Travel Guide Huichapan

In the semi-desert Mezquital Valley, Huichapan is at the heart of the history of the country and the state of Hidalgo, and is the only village in the region with architecture that is truly colonial (17th-18th century) or Porfirian (19th century). Since pre-Hispanic times, this region has been a transit corridor between the Valley of Mexico, the Bajío and the vast expanses of northern Mexico; it is a sort of buffer zone between the sedentary civilizations and the semi-nomadic tribes that have constantly competed for its occupation, as attested by the many rock painting sites that cover the walls of the surrounding canyons (the most recent of which date from the 17th century). The arrival of the Spaniards marked the installation of numerous cattle farms, while the small town became an important stop on the Camino Real Tierra Adentro, between Mexico City and Querétaro. Its geographical location will make it suffer the torments of the War of Independence, but it is also here that it will be celebrated for the first time in the form it is known today: on September 16, 1912, from the heights of a balcony known as the Chapitel, the municipal authorities launched the famous cry that is now heard all over the country every year: ¡Viva México, Viva México, Viva México!