Mexico & Beyond

I recently took a tour of 18th century haciendas in the beautiful Ameca Valley west of Guadalajara with hacienda hunter and historian Jim Cook and other friends. Haciendas were the centers of rural Mexican life for hundreds of years and the peones were indentured much like the serfs in Russia and sharecroppers in the U.S. Some haciendas have been restored and turned into beautiful boutique hotels and spas, but many are in various states of decay, as are the 3 sites we visited. The chapels often became the churches in the towns where the haciendas are located as shown in the first site we visited, Hacienda Santa Maria, in the town of the same name. But in the more rural areas where haciendas are not in the center of towns, such as Hacienda San Jose Miravalle in the town of San Jeronimo, and the Hacienda Santa Maria de la Huerta, the chapels have succumbed to time and decay.

As we walked around these once vibrant sites I had the feeling of being in the ghost towns of the American West. And as I was editing the photos, I had a strong sense that they should be in black and white  rather than in color.

If you want to explore haciendas in various states of former glory as well as levels of decay I suggest going to Jim Cook’s amazing blog site:  cookjmex.blogspot.com