Celaya travel guide

Celaya is 50 km west of Querétaro along Route 45 (or 55 km via the winding non-toll road that runs parallel to it) and the same distance south from San Miguel de Allende on Route 51). The town was founded in 1570 by 16 families from the Basque country. Its most famous son, Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras (1759-1833), was a great colonial architect, as well as an artist and a poet.

Celaya played a leading role in the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821) and it was here in 1915, during the Revolution, that the bloodiest battle in Mexican history was fought, in which the future president, Alvaro Obregón, finally succeeded in defeating ‘Pancho’ Villa.

But Celaya’s real claim to fame is the role it played in simply getting the lengthy Revolution underway. It was here, on 21 September 1810, that Hidalgo’s group made its triumphal entrance, the first time it captured a city of any note. Celaya also is where the first formal organization of Mexico’s insurgent army took place. This event gave Celaya its title ‘Birthplace of the Mexican Army’.

Nowadays, the town is famous for its confectionery, especially a caramel spread called cajeta or dulce de leche, and its churches, many of which were built by Tresguerras himself. His best is considered to be El Carmen, with an elegant tower and dome. He also built a fine bridge over the Río de la Laja. The tourist office (Casa del Diezmo, Benito Juárez 204, T/F461-613 7476, http://www.guanajuatotour.gob.mx) is helpful.

The Templo del Carmen, considered Tresguerras’ masterpiece, was built 1802-1807. The interior and exterior are neoclassical with a simple elegance; inside, you can see Tresguerras’ own paintings. The finest of his murals are those in the Capilla del Juicio (Chapel of the Last Judgment). The Convento de San Francisco (Miguel) Doblado y Guadalupe Victoria, is one of the largest in the country, with a 17th-century baroque interior; the facade of the cloisters was rebuilt by Tresguerras. The Templo de San Francisco was rebuilt in 1683 after the original chapel was demolished. The facade is neoclassic and was rebuilt, together with the altars, by Tresguerras in 1810-1820. Claustro Agustino dates from the beginning of the 17th century and was the municipal prison until 1961, but now doubles as the Casa de la Cultura. The Templo de San Agustín was built in 1609 in the plateresque style. Templo de la Tercera Orden is another of Tresguerras’ neoclassic works, built in 1820 with marvellous altars. The Columna de la Independencia was designed by Tresguerras and was the first monument in the country to celebrate Mexico’s freedom in 1828.

There are a handful of interesting sights in Celaya that are not the work of Tresguerras. Torre Hidráulica, also known as the bola de agua (ball of water), has been adopted as the symbol of the city; it was inaugurated on the centenary of Mexico’s Independence from Spain and holds a million litres of water. Casa del Diezmo, built at the end of the 17th century, now houses the tourist office . The Presidencia Municipal has impressive murals up the stairways in the entrance off the main square, created in 1980 by local artist Octavio Ocampo González. The Mausoleo de Tresguerras is a baroque chapel where the famous architect is buried, although, perhaps remarkably, he had nothing to do with its construction. The new Mummy Museum (Tue-Sat 1000-1400 and 1600-1900, Sun 1000-1500, US$1.15) in the very elaborate, high Victorian Panteón Celaya (Celaya Cemetery), is also worth taking in, if a bit gruesome (and no match for the other mummy museum in Guanajuato). A recently created museum with a permanent exhibit of 22 mummified corpses, displays include a description of the mummification process and an explanation of why the region has so many mummified remains. Tours can also be made of the monuments and tombs in the cemetery....read more