Chihuahua Attractions

Chihuahua state - Capital

Chihuahua is a land of magnificent scenery mountains, canyons, deserts and fresh, clean, clear air. Its spectacular canyons are the biggest in North America. Within the canyons are beautiful waterfalls, one of which is the highest in Mexico. Chihuahua also contains fertile valleys.

PANCHO VILLA'S MANSION

The Museum of the Revolution (Museo de la Revolución) at Calle 10 Norte #3014 is now owned by the Mexican army! Villa's former 50-room mansion was turned into a museum by his widow, Luz Corral de Villa, who lived here proudly showing it off to visitors until her death in 1981. Many people still refer to it as Quinta Luz or La Casa de Villa. Despite having insufficient signs or information, this museum is, quite rightly, a must-see on most visitors' agendas. Now standing in silent homage to "El General", the great man's personal mementos and furnishings, which once echoed to the sounds of his boisterous gatherings and wild parties, today hover in the background while, drawn by ghoulish magnetism, visitors cluster in the courtyard, counting the holes in his bullet-riddled Dodge roadster.

Palacio del Gobierno

The Palacio del Gobierno is a magnificent, ornate structure dating in part from 1890; the original building, the Jesuit College, was built in 1718. A colorful, expressive mural encompasses the first floor of the large central courtyard and tells the history of the area around Chihuahua from the time of the first European visitation through the Revolution. In the far right corner, a scene depicting Benito Juárez flanked by Abraham Lincoln and Simón Bolívar, liberator of South America.

In the far left rear courtyard are a plaque and altar commemorating the execution in 1811 of Miguel Hidalgo, the father of Mexican independence; the plaque marks the spot where the hero was executed in the old building, and the mural portrays the scene.

Hidalgo's Dungeon

Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was a priest in Dolores, Guanajuato, when he started the War of Independence on September 15, 1810. Six months later, he was captured by the Spanish, brought to Chihuahua, and thrown in a dungeon for 98 days. He was then shot along with his lieutenants, Allende, Aldama, and Jiménez. The four were beheaded, and their heads hung in iron cages for 9 1/2 years on the four corners of the Alhóndiga granary in Guanajuato as examples of the fate revolutionaries would meet. In this cell, Hidalgo lived on bread and water before his execution. The night before his death, he wrote a few words on the wall with a piece of charcoal to thank his guard and the warden for the good treatment they gave him. A bronze plaque commemorates his final message

Centro Cultural Universitaria

If you like design and beautiful antiques, especially Art Nouveau, then this is the place for you.