The small city of San Juan del Río, Querétaro, decides to narrate part of its history with legends of ghosts, who have wandered by word of mouth to make them tradition. All in one night by tram ...
The ghost legends tours are based on the need to rescue popular tales and myths, as well as to promote some places of tourist interest in the city: the large houses, temples, museums and alleys. The peculiarity of the trip is made up of the stories dramatized by actors, aboard a tram on wheels called El Corregidor.
The narratives, trapped by the memories of the Colony, begin in an untimely way, while a character with a well-known appearance and with effusive movements announces himself to everyone as Satan himself. Without losing the cunning and personality that characterizes him, he introduces the person in charge of security while traveling through the city. With his bony hands on the wheel, the grim reaper rings the bell that begins the journey.
At night everything looks different
The starting point is the Plaza del Sol Divino, located in front of the Temple of San Juan Bautista, the first to be built on the site. From this moment, places such as the Parroquia de Guadalupe (built in 1726), the Plaza de los Fundadores (formerly the town's pantheon), and the Casa de Don Esteban (a house built in San Juan brown quarry) will be some of the scenarios, where the stories precede each other between the damp and old walls that transfer to the past.
The night becomes an ally of the actors who keep everyone captive with legends such as La Carimbada, a bandit who attacks and assaults the visitors she encounters. This is how the narratives of La llorona, Las Poquianchis, Los Ferrocarrileros and other stories, are shaping a new journey to the eye and the ear.
The devil on board
This dark character turns out to be the one to tell the story that clarifies everything that the gloom does not allow to discover during the trip. This is the case with one of the most emblematic buildings in San Juan del Río, the Puente de la Historia, which was built around 1711, built by the architect Pedro de Arrieta. Its creation represented a strong contribution to the development of New Spain and now serves as a background for the guide to immerse himself in the Legend of Don Pedro.
At the end of the trip, a visit is made to one of the tourist attractions of the municipality, which stands out for its gender. The Museum of Death is a construction from 1853, characterized by the neoclassical style, appreciated in the façade carved from brown quarry. Before it was the old pantheon of Santa Veracruz and due to its location it has a natural viewpoint, from where you can see the center of the city. As a cemetery it has a peculiarity, the way in which the tombstones are arranged could seem hazardous, however, it obeys the fulfillment of the will of the deceased.
Thus, this different and full of mystery walk will leave you very satisfied, since the interaction with all the characters that participate throughout the tour allows the legends to have a different, closer look. Let yourself be covered with walls and ceilings of the time, to approach or at least imagine, the people and the situations that surrounded the ghost stories in narrations seasoned not only with the Castilian of New Spain, but also with the unique touch of humor Mexican.
