The city of Acámbaro has a long history that dates back to pre-Hispanic times. Launch yourself to meet this ancient treasure of southern Guanajuato!
The city of Acambaro, in the state of Guanajuato, has a long history that dates back to pre-Hispanic times. Considered the main center of culture chupícuaro, which flourished in this region between 500 BC. and 100 AD, its very name is of indigenous origin, since it comes from the Purépecha akamba which means maguey and the suffix ro, locative of this language, so the toponym of Acambaro It translates as "place of magueys”.
Currently, vestiges of this period of occupation can be found in the hills that surround the city, where it is very common to find fragments of figurines, sherds and countless small objects that make evident the vastness that this indigenous town had.
As regards the Spanish foundation of the city, it was given (according to a certificate signed by Carlos V) in the year of 1526, under the name of San Francisco de Acámbaro, being its conqueror and founder Don Fernando Cortés, Marquis del Valle. Based on this document, it can be stated that the city of Acambaro It is the first Spanish town founded in the area that today occupies the state of Guanajuato.
For the year of 1580, the town of San Francisco de Acámbaro had 2600 inhabitants, although years later and because of two terrible plagues that struck the area (1588 and 1595), its population was reduced to only 1557 people, nucleus made up of indigenous chichimecas, otomies, mazahuas Y tarascan (the latter being the majority), in addition to the conquerors of Spanish origin.
With the arrival of the peninsulars to the area, as in all Mexico, began to build a church, a convent and a hospital for Indians, the latter at the initiative of Don Vasco de Quiroga, Bishop of Michoacán.
Nowadays, Acambaro It is the head of the municipality of the same name, and has become a rich agricultural producer due to its privileged location, as it is surrounded by a large network of irrigation canals, as well as several dams and lakes. The population has also achieved national notoriety because of the exquisite bread produced by its inhabitants. East bread it is so tasty that it is known simply as the “Acambaro bread”, And has many varieties such as the famous acambaritas, the egg bread and the milk bread.
When we arrive in this city and walk through its streets, we can observe how its glorious past and the prosperous present blend in perfect harmony. It is also wonderful to contemplate the fabulous Franciscan convent of Santa María de Gracia, in whose central patio a beautifully carved fountain with baroque decoration stands out. The arcade of the complex is made up of semicircular arches, which are ornamented with beautiful human figures that represent characters from the Catholic Church, and we can still observe the Franciscan friars walking through the corridors of the cloister, since this conventual complex is still is in charge of that religious order.
On one side of the convent is the current parish of the city, which is prior in its construction to the annex cloister. This church was built around the year 1532, and its architectural style has been classified as hybrid tetequitqui.
Along with this convent complex we can also visit the ancient temple of the hospital. Its façade is framed by a Plateresque arch decorated with beautiful images sculpted in quarry, in which the hand of the indigenous artist is strongly noted. Once inside, the temple stands out for its work, especially for a pulpit carved entirely in quarry. This entire complex (convent, parish and hospital temple) is surrounded by what was once the parish atrium and today is a small square where we can sit and admire the façade of these magnificent buildings. Adjacent to the hospital temple, on its north side, there is an extraordinarily decorated fountain with bullfighting motifs, which was built to commemorate the first bullfight held in the New Spain at century XVI, and that because of these engravings is known as Taurine Fountain, although there are also those who tell him The Eagle Stack because a Corinthian-style pedestal with an eagle perched on its upper end was raised later (in the center of the fountain).
Another interesting point to visit is the municipal market, in which a beautiful predominantly Moorish fountain stands out dating from XVII century, and if our stomach begins to demand a little food, in it we can buy an exquisite fresh fruit of the season and taste it quietly on one of the benches in the main garden, while we observe the beautiful kiosk that is located in the center of this flowery place.
An architectural work of great importance that must be known in Acambaro, is the majestic stone bridge that crosses the Lerma river. This bridge, considered one of the largest and most beautiful in our country, was built in the century XVIII, is flanked by four beautiful quarry sculptures (two at each of its ends) and its construction is attributed to the famous Guanajuato architect Francisco Eduardo Three Wars.
On our tour through the quiet and evocative streets of Acambaro, we suddenly ran into, on Hidalgo Avenue, with three of the 14 hermitages that were made for the staging of the Holy Week Viacrusis in the XVII century.
This city is also an important railway communication center, since in its station different routes converge to different parts of the national territory and it is one of the most complete maintenance centers for railway cars that exist in our country.
Already on the outskirts of the town and taking the deviation towards Salvatierra, scarcely 23 km from Acámbaro, you arrive at Iramuco, a small town located on the shore of Lake Cuitzeo. In this place we can take a small boat that will take us into the lake, where we can put our fishing skills into practice or simply dedicate ourselves to enjoying the landscape.
Along the same road to Salvatierra, it is essential that we visit the town of Chamacuaro, where a beautiful and refreshing waterfall where we can take a good dip or rest peacefully in the shade of the ancient Sabines who stand guard on both sides of the traditional Lerma river.
On this visit to the state of Guanajuato we not only enjoyed the haunting past and the beautiful colonial buildings of Acambaro, because like an overflowing dam the city also leads us to exotic places where outsiders and Guanajuato can enjoy an uncontaminated nature.
IF YOU GO TO ACAMBER
The city of Acámbaro is located in the southeast of the state of Guanajuato, at 1,945 meters above sea level and only 291 km from Mexico City. It has all the tourist services (hotels, gas stations, restaurants, discos, etc).
To get to this city you can take federal highway number 45 to the city of Celaya. Upon reaching it, take state highway number 51, heading to Salvatierra and 71 km from the city of Celaya, we arrive at Acámbaro. All this route can be done on roads in perfect condition.
Another route to get from Mexico City to this city is to take highway no. 55 that leaves Toluca towards Atlacomulco; further on from this town, turn right onto highway no. 61 that leads directly to the beautiful city of Acámbaro.
Unknown guanajuato
