Mineral del Monte

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Mineral del Monte
Real del Monte
Municipality and town
Mineral del Monte
Mineral del Monte
Location in Mexico
Coordinates: 20°08′N 98°40′W / 20.133°N 98.667°W / 20.133; -98.667
Country  Mexico
State Hidalgo
Municipal seat Mineral del Monte
Area
 • Total 77.1 km2 (29.8 sq mi)
Elevation 2,700 m (8,900 ft)
Population (2005)
 • Total 11,944

Mineral del Monte, commonly called Real del Monte or El Real, is a small mining town, and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in the State of Hidalgo of east-central Mexico.

It is located at an altitude of 2,700 metres (8,900 ft). As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 11,944.[1]

History

The Mine District of Pachuca—Real del Monte has a long and rich heritage. The mines in the district are conservatively estimated to have produced 1.2 billion Troy ounces of silver and 6.2 million ounces of gold. That is 6% of the silver mined throughout the world during the last five centuries. Some of the mines continue limited production in the present day.

Gold and silver were discovered after the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the 1520s. The Colonial Spanish began mining in the late 16th century. The mines were later abandoned. but reopened in the late 1730s under Pedro Romero de Terreros. The native Mexican Indians were often enslaved to work the mines, despite the Royal mandate for Colonial Jesuit Reductions and later Franciscan Indian Reductions.

The town's steep streets, stairways and small squares are lined with low buildings, some dating back to the Spanish colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain period (1500s - 1810). The older houses with high sloping roofs and chimneys in town show the 19th century Cornish and English influence.

Tower at the Acosta Mine Museum
Bracing inside the Acosta Mine

19th-century Cornish

Mining

The Cornish role in the development of Mexican silver mining is significant. The Cornish brought "new" mining technology of the industrial revolution in the 1820s, reviving Mexican silver mining. Especially important was English equipment to drain mine tunnels flooded by groundwater since the Spanish period. The majority of immigrant miners came from the Cornish Central Mining District of Camborne-Redruth-Gwennap in Cornwall. 350 Cornish miners were employed by the Cornish firm that ran the Real del Monte-Pachuca mines between 1824 and 1848. The municipality was once the richest in the state when the mines were in full operation.

One of the leading personalities in 19th century Mexico mining was Francis Rule, from Camborne in Cornwall. Known as El Rey de la Plata (Silver King), Rule left a mark on the Pachucan cityscape, with civic generosity to his adopted homeland. His opinion could be a barometer for the rise and fall of mining shares. He became very wealthy from his numerous mining interests in the district. One was the Santa Gertrudis Mine, which by 1898 was one of the most productive in the State of Hidalgo under Cornish management.

Four extant Cornish mine engine houses, and the English Cemetery containing the graves of hundreds of Cornish in Pachuca, bear witness to the Cornish contributions to Mexican silver mining for over a century.

Sports

It was the Cornish who first introduced soccer/football to Mexico (Pachuca). The Mexican national game of football was first played in Mexico by Cornish miners at Pachuca in 1900, a fact that is celebrated each year. The first soccer club in the country, the Pachuca Athletic Club, was also founded in that year; a little-known and scarcely believed fact in a country so devoted to 'futbol', the national sport. The first team consisted of Charles Dawe, John Dawe, James Bennetts, John Bennetts, William Blamey, Richard Sobey, William Bragg, William Thomas, Percy Bunt, Lionel Bunt, Albert Pangelly and William Pengelly. A decidedly 'Cornish' team. The Pachuca club encouraged the formation of teams in Mexico City and Orizaba, the first championship was played in 1902 and 'El Pachuca' won the 1904-05 tournament. Also Rugby union, Cricket, Tennis, Polo, Chess among other sports, were introduced here.

Methodism was introduced to Roman Catholic Mexico by the Cornish upon their arrival, most of the descendants of the Cornish in Real del Monte and Pachuca are of Methodist faith. They brought the religion to other major Mexican cities as they relocated. Mexican remittances helped to build the Wesleyan Chapel in Redruth, Cornwall in the 1820s.

Tourism

Main square with the church of Our Lady of the Ascension in the background.
Fountain in the main square.
Interior of the church of Our Lady of the Ascension.

Real del Monte was named a "Pueblo Mágico" by the federal government, for its unique historical qualities, aesthetics, and traditions.[2][3] There are significant examples of Spanish Colonial architecture, in individual buildings and via the overall cityscape, that are preserved in the town.

Little Cornwall

The twin silver mining settlements of Pachuca and Real del Monte (Mineral del Monte) in the State of Hidalgo are being marketed as 'Mexico's Little Cornwall' by the Mexican Embassy in London since 2007. This represents the first attempt by the Spanish-speaking part of the Cornish diaspora to establish formal links with Cornwall. Camborne Town Council voted on 19 July 2007 to twin with Pachuca and on 16 August 2007 a public meeting confirmed the earlier decision of Redruth Town Council to twin with Real del Monte. The formal twinning ceremony took place at Mineral del Monte in July 2008 during the visit of the Cornish Mexican Cultural Society. In 2008/2009 the telenovela En Nombre del Amor was set there.

A shop selling Pastes, testament to its Cornish past.
Paste

Real del Monte a home of the paste in México, with 30 paste producers in the town. A little larger than cocktail pasties common to the UK, the Mexican-made versions are widely varied including: meat and potato, black bean, shredded chicken, and sausage, all heavily laced with chillies plus a range of sweet pasties including: pineapple, apple, strawberry, and blackberry. A number have developed into national chains with shops in towns and cities across Mexico.

International Paste Festival

In October 2009 the town of Real del Monte (twinned with Redruth, Cornwall) held the first International Paste Festival. Organised by the Municipality of Real del Monte, the paste producers and the Cornish Mexican Cultural Society Chapter Mexico, the Festival was a great success drawing an estimated 8,000 visitors to the town for the three-day event. A coach of visitors travelled from Cuernavaca, some four hours away, and another from Mexico City. The Festival was opened by the President Municipal of Real del Monte, Ing. Omar Mariano Skewes. During the opening speeches it was stated that ‘ Cornish people rebuilt our shattered mining industry giving us work and now again, when we have lost that industry, the Cornish have given us pastes and a new source of income’. As is usual on festival days in this picturesque town, the programme commenced with a visit to the Cornish Cemetery and a guided tour by Bridget Galsworthy of the British Society, followed by wreath-laying at the Miner´s Monument. The main street was transformed with a long line of tented stands where ‘pastes’ of all descriptions were produced and a large stage next to the Miner´s Memorial provided dance and other entertainments throughout the Festival.

Famous citizens

At the end of the 19th century, the engineer Andrés Aldasoro worked in the Las dos Estrellas mine. Two of his sons, Juan Pablo Aldasoro and Eduardo Aldasoro Suárez, were born in Mineral del Monte. As adults, they became pioneers in aviation, and both became members of the Early Birds of Aviation.

See also

Gallery

  • View of Real del Monte

  • Parish church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary).

  • Church's two towers, one in Spanish style, other in "English" style.

  • Interior of Nuestra Señora del Rosario.

  • Channel within the mine

  • Structure to get down to the mine of Acosta

  • Mine of Acosta

References

  1. ↑ "Mineral del Monte". Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México. Instituto Nacional para el Federalismo y el Desarrollo Municipal. Retrieved December 27, 2008. 
  2. ↑ Pueblos Magicos . accessed 1.24.2014.
  3. ↑ Real del Monte was named a Pueblo Mágico in 2004

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Real del Monte (Mineral del Monte).

Coordinates: 20°08′N 98°40′W / 20.133°N 98.667°W / 20.133; -98.667

Hidalgo (state) State of Hidalgo
Pachuca (capital)
Municipalities
(towns)
Communities
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