Patzcuaro and Tzintzunztan

Three and a half hours southwest of San Miguel, Guanajuato, where we live, are the cities of Patzcuaro and Tzintzunstan, in the adjacent state of Michoacan. Geographically, this area is about four hours due west of Mexico City.  The relatively short road trip last week of 2 nights and 3 days were rich with new experiences, fascinating sights, and learning. These are some of the reasons that keep us traveling.

A friend from Santa Fe recommended we stay at Casa Encatada, a boutique, 12-room B&B built around a beautiful, central courtyard. The owner is an American ex-pat, formerly from Santa Fe, NM.   The hotel is two blocks north of the central Plaza, one that we learned is unique in that there is no church on the Plaza.  What I found besides shops and restaurants, on a corner stand, was one of the best roasted sweet potatoes covered in maple syrup.  It was still warm when I got it back to our room.  Here is a gallery of photos taken by visitors that capture some of the appeal of Patzcuaro.

https://www.tripadvisor.es/Attraction_Review-g499420-d153694-Reviews-Plaza_Vasco_de_Quiroga-Patzcuaro_Central_Mexico_and_Gulf_Coast.html#/media-atf/153694/421719269:p/?albumid=-160&type=0&category=-160

We arranged to have a tour guide, Jaimie Hernandez, take us to some of the indigenous villages around Lake Patzcuaro, especially Tzintzunztan.  The Tarascans lived there between 1300 and 1530 when the Spanish conquistadors arrived and brought with them the Franciscans and the Catholic religion which was imposed on the people along with trying to erase their own native beliefs and practices.  Jaimie knows the history of the area and knows some of the families of the descendants who still live and work there.  On our way back to Patzcuaro, we stopped at Carmellos, a local family-owned restaurant chain specializing in delicious carnitas.

Tzintzuntzan was the ceremonial center of the pre-Columbian Purépecha capital of the same name. The name comes from the Purépecha word Ts’intsuntsani, which means “place of hummingbirds.”

The large Franciscan church and extensive grounds in the center pay homage to the indigenous people by having an open-air chapel, not the closed-in cathedral-type buildings so prevalent throughout Mexico.

The area includes at least 1,000 archaeological features including pyramids and volcanos. The capital was moved from Tzintzuntzan to Patzcuaro in 1539.

What we did not know was that on our third day, when we were leaving, there was a parade, the likes of which we had not seen, celebrating the 489^th birthday of Patzcuaro.  Every school had groups of students in the parade with different themes and ceremonial dress; there were dancers of every age, horses, lots of music, and other groups and organizations in the community with representatives dressed for the occasion. The parade lasted from 9 AM until 12 noon which gives you an idea of the length and the thousands in ceremonial dress for the occasion.

All the streets around the plaza were closed including ours where the hotel is located.  When the parade ended we thought we could retrieve our car, which we had to move earlier in the morning to clear the street. We wanted to bring it back to load up and leave.  However, it was not until 1 PM that we could get near enough to load, with help, and get on our way.

The trip was mostly on toll roads through some mountains and lush farm valleys, with some panoramic vistas of the landscape. The highway routes avoided the cities of Celaya, Salamanca, and Morelia, the latter being the capital of Michoacan.  A side note FYI: there are 32 states in Mexico including the Federal District of Mexico City.  The largest state is Chihuahua and the second largest is Sonora which is south of Nogales, near our other home in Arizona.