Hualahuises - The Vatican of Nuevo Leon

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

We're here in San Miguel de Allende for the three-day weekend.  Monday the 21st Mexico celebrates the birth of Benito Juarez a famous character in the independence of Mexico and twice elected president.  He was of an indigenous origin, born in Oaxaca, exiled to Cuba for a short time, and revered by our current president.

The trip down was long.  We ran into many road works projects and on the south to north side of Matehuala, we witnessed a ten-mile dead-stop traffic jam due to an accident that left two semis on fire.  It was not a stressful drive and we had a lot of fun in the car.  We brought down the furniture I mentioned in the last post and the handyman came and helped to hang mirrors and pictures.  

Now to Hualahuises.  Last weekend we took a drive south to the town which is located just minutes for Linares where you make the turn to head over the mountains to Hwy 57 and the San Roberto interchange.  We pass it regularly on our trips and always say we are going to visit.  We went early Sunday morning.  Hualahuises is a small municipality of roughly 6000 people.  The town is named after an indigenous tribe the Gualaguises.  It is known also as the Vatican of Nuevo Leon as it is completed surrounded by the municipality of Linares.  

We went for the sheer pleasure of walking across the town's famous swinging suspension bridges.  The original which no longer allows horses or bicycles and the new bridge which sits next to it and they cross the Hualahuises River which comes from the Sierra Madre and runs through town.  

While we were there it was time for breakfast.  A quick stroll around the town square, a look at the church, and off we went in search of a place to eat.  Bingo!  The best chorizo and eggs served with refried beans and manteca and corn tortillas made fresh.  It was a true ranch breakfast.  After we headed out for the suspension bridge.   Nothing too exciting but we can say we saw it, crossed it, and know what it is all about.

Hualahuises doesn't go without its fame either:

Home of the Juga baseball glove company.  They produce leather baseball gloves exported mainly to the U.S. for MLB.

A company that manufactures traditional wooden toys such as the trompo, the top on a string attached to a stick.  You attempt to pop the top onto the stick.

Hualahuises is also home to two regional musical groups; Grupo Pesado and Grupo Los Invasores.

Dr. Eduardo Aguirre, a scientist who founded the Science and Biology Faculty at the state university.

The trip was a blast, the weather was cool and we learned some new things about our state that neither of us knew.  We were back home in time for a nice nap on a cloudy day.