Tequisquiapan - The Town

The Town

The town of Tequisquiapan in southwestern Querétaro is a tourist town, which mostly caters to weekend visitors from Mexico City and the city of Querétaro. These visitors come to see the parish church, walk the cobblestone streets filled with traditional houses, and visit recreational attractions such as the area’s 18-hole golf course and spas/water parks (called “balenarios”) such as El Oasis, Thermas del Rey, Fidel Velásquez and La Vega.

The town is centered on the main square, named after Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and the Santa María de la Asunción Temple. Hidalgo Square is a large open, paved area, facing which is the town’s parish church and a series of arches. On the east side of the plaza, there is a kiosk made of gray sandstone and metal, which often has bands playing live music such as jazz and rock and roll. Along one entire side, there are sandstone arches behind which are a number of business such as galleries, cafés and shops selling sweets, silver, furniture and crafts. It also contains some of the town’s better restaurants such as Capricho's, which offers French-Mexican fusion cooking. Another side of the square is taken up by the parish church of Santa María. This church was established in the 16th century, but the current construction is from the 19th century. It is in Neoclassical style with simple lines and made of pink sandstone. The clock in the tower dates from 1897.

Around the main square, much of the construction remains traditional with cobblestone streets and buildings that relatively simple and rustic. This is because this town was dominated by the indigenous for the first three hundred years of its existence. Many of the buildings are two stories tall painted in bright colors such as yellow and green and with balconies. They also have wrought iron fixtures with wooden sills and frames on their doors and windows. Flowerpots are a common sight as well. The narrowness of the roads means that vehicular traffic is commonly jammed, especially on weekends. Efforts at modernization have destroyed many of the town’s old trees; however, most of the original junipers along the river remain. Away from the historic center, many of the newer sections of town consist of subdivisions of weekends homes more recently built. However, these mostly follow the architectural styles of the older structures.

The town is home to a number of important legends. As it is a tourist town there is a trolley-replica bus to take visitors around the various landmarks. These landmarks include places where Tequisquiapan’s legends are set and on weekends and holidays, actors in period costumes re-enact these stories.

Another attraction of the town is shopping, especially for handcrafts and folk art. The two most traditional crafts of the area are baskets and furniture made from wood, wicker, rattan and other materials. However, crafts from many parts of Mexico are available for sale as well. The main markets, which are the municipal market and the handcrafts markets are located on Ezequiel Montes Street near Salvador Carrizal. In addition to these markets there are a number of street vendors who sell from stalls or by walking around the streets. One common type of merchandise, especially in the main square are sweet breads, dried fruit, fruits in syrup and other sweets. One unique sweet of the town is crystallized nopal cactus. Otomi women can be seen in the main plaza and other locations selling their crafts. Most of these vendors are from the neighboring municipality of Amealco. These crafts generally consist of embroidered napkins and other textiles, rag dolls, ceramics and baskets.

The most important park in the municipality is La Pila, which is located just north of the main town square. It contains fresh water springs and large areas of trees and grass for picnicking and other activities. The park was the site of an old water mill. Its namesake, a reservoir to store water built in 1567, can still be seen. It is said that there was an indigenous temazcal at the La Pila site. Before it became a park, it was the site of a commercial water park for children. Today, it is an area filled with Montezuma cypress and ash trees and is the site of the annual Feria Nacional del Queso y el Vino. Other parks include El Portón, La Recámara and El Salitrillo.

The Callejón del Piojo (lit. Louse Alley) is a historic street in the town which was recently renovated to promote fine arts and handcrafts as well as to serve as a venue for cultural and recreational events.

The Centro Cultural or Cultural Center hosts expositions of painting and crafts as well as concerts and workshops. It also has an extensive library.

In the early 20th century, Mexican president Venustiano Carranza passed through Tequisquiapan on his way to the city of Querétaro. He issued a decree announcing that the town was the “geographical center of the country.” However, today that distinction is widely considered to be in Zacatecas. However, there is a monument in the town at Centenario and 5 de Mayo Streets to commemorate the decree.

The two oldest neighborhoods of the town are the Barrio de la Magdalena and San Juan, where many of the chapels built for the indigenous population of the colonial era were built. The main chapel of the Barrio de la Magdalena has a large mesquite tree in its atrium where it is said that the mass celebrated to found the town occurred. This founding is re-enacted here each year in June.

The town contains a bullring which hosts bullfights as well as exhibitions of flamenco dance and concerts. There is a Bullfight Fair in March.

The old Bernal railroad station is located on Avenida Juarez. It was build when the rail line was constructed through the municipality. Today, it served as a viewpoint to see much of the city. It also conserves a locomotive from the beginning of the 20th century.

The Casa de Caballo is located near the river and offers horseback riding in the Barrio de la Magdalena.

Intercity bus service operates out of the town’s main terminal, which is served by Flecha azul, Transportes Tequis; Flecha Blanca; Flecha Amarilla; Autotransportes Queretanos and Enlaces Terrestres Nacionales. Two rail lines pass through here connecting Mexico City with Guadalajara and Nuevo Laredo.

The town has a number of festivals and traditions which are especially important or unique to it. The festival of the Holy Cross on May 3 is particularly important in the San Juan neighborhood with the dance of Moors and Christians as the highlight. Preparations for this event begin months in advance.

The feast day for the patroness of the town, Our Lady of the Assumption, occurs on August 15. This day is observed by all in the municipality, many of which come to the parish church in the center of town for the festivities. These festivities include traditional dances, which last from early and through the day. This is also a popular day for confirmations, first communions and other similar ceremonies. The day ends with a large frame called a castillo (castle ) filled with fireworks which is set alight.

For Holy Week, the town holds an annual Passion Play. This event begins in the main square in front of the Santa María de la Asunción Temple and passes through the streets of the town to a site called Monte Calvario, named after the place where Jesus was crucified. Here the crucifixion of Christ is re-enacted. Afterwards, an image of the deceased Jesus is carried from the area in a glass coffin. On Holy Saturday, images of Judas are burned along with those of devils and other unliked figures .

The founding of the town is celebrated each year in the Barrio de la Magdalena neighborhood on June 24, where the founding mass took place. This commemoration includes a re-enactment of the founding with actors in 16th century clothing.

The annual pilgrimage to the chapel on the Cerro Grande occurs on September 13. This procession climbs the hill where the chapel is located the day before and spends the night there. The following day, after mass, there is picnicking and spending the day in the countryside. It is not know how or when this tradition started, but it attracts not only those from Tequisquiapan, but those from Santa Rosa Xajay, El Cerrito, Bordo Blanco and San Nicolás.

The feast of Isidore the Laborer on May 15 is important in the town which is centered on a procession from the Santa María de la Asunción church to the El Llano chapel. The purpose of the feast is to ask for good crops for that growing season. The El Llano chapel is located in the agricultural center of the area.

The feast of Mary Magdalene, patroness of the Barrio de la Magdalena is celebrated on September 8. The feast of the Apostle John, patron of the San Juan neighborhood, takes place on December 27. One Christmas tradition in the town is to have a parade through the town on Christmas Eve. This parade features floats with Biblical scenes.

One local tradition is the creation of “cruces de animas” (crosses of encouragement) which can be seen on family altars or in family shrines. These crosses represent loved ones who have died and can be very elaborate although most are simple. These are most common in the former Indian neighborhoods of San Juan and Barrio de la Magdalena where they can be seen in the local chapels.