One was the second most important city in economic terms during the Viceroyalty, the other was the first city in New Spain. The capital, Zacatecas, and the city of La Antigua, in Veracruz, have been classified as historical monuments by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) through a decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federation. The decision is based on the numerous buildings built between the 16th and 19th centuries, which demonstrate the importance of both geographies in the course of Mexican history, according to the Institute.
The colonizers discovered Zacatecas in 1546 and settled there for its silver ore. The metal produced great wealth and was the main source of income for the Spanish monarchy, according to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Other important metal-producing sites during the period were Tehuantepec, in Oaxaca; Zumpango and Taxco, in Guerrero; Sultepec, in the State of Mexico; and Tlapujahua, in Michoacán. But the flourishing of metallurgy began here.
The various Chichimeca tribes that inhabited Zacatecas were the Caxcan, Guachichi, Guamar, Irritil, Huichol, Tecuexe, Teule, Tepehua, Cora, and Zacatecas. The latter were the most important and from them the name of the state and capital is derived, according to a publication on the Destinos México Program website.
The city stands around Cerro de la Bufa, a historic hill that staged the capture of Zacatecas in 1914, an event of the Mexican Revolution in which General Francisco Villa’s troops defeated the Huerta army.
In 1993, the city center was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The architecture, which ranges from late Baroque to modernism, is noteworthy. the archaeological site of La Quemada, which was the border between Mesoamerica and Aridoamerica, and the El Edén mine, which enjoyed its heyday during the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1960, operations closed and 280 meters underground, it was converted into a tourist destination.
La Antigua, located approximately 28 kilometers from the port of Veracruz, was founded in 1519 and was the first city in New Spain. Hernán Cortés established the first town council here, and in 1525, on the banks of the Huitzilapan River, the first port. This settlement handled all commercial traffic between New Spain and the Iberian Peninsula for almost 75 years. At the end of the 16th century, the city of Veracruz was moved to its current location and, to differentiate it from the old city, was named La Antigua.
Here stands the Ermita del Rosario, the first Christian church in the Americas, 20 meters high and five meters wide. A tiny site compared to the megastructures of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City or the Church of Santo Domingo in Puebla, for example, the Ermita del Rosario is a symbol of the beginning of the evangelization of the Mesoamerican peoples, the beginning of Christianity, according to Omar Ruiz Gordillo, an anthropologist at the INAH (National Institute of Archaeology).
There is also the house of Cortés, a property that tour guides declare to be the place where the Spanish conquistador lived. However, chronicler Wenceslao García Hernández told the news outlet México Desconocido that the site was actually a customs house. The walls of the building mix coral stones and brick, the floor is made of clay, and a waterwheel survives the passage of time alongside a bread oven.
Source: elpais
