Mineral del Monte
Encyclopedia
Mineral del Monte is a small town
and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo
, in central-eastern Mexico
, lying at an altitude
of 2700 metre
s (8,800 ft).
As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 11,944.
and silver
were discovered before the Spanish Conquest. The Spanish
began mining
in the late 16th century. The mines were later abandoned but reopened in the late 1730s under Pedro Romero de Terreros
.
The town's steep streets, stairways and small squares are lined with low buildings, some dating back to colonial
times. The houses with high sloping roofs and chimney
s indicate a Cornish
influence, the legacy left by 350 Cornishmen employed by the Cornish firm that ran the mines between 1824 and 1848. The Cornish role in the development of Mexican silver mining is remembered fondly in Real del Monte-Pachuca, as it was the Cornish who introduced the industrial revolution to the shores of Latin America in the 1820s, reviving Mexican silver mining. More particularly the majority of migrants to this region of Mexico came from what we now term the Cornish Central Mining District: Camborne
-Redruth
-Gwennap
. One of the leading personalities in 19th century Mexico was a Camborne
man, Francis Rule. His opinion was regarded as a barometer for the rise and fall of mining shares and he became a multi-millionaire with numerous mining interests in and around Pachuca, including the famous Santa Gertrudis which by 1898 was one of the most powerful mines in the State of Hidalgo. The Management was all Cornish, with Thomas Lakeside Phillips becoming Director. In 1903 alone, profits to stockholders had exceeded a million dollars. Known as El Rey de la Plata (The Silver King), Rule left an indelible mark on the Pachucan cityscape and showed great generosity to the peoples of his adopted homeland.
Today, typical Cornish pasties (a local speciality known as pastes) are baked in both settlements and are unknown outside the State of Hidalgo. Four extant Cornish engine houses and a cemetery containing the graves of hundreds of Cornish bear witness to the Cornish involvement in Mexican silver mining for over a century. It was the Cornish who first introduced soccer/football to Mexico
(Pachuca). The Mexican national game of football was first played in Mexico by Cornish miners at Pachuca in 1900, a fact that is celebrated each year. The first soccer club in the country, the Pachuca Athletic Club, was also founded in that year; a little known and scarcely believed fact in a country so devoted to 'futbol', the national sport. The first team consisted of Charles Dawe, John Dawe, James Bennetts, John Bennetts, William Blamey, Richard Sobey, William Bragg, William Thomas, Percy Bunt, Lionel Bunt, Albert Pangelly and William Pengelly. A decidedly 'Cornish' team. The Pachuca club encouraged the formation of teams in Mexico City and Orizaba, the first championship was played in 1902 and 'El Pachuca' won the 1904-05 tournament. The District of Pachuca - Real del Monte contains a rich heritage of which the period of Cornish influence is only part. The mines of the District are conservatively estimated to have produced 1.2 billion Troy ounces of silver and 6.2 million ounces of gold. 6 percent of the silver mined throughout the world during the last five centuries and continues in production today. But also Rugby union
, Cricket
, Tennis
, Polo
, Chess
among other sports, and Mexican remittances helped to build the Wesleyan Chapel in Redruth, Cornwall in the 1820s. Methodism
was also introduced by the Cornish
upon their arrival, most of the descendants of the Cornish in Real del Monte and Pachuca
are of Methodist faith, they even extended the religion into other major Mexican cities like Mexico City
, Puebla
, Guadalajara
, Morelia
, Monterrey
, Veracruz
, among others.
The twin silver mining settlements of Pachuca
and Real del Monte (Mineral del Monte) in the State of Hidalgo are being marketed as 'Mexico's Little Cornwall' by the Mexican Embassy in London
in 2007 and represent the first attempt by the Spanish speaking part of the Cornish diaspora to establish formal links with Cornwall. Camborne
Town Council voted on 19 July 2007 to twin with Pachuca and on 16 August 2007 a public meeting confirmed the earlier decision of Redruth
Town Council to twin with Real del Monte. The formal twinning ceremony took place at Mineral del Monte in July 2008 during the visit of the Cornish Mexican Cultural Society. In 2008/2009 the telenovela En Nombre del Amor
was set there.
Real del Monte was named a "Pueblo Mágico
" in 2004.
The 1st International Paste Festival, Real del Monte, Hidalgo , Mexico
In October 2009 the town of Real del Monte (twinned with Redruth, Cornwall) held the first International Paste Festival. Organised by the Municipality of Real del Monte, the paste producers and the Cornish Mexican Cultural Society Chapter Mexico, the Festival was a great success drawing an estimated 8,000 visitors to the town for the three day event. A coach of visitors travelled from Cuernavaca, some four hours away, and another from Mexico City. The Festival was opened by the President Municipal of Real del Monte, Ing. Omar Mariano Skewes. During the opening speeches it was stated that ‘ Cornish people rebuilt our shattered mining industry giving us work and now again, when we have lost that industry, the Cornish have given us pastes and a new source of income’.
As is usual on festival days in this picturesque town, the programme commenced with a visit to the Cornish Cemetery and a guided tour by Bridget Galsworthy of the British Society, followed by wreath-laying at the Miner´s Monument. The main street was transformed with a long line of tented stands where ‘pastes’ of all descriptions were produced and a large stage next to the Miner´s Memorial provided dance and other entertainments throughout the Festival.
Pam Melville from Poldark Mine, Cornwall gave demonstrations of traditional pasty making producing numerous pasties which were eagerly devoured.
Real del Monte is without doubt the home of the pasty in Mexico with 30 ‘paste’ producers in the town. A number have developed into national chains with shops in towns and cities across Mexico. An example is Pastes Real del Plateros with two shops in Real del Monte, twelve in the neighbouring city of Pachuca and two in Mexico City, demonstrating just how popular pasties are in Mexico.
A little larger than our cocktail pasties the Mexicans produce a wide variety including: meat and potato, black bean, shredded chicken, and sausage, all heavily laced with chillies plus a range of sweet pasties including: pineapple, apple, strawberry, and blackberry. The menu at Pastes El Portal contains 15 varieties of fillings all selling at 9 pesos (45 p) and of course pulque to wash them down!
worked in the mine Las dos Estrellas, it was there where two of his sons Juan Pablo
and Eduardo were born. They would later on became pioneers of air flight. Both of them became members of the Early Birds of Aviation
.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo
Municipalities of Hidalgo
The Mexican state of Hidalgois made up of 84 municipalities :...
, in central-eastern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, lying at an altitude
Altitude
Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context...
of 2700 metre
Metre
The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology...
s (8,800 ft).
As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 11,944.
History
The municipality was once the richest in the state when goldGold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
were discovered before the Spanish Conquest. The Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
began mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
in the late 16th century. The mines were later abandoned but reopened in the late 1730s under Pedro Romero de Terreros
Pedro Romero de Terreros
Pedro Romero de Terreros , the first Count of Regla, was a mining magnate and philanthropist in 18th century Mexico.-Early life:...
.
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
times. The houses with high sloping roofs and chimney
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
s indicate a Cornish
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
influence, the legacy left by 350 Cornishmen employed by the Cornish firm that ran the mines between 1824 and 1848. The Cornish role in the development of Mexican silver mining is remembered fondly in Real del Monte-Pachuca, as it was the Cornish who introduced the industrial revolution to the shores of Latin America in the 1820s, reviving Mexican silver mining. More particularly the majority of migrants to this region of Mexico came from what we now term the Cornish Central Mining District: Camborne
Camborne
Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....
-Redruth
Redruth
Redruth is a town and civil parish traditionally in the Penwith Hundred in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It has a population of 12,352. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of the A393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London to Land's End trunk road , and is approximately west of...
-Gwennap
Gwennap
Gwennap is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately five miles southeast of Redruth....
. One of the leading personalities in 19th century Mexico was a Camborne
Camborne
Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....
man, Francis Rule. His opinion was regarded as a barometer for the rise and fall of mining shares and he became a multi-millionaire with numerous mining interests in and around Pachuca, including the famous Santa Gertrudis which by 1898 was one of the most powerful mines in the State of Hidalgo. The Management was all Cornish, with Thomas Lakeside Phillips becoming Director. In 1903 alone, profits to stockholders had exceeded a million dollars. Known as El Rey de la Plata (The Silver King), Rule left an indelible mark on the Pachucan cityscape and showed great generosity to the peoples of his adopted homeland.
Today, typical Cornish pasties (a local speciality known as pastes) are baked in both settlements and are unknown outside the State of Hidalgo. Four extant Cornish engine houses and a cemetery containing the graves of hundreds of Cornish bear witness to the Cornish involvement in Mexican silver mining for over a century. It was the Cornish who first introduced soccer/football to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
(Pachuca). The Mexican national game of football was first played in Mexico by Cornish miners at Pachuca in 1900, a fact that is celebrated each year. The first soccer club in the country, the Pachuca Athletic Club, was also founded in that year; a little known and scarcely believed fact in a country so devoted to 'futbol', the national sport. The first team consisted of Charles Dawe, John Dawe, James Bennetts, John Bennetts, William Blamey, Richard Sobey, William Bragg, William Thomas, Percy Bunt, Lionel Bunt, Albert Pangelly and William Pengelly. A decidedly 'Cornish' team. The Pachuca club encouraged the formation of teams in Mexico City and Orizaba, the first championship was played in 1902 and 'El Pachuca' won the 1904-05 tournament. The District of Pachuca - Real del Monte contains a rich heritage of which the period of Cornish influence is only part. The mines of the District are conservatively estimated to have produced 1.2 billion Troy ounces of silver and 6.2 million ounces of gold. 6 percent of the silver mined throughout the world during the last five centuries and continues in production today. But also Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, Tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, Polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
, Chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
among other sports, and Mexican remittances helped to build the Wesleyan Chapel in Redruth, Cornwall in the 1820s. Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
was also introduced by the Cornish
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
upon their arrival, most of the descendants of the Cornish in Real del Monte and Pachuca
Pachuca
Pachuca, formally Pachuca de Soto is the capital of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of which the city serves as municipal seat...
are of Methodist faith, they even extended the religion into other major Mexican cities like Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Puebla
Puebla
Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....
, Guadalajara
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
, Morelia
Morelia
Morelia is a city and municipality in the north central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital of the state. The main pre-Hispanic cultures here were the P'urhépecha and the Matlatzinca, but no major cities were founded in the...
, Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
, Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
, among others.
Tourism
Pachuca
Pachuca, formally Pachuca de Soto is the capital of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of which the city serves as municipal seat...
and Real del Monte (Mineral del Monte) in the State of Hidalgo are being marketed as 'Mexico's Little Cornwall' by the Mexican Embassy in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 2007 and represent the first attempt by the Spanish speaking part of the Cornish diaspora to establish formal links with Cornwall. Camborne
Camborne
Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....
Town Council voted on 19 July 2007 to twin with Pachuca and on 16 August 2007 a public meeting confirmed the earlier decision of Redruth
Redruth
Redruth is a town and civil parish traditionally in the Penwith Hundred in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It has a population of 12,352. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of the A393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London to Land's End trunk road , and is approximately west of...
Town Council to twin with Real del Monte. The formal twinning ceremony took place at Mineral del Monte in July 2008 during the visit of the Cornish Mexican Cultural Society. In 2008/2009 the telenovela En Nombre del Amor
En Nombre del Amor
En Nombre Del Amor is a Mexican telenovela that aired in late 2008 through mid 2009. It is a remake of Cadenas de Amargura . En Nombre Del Amor was produced by Carlos Moreno, and filming began on August 4, 2008...
was set there.
Real del Monte was named a "Pueblo Mágico
Pueblo Mágico
The Programa Pueblos Mágicos is an initiative led by Mexico's Secretariat of Tourism , in conjunction with other federal and state agencies, to promote a series of towns around the country that offer visitors a "magical" experience – by reason of their natural beauty, cultural riches, or...
" in 2004.
The 1st International Paste Festival, Real del Monte, Hidalgo , Mexico
In October 2009 the town of Real del Monte (twinned with Redruth, Cornwall) held the first International Paste Festival. Organised by the Municipality of Real del Monte, the paste producers and the Cornish Mexican Cultural Society Chapter Mexico, the Festival was a great success drawing an estimated 8,000 visitors to the town for the three day event. A coach of visitors travelled from Cuernavaca, some four hours away, and another from Mexico City. The Festival was opened by the President Municipal of Real del Monte, Ing. Omar Mariano Skewes. During the opening speeches it was stated that ‘ Cornish people rebuilt our shattered mining industry giving us work and now again, when we have lost that industry, the Cornish have given us pastes and a new source of income’.
As is usual on festival days in this picturesque town, the programme commenced with a visit to the Cornish Cemetery and a guided tour by Bridget Galsworthy of the British Society, followed by wreath-laying at the Miner´s Monument. The main street was transformed with a long line of tented stands where ‘pastes’ of all descriptions were produced and a large stage next to the Miner´s Memorial provided dance and other entertainments throughout the Festival.
Pam Melville from Poldark Mine, Cornwall gave demonstrations of traditional pasty making producing numerous pasties which were eagerly devoured.
Real del Monte is without doubt the home of the pasty in Mexico with 30 ‘paste’ producers in the town. A number have developed into national chains with shops in towns and cities across Mexico. An example is Pastes Real del Plateros with two shops in Real del Monte, twelve in the neighbouring city of Pachuca and two in Mexico City, demonstrating just how popular pasties are in Mexico.
A little larger than our cocktail pasties the Mexicans produce a wide variety including: meat and potato, black bean, shredded chicken, and sausage, all heavily laced with chillies plus a range of sweet pasties including: pineapple, apple, strawberry, and blackberry. The menu at Pastes El Portal contains 15 varieties of fillings all selling at 9 pesos (45 p) and of course pulque to wash them down!
Famous inhabitants
In the end of the 19th century, the engineer Andrés AldasoroAndrés Aldasoro
Andrés Aldasoro Espinoza was a Mexican Mining Engineer, he was the director of several mines during the rule of Porfirio Díaz. He was the director of the Mines "Las Dos Estrellas" in Tlalpujahua in the State of Michoacán, "Purísima Grande" in Real del Monte in the State of Hidalgo and "San Andrés...
worked in the mine Las dos Estrellas, it was there where two of his sons Juan Pablo
Juan Pablo Aldasoro
Juan Pablo Aldasoro , an aviation pioneer, was born on September 14, 1893 in the "Casa Grande" of Real of Monte, State of Hidalgo, Mexico; in the same place, his brother Eduardo Aldasoro Suárez was born on October 27, 1894. Both brothers were born to an upper-class family, their father Ing...
and Eduardo were born. They would later on became pioneers of air flight. Both of them became members of the Early Birds of Aviation
Early Birds of Aviation
The Early Birds of Aviation is an organization devoted to the history of early pilots. The organization was started in 1928 and ultimately accepted a membership of 598. Membership was limited to those who piloted a glider, gas balloon, or airplane, prior to December 17, 1916. The cutoff date was...
.