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Jerez Part 7 of 7: A quiet stroll around town
A trident-style street lamp stands in front of a balcony with French doors. The door is topped with a fleur-de-lis, the stylized lily that is the symbol of French royalty. In the late 19th century,...
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Peralta Part 1: A unique archeological site in the Bajio Region
The author, viewing the Ceremonial Pool. This feature of the Recinto de Los Gobernantes (Enclosure of the Governors) is part of the Peralta Archeological Zone. Sunken patios like this are typical of...
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Peralta Part 2 of 3: The Sunken Patios and the Double Temple Complex
My friend Vinnie, on a pyramid staircase. The staircase ascends the largest of the two pyramid-temples of the Double Temple Complex, which is part of the ruins of the ancient city of Peralta. The city...
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Peralta Part 3 of 3: The Ancient People
Teotihuacán-style mask found in a burial at Peralta. Stone masks like this are closely associated with the Teotihuacán empire (100-650 AD). The history of that empire overlapped the first three hundred...
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Barcelona Part 1: A beautiful and historic city by the sea
An armored knight prays before battle. I encountered this statue when I visited Barcelona's Gothic-style Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia. The statue of the knight had no identifying sign,...
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Barcelona Part 2: Paleolithic Catalonia's First People
Homo antecessor (the "pioneers")A family portrait of new immigrants. Multiple hominins--human species that existed before homo sapiens (modern humans) arrived on the scene. All the other species have...
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Barcelona Part 3: The Neolithic Revolution
Artist's conception of life in the early Neolithic period. A woman weeds crops with a hoe made from a animal shoulder blade attached to a stick. Her husband and his wolf-like dog return from a hunt...
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Barcelona Part 4: The Chalcolithic or Copper Age
Otzi the Iceman, as he may have looked in life. Otzi's mummy was discovered in 1991 under a melting glacier in Italy's Otzal Alps. He died about 5,300 years ago, killed by an unknown assailant who...
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Barcelona Part 5: The Early Bronze Age in Catalonia
Warriors gather in an Early Bronze age village. This scene captures life in Catalonia about 4000 years ago. While one warrior chats with a family, a metal worker prepares to pour molten bronze into...
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Barcelona Part 6: The Late Bronze Age's culture of warfare
The mysterious Battle of the Tollense Valley. Above, an artist has depicted the wild and brutal combat which occurred during this bloody encounter. A man on the left lies dead or dying from a spear in...
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Barcelona Part 7: Life in the Late Bronze Age
Late Bronze Age hill fort. In Iberia, defensive structures on hills had been around since Los Millares, during the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) and El Argar of the Early Bronze Age (see Parts 4 & 5)....
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Tapalpa Plateau Part 1: The Magic Pueblo of Tapalpa
Attractive two-story structures form the borders of the Plaza. The Meseta de Tapalpa (Tapalpa Plateau) is heavily forested. Much of the architecture of Tapalpa, its chief town, incorporates pillars and...
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Tapalpa Plateau Part 2 : The 16th century Capilla la Purisima
Capilla la Purísima is the oldest church in Tapalpa. The 16th century Capilla (Chapel) is located directly behind the 20th century Templo de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Temple of Our Lady of...
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Tapalpa Plateau Part 3: Hotel Casona de Manzano
Hotel Casona Manzano is a former colonial-era mansion. This beautiful property, called a casona (in-town mansion), is more than 200 years old. It is located on the corner of Calles Agustin Yanez and...
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Tapalpa Plateau Part 4: Templo San Antonio de Padua
Templo San Antoio de Padua is located in the Plaza Principal. This church was built by the Franciscans in the 17th century when their congregation outgrew the small Capilla de la Purisima seen in a...
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Tapalpa Plateau Part 5: Hacienda La Media Luna
The ruined casa grande of Hacienda la Media Luna (The Half Moon). This hacienda was once part of several large estates located on the Tapalpa Plateau that functioned until the first couple of decades...
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Tapalpa Plateau Part 6 of 6: Hacienda Ferreria de Tula
A horseman rides past former hacienda buildings. William Faulkner once wrote "The past is never dead. It's not even past". This could well be applied to many sites I have visited in Mexico. It is...
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Hacienda Santa Ana Pacueco: Historic estate in the Bajio region
View of the hacienda's front arcade. This beautiful old structure was built during the first half of the 18th century, but the origin of the hacienda itself dates all the way back to the mid-16th...
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The historic sites of Haciendas de Corralejo & San Gregorio, in the Bajío...
Entrance to Hacienda San de Gregorio's courtyard. The view is toward the gate and through it to the street. The view from the street of the front of the casa grande reveals only the gate and the high...
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The mountain pueblo of Concepción de Buenas Aires celebrates the Virgin of...
A local charro awaits the beginning of the Virgin of Guadalupe parade. A charro is not just a cowboy, but a skilled horseman who performs in charreadas (Mexican rodeos) and other events like fiestas....
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