 60^th birthday. So, unless we get mugged in the airport tomorrow, we survived 3 weeks in Mexico unscathed.

We have decided to make our last blog after we return home, and offer our final thoughts, lessons learned, and impressions of our fantastic adventure here.

Your sad-to-leave turistas in Mexico,

Karen and Roger

Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan

Fanged jaguar ( left) and Roger (right)

Friday was s special day for Roger. Teotihuacan was one of the largest cities ever built in prehistory, and we got to visit its ruins.

With a population of between 150,000 and 250,000 souls, to one degree or another, the city influenced other cultures for hundreds of years. It was founded c. 150 BC, and grew to its high point c. 450 AD, and finally collapsed sometime in the 7^th or 8^th centuries. You can get some details at the Wikipedia article for the site < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teotihuacan >.

One of the real pleasures of this trip is that we have taken Omar and his family to places they have never been before. The Castillo de Chapultepec, one of the most treasured historic places in Mexico, and the Anthropological Museum are examples in Mexico City. They had not been to Oaxaca before, and we visited the boyhood home of Benito Juarez, a man who rose from penniless orphan to become perhaps Mexico's greatest reformist president in the mid-19^th century, and a Zapotec - the first Indian to serve as president.

So it was with Teotihuacan, Omar and his son had never been there, and Karina had not climbed the pyramids. What the hell, we even paid the taxi-driver's way in – he was the son of a friend of Omar's. Since we hired him to drive us there and wait for us, we had to pay his way in so he could park in the shade. He said he did go in the park, but it's hard to say how much he wandered around.

Teotihuacan is enormous. The so-called Avenue of the Dead, where most of the structures have been restored, is 2 kilometers long, meaning a round trip of 2.5 miles in a straight line – and we did not make a straight line. There is a small museum that is comparable in quality to the artifact collections in the National Museum. We passed by and climbed into and over temple platforms and residences in what seemed an unending stream, before we finally came to the pyramids.

Even from the far end of the archaeological zone, the Pyramid of the Sun fills you with Awe and Dread. It is enormous, just enormous. Karen looked at it and began to have doubts about an ascent. Roger, with his terrible dread of heights, shared her thoughts. But we said, we'll try for the first level and see how it goes.

Pyramid of the Sun, from the bottom. Those dots at the top are people.

Luckily, most of the steps are on about a 45 degree slope. Unluckily, these steps are somewhat taller than what we usually climb, so it was a slog. They have a handrail for the descent, and some of the ascent, covered wire ropes strung on strong posts. We stopped at each level, and often sat on the steps in-between levels to catch our breath – remember, we're at 7,500 feet above sea level and still not adapted to the altiplano.

If one stays away from the edge and does not contemplate the height at which one is standing, the fear of heights subsides. After 4 levels, we climbed the last set of steps and reached the top, another terrace topped by a low mound of stone. Roger pulled out a cigar and lit up, burning tobacco as the ancients did. For him it was fulfillment of a promise to himself from 40 years ago, when he saw a photo of the site for the first time. Another moment in Mexico.

Pyramid of the Moon

Flush with their triumph, Ivan and Karina declared on the spot that they were going to climb the Pyramid of the Moon. Roger liked the idea of a two-for-one, Karen and Omar blanched at the idea. As it turns out, they only let you halfway up the other pyramid. As it also turns out, the steps are narrow and the slope is steep. Karen used the steps in front of her for handholds as she crept the entire way up the face. The rest stops, while frequent, were brief, since everyone climbed next to the handrail and you had to move away from it to let others pass. Neither of us sat for long, looking down at certain death. But, it was worth it. The view was stupendous, all the restored ruins of Teotihuacan were laid out in front of you.

View from the first level of the Pyramid of the Moon

We toured the site for five hours and still missed some of the highlights. Our legs wore down to a nub. Rehydration took a while. But, we ate like kings afterward (our driver too) and slept like babies.

Tlaloc, God of Rain

Your dreaming-of-feathered-serpents-and-jaguars-and Tlaloc touristas in Mexico,

Roger and Karen

Panels on the platform of the Temple of Quetzelcoatl - Serpent, Tlaloc, Jaguar, Tlaloc, from left to right

Same, from the side - the serpents stand out better

Typical ruins, with original red stucco preserved

Two construction layers, with serpent head

View straight down from 1st level, Pyramid of the Sun

Ceramic vessel

Figurine with beautiful headdress

Preserved mural of puma, paint on stucco

Less restored ruin

Unrestored ruin near the Pyramid of the Moon

Fanged Jaguar at the Temple of the Jaguar

Typical ruin

The long-awaited cigar

Karina and Ivan on the Pyramid of the Moon

Nada está Escrito en Piedra-Nothing is Set in Stone

Today was one of those days in which we found ourselves a little frustrated with operating on Mexican time.  We were up early, ready for a day at the pyramids, but, interferences, including a leisurely breakfast, continued hot water problems,  housecleaning, and a slow-moving teenager put our departure after noon, and we did not feel that we would have enough time to see the pyramids.  So, we opted to go downtown and take in a few museums.  Karina was out celebrating her birthday with friends, and so Omar and Ivan accompanied us.  We are getting the feeling that all this tourist stuff is getting old with them, but Omar informed us that he has never seen the pyramids, so they may go with us tomorrow.  We hope to convince him that we would like to stay at a hotel for a few nights before we leave, and perhaps attend the Quaker Meeting for Worship on Sunday morning. But, as we have found out numerous times on this trip, don't set your plans in stone.

Dreaming of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park

While we were downtown we went to two museums- the first was a small museum with a large, very impressive mural by Diego Rivera, and several other nice paintings.  We then headed to the Museo del Palacio de Artes Bellas (Palace Museum of Fine Arts), an absolutely beautiful building with an fine art collection. There was a variety of art in the gallery, some beautiful, and some terrifyingly brutal and graphic.  Mexican art definitely reflects their bloody history,  the struggles of ordinary people, and the creative genius of their artists.  We enjoyed the museums immensely, Omar tagged along, and Ivan seemed to like it- he is an aspiring artist himself. 

We stopped at a nice looking restaurant for lunch, which took a long time, due to the slow service (again, there's that Mexican sense of time-no urgency) which cut short our plans to see more murals by Rivera.  It was rush hour, raining, and hailing a taxi was not easy.  Finally, after changing corners several times, we got a taxi, and when we got near Omar's neighborhood, the taxi driver wouldn't take us up the hill to Omar's house, so we caught a local taxi ( a person with a Volkswagen bug  who gives local  rides in his car) to the top of the hill.  As usual, the afternoon rains had set in, and the long trek up the stairs to Omar's house left us wanting a nap.  Roger and Omar zonked out almost immediately, while Karen worked on the blog.  Today was another lesson in not making definite plans, just go with the flow and let things happen at a slow pace, and try not to get frustrated.

Your laid-back (or trying to learn to be) turistas in Mexico,
Karen and Roger






 

Crisis energética -Energy crisis

Everyone chilled yesterday, except Omar. We have been busy every day, but yesterday (Wednesday) we took time to settle back in Mexico City. Did laundry and piddled around, mostly.

Omar cannot sit still, however, so he organized a housecleaning, we did our laundry, and otherwise piddled around. He cooked two great meals, and after a while we discovered the hot water was not working. Omar ran out and got a repairman to work on the instantaneous hot water heater that feeds his apartment, but it later turned out he had created another problem with steam in the lines. Hopefully, the man will return today to undo what he did and we can get on with a visit to Teotihuacan and the Pyramid of the Sun.

We'll attach a video of the view of Mexico City from Omar's balcony, where they do their laundry.

Tour turistas in Mexico,
Karen and Roger