When we took the route that leads to the state capital I remembered that the night before, a moonless night, it was possible in Paquimé, from the roof of the Museum of Northern Cultures, to appreciate the stars in all their magnitude. Practically the Milky Way formed an indescribable shell over us.
Mayté Luján, who had invited us to come up, told us at the time: “I didn't want them to leave without this feeling, without this privilege”. Even though Paquimé is not on a hill, its opriginal inhabitants were in the middle of the desert and without any nearby light, surely when they put out the last fire they could have as a reference the stars, the Orion Nebula, the Andromeda Nebula or the Osas, the major and minor. The clear sky allowed them to use the stars to guide themselves in the middle of the night, when they crossed the plains of what is today the Chihuahuan territory.
We no longer had more than the memory of Paquimé on our backs and we headed towards Parral to be on time and observe the arrival of the horsemen who would participate in the taking of the city on July 19, during the development of the Villista days.
THE PAN-AMERICAN HIGHWAY
We are about to reach the junction with the Pan-American Highway, which Chihuahuas in their proclivity for the great often say: "You are not going to believe it, my friend, but this highway connects New York with Buenos Aires." They, like other human groups, think that the center of the world is here, very close to the region of silence and one, in such crucial moments, would not dare to argue otherwise.
So we continue to Galeana, Flores Magón, Ojo Laguna, Mariquipa, Santa Cruz de Villegas and, already very close is Parral, where Francisco Villa once said: "Do you know what friend? I always liked this town even to die."
THE ANECDOTARY
Pablo had never been to Parral, and I took advantage of the long stretch of the road to tell him stories related to what he would see later, most of the stories are part of the Parral chronicles, now narrated by historians with the objectivity that characterizes them. So I told him about Don Pedro de Alvarado, and then Pablo would take some shots of his house, now converted into a historical monument. According to my grandmother Beatriz Baca, Don Pedro, as he was called at that time, was a gambusino who was looking for gold and the last time he barely left and was able to get the credit to equip his expedition. She even heard an employee of the Tallforth house tell don Pedro "this is the last time we will loan him."
What would be the surprise of the Parralians when they learned that Don Pedro had found a mine from where he extracted mineral to accumulate a fortune with which he built the Alvarado Palace and another where the heroine of Parral was born, who, helped by students, expelled to a contingent of troops that was part of the punitive expedition that crossed the Mexican border in search of Villa. There would then be the opportunity to have a photo of the Griensen house and also of the Stallforth house, the same one where Don Pedro stocked up to go out in search of minerals.
LA PRIETA
In the middle of the story we entered Parral, and shortly after rolling through the streets we saw the hill where the La Prieta workshops are located and the winch to go down to the mine, the same one that gave the city the possibility of becoming a mining emporium over many years. Today is part of a tour, visitors can go down to one of the 22 levels, and a good part of those levels are flooded by the water that rose when the pumps stopped extracting it.
It is the same mine that made the siren wail with shift changes and that disturbed my mother Beatriz Wuest Baca in her childhood, when she was heard at the wrong time indicating an accident, and caused the miners' relatives to mill around in front of the mine to find out what had happened.
WAITING FOR THE CABALGATE
We were already in Parral, and now we only had to wait one night to enjoy the show scheduled for July 19 at 10 in the morning, precisely on the eve of Francisco Villa's death, which occurred on July 20, 1924. While Therefore, Pablo took advantage of the afternoon to take some shots of La Prieta. At dawn the next day we went out in search of the first rays of the sun, the moment that all photographers seek to take the best shots of La Prieta.
At dawn the next day we went out in search of the first rays of the sun, the moment that all photographers look for to take the best shots. We cross the city walking along Mercaderes street until we come to Plaza Guillermo Baca, and along that route we look at the river bed to see a bridge made of lime and stone over the bed of a river that runs through the city inch by inch. Many times in the past, it flooded until the dams finished their momentum.
After that morning session and a tasty breakfast accompanied by gorditas, we went to the train station to await the arrival of the villagers. They tell us that they are still in Maturana and we were thinking of going in that direction, but at that moment people began to shout: "They are coming." A reporter from a local newspaper showed us his camera of a thousand battles, it was José Guadalupe Gómez, who told us about the event, he was happy that Pablo and I were covering the event and got ready to wait for the Villistas along with us .
THE SPECTACULAR ARRIVAL
The deployment is headed by a steam engine, the same one that along with nine others belonged to a sawmill in El Salto, Durango. It is a three thousand liter machine, of which its machinist, Gilberto Rodríguez, explained to me shortly after the characteristics of this jewel built in 1914, which, defying the passing of days and years, entered the XXI century to take the city backed by horsemen who had traveled in several stages about 240 km from the state capital. Their contingent grew during the journey and in Maturana they were joined by another 600 horsemen from the ranches and towns near Parral. Villa, the controversial character, was present in the popular mood; Thousands of people gathered in the vicinity of the station to welcome the Villistas and their Adelitas with great joy, almost a century after the Dorados made this region their territory.
With extraordinary ease, hundreds of riders, if not thousands, entered Parral as in the old days, showing not only great pleasure in doing it, but also great strength. Riders and horses could compete with the best charros of the Bajío, they are the Dorados de Villa, who are still there despite the years, overcoming the onslaught of modernity, in order to vindicate the exploits of the famous guerrilla and keep his life alive. legend.
POPULAR ALGARABY SURPRISES
The women run to get closer and admire the men who ride, elegant and courageous, animals that are already showing signs of fatigue due to the long day under a scorching sun. The people own the station. Hollywood I received that morning a spontaneous reenactment of a staging that some renowned directors might well envy.
The next day people gathered at the place where the Northern Centaur was murdered, but I preferred not to be, and I settled for what my mother told me, who by pure chance was where the events occurred that morning of July 20, when he was walking towards the school, being one of the first people who approached the car where Villa, Trillo and other characters were left dead. Nobody remembers the murderers anymore, today the entire town is meeting in Parral.
HEADING TO VALLE DE ALLENDE
That same morning we left for Valle de Allende, considered one of the first settlements in what was the province of Nueva Vizcaya. The orchards of the region are extraordinary, the walnut trees have reached an exceptional height there.
In the Valley one of the best valued nuts is produced due to the percentage of oil it contains; I was surprised to learn that 26 varieties of pear are grown. In addition to the natural vegetation of the region, there are also other species that are the result of the cultivation and careful care of many generations, since the Franciscans introduced the irrigation system in the valley. Walnut, persimon, peach, apricot, plum, quince, pomegranate, fig and orange are the names of the fruit trees that flourish in this place near paradise. Driven by curiosity, we toured the orchards watered with crystal clear water, the environment could not be better, the feeling of well-being invaded our mind.
AT RITA SOTO'S HOUSE
We could have continued indefinitely in that place created by the hand of man, but before retiring we had to say hello to Rita Soto, chronicler of Valle de Allende, a visit to her house is a must, which also works as a guest house. We arrived when the cool could be enjoyed in the corridors that surround a courtyard planted with orange trees. Rita is a character who knows the history of the region and its people by heart; Renowned anthropologists and historians have visited it to learn about the secrets and learn the clues that will allow them to get closer to the enigmas of a region full of legends and paradigmatic characters. Without a doubt, she is a great cultural promoter that instructs new generations about the history and geography of southern Chihuahua.
A collector of anecdotes, Rita Soto tells interesting stories that include, of course, that of her father's painful encounter with Francisco Villa that ended in a written acknowledgment of the latter, which she keeps in the general's handwriting. Besides all, Rita is an excellent tourist promoter who helps visitors to find their way around the recreational offerings that exist in the valley. Thus, in addition to visiting the city, its square, the religious and civil monuments, the houses of the 18th and 19th centuries, the irrigation system put into practice by the Franciscans in colonial times, you can also visit the old town centers of the haciendas and different historical places, among these, the place where the heads of Hidalgo and other insurgents were deposited in their transfer to the Alhóndiga de Granaditas; the house where Juarez spent the night passing through this place during the French intervention, and some houses where General Villa stayed.
ONE SITE FOR EVERYONE
Also, you can enjoy the Ojo de Talamantes and El Trébol spas. Also, visit the river and the orchards. Ideal place to vacation and rest, Valle de Allende offers lodging and food services. In addition, it is possible to spend the night in private houses that receive guests and offer excellent conditions.
We thus reached the end of the tour, which certainly left us with a very good taste in our mouths, thanks to the gastronomic experience in Casas Grandes, where we enjoyed grilled meat, quesadillas and burritos; in Parral, the famous gorditas, and in Valle de Allende, the crystallized fruits and the dulce de leche that makes Coahuila blush. The burritos are, without a doubt, the best in the whole north, even if they don't have that recognition.
Finally, to confirm what the letter of the Chihuahua corrido says, our experienced guide made a surprise stop at Villa Ahumada. On the right side of the road towards the state capital, a row of comales await the traveler with the best quesadillas in the world. Villa Ahumada was, without a doubt, a closing with a flourish. With this trip to Chihuahua we confirm, once again, that it is not only the "big state", "the older brother", but that it is also a place with innumerable and unsuspected attractions.
The Copper Canyon and its waterfalls await expeditionary travelers and adventure lovers; to athletes interested in the challenges of endurance, speed and emotion, the Samalayuca dunes; for those interested in successful production systems are Nuevo Casas Grandes and Valle de Allende; for the apprentices of history and anthropology, the Tarahumara communities of the Sierra, as well as the Jesuit and Franciscan missions; for collectors of memories and anecdotes, Parral; and for those on the other side of the border, Ciudad Juárez and the entire Chihuahuan territory.
