- El Pípila
.
"Pípila" was a
miner . He came from the nearby town of San Miguel, nowSan Miguel de Allende , and worked in the Mellado mine. (The Rayas and Mellado mines were the first in Guanajuato, opened in 1558). Miners are of great importance in the state and city of Guanajuato, which was the largestexport er ofsilver in the world at the end of the 1700s. Silver and othermineral s are still mined there today.Pípila became famous for an act of heroism near the very beginning of the
Mexican War of Independence , on28 September 1810 . The insurrection had begun in the nearby town of Dolores, led byMiguel Hidalgo , a criollopriest born inPénjamo . He soon moved to the city ofGuanajuato, Guanajuato , where the Spanish barricaded themselves–along with plenty of silver and other riches–in agrain warehouse known as theAlhóndiga de Granaditas . Thegranary was a stonefortress with high stone walls, but itswooden door proved to be anAchilles' heel .With a long, flat stone tied to his back to protect him from the
muskets of the Spanish troops, Pípila carriedtar and atorch to the door of the Alhóndiga and set it on fire. Theinsurgents –who far outnumbered the Spanish in the warehouse–stormed inside and killed all thesoldier s and the civil Spanish refugees. Some accounts say that Pípila was not alone but went accompanied by other indigenous miners ready to fight for their freedom from the Spanish, but as the story is told today in Guanajuato, Pípila stood alone to break through the door.The monument
The stone monument of a muscular man, holding aloft a flaming
torch , towers on a hill at the edge of the city. Visitors can ride on afunicular to and from the monument, or they can walk up one of several steep stairways to the top. At the base of the monument, a series of broad stoneplaza s provides plenty of space for the numerous camera-carrying tourists and young lovers. From the foot of the monument, they have a fantastic view of the whole city of Guanajuato.References
* [http://www.guanajuatocapital.com/ingles/Apipila.htm Monument to El Pípila]
* [http://www.mexonline.com/amigonews/sbc01.htm - El Pípila, by Susana Bouquet-Chester, Ph. D.]External links
* http://www.cityvisions.com/historicMexico/mrotek3.html - Castle Guanajuato, CityVisions; Malcolm Lubliner Photography
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