Zempoala: Historic Heart of Hidalgo's 16th-Century Congregation

Zempoala, Zacuala, Textilpan and Tlaquilpan were the four towns that in the mid-sixteenth century converged to form the Congregation of All Saints, which had its epicenter in what is now Zempoala main square in the state of Hidalgo, 30 kilometers away Pachuca city.

 

Precisely in front of the Main Square is the parish and the plateresque facade’s Ex Convento de Todos los Santos, built between 1570 and 1585 by the Franciscan monks. It has a high tower for the belfry and a large open chapel with two huge access arches, in addition to the church and the convent.

 

The religious complex is associated with Zempoala’s main attraction—the Acueducto del Padre Tembleque, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2015, since the religious building is within the protection area.

 

Next to the former convent is the Hacienda Casa Grande, the only one in the region that didn’t produce pulque, since the owners, the Enciso family, had Hacienda Los Olivos dedicated to making this traditional spirit drink.

 

So the Casa Grande operated as an inn and sold bread, candles, soap and vegetables from its vegetable garden. Hacienda Casa Grande can be visited to appreciate its magnificent rooms furnished with pieces brought directly from Europe.

 

The tour proposes a back in time trip to the 19th century throughout its kitchen and bathrooms, the library, the dining room with a strange horseshoe-shaped table, the bedrooms and the chapel. In fact, Cesáreo Enciso was the one who donated the land to build today’s Zempoala main square.

 

Then, in the main square center, stands out a monument known as Picota or Rollo: a stone column with jaguars at its base and a capital with four lions that, according Zempoala chroniclers, served as much to demarcate the boundary between each of the four congregation towns as to execute criminals in public.

 

Finally, another unmissable tourist attraction in Zempoala is La Guadalupana bakery, which has been producing sweet breads that has provoked sighs for more than 70 years.