Melchor Múzquiz (usually known as Múzquiz) is a town in the Northern Mexico state of Coahuila. It is an interesting town with an indigenous population of Kickapoo and Seminole Indians who fled the United States in the mid 19th century. The area has also been the site of paleontological digs that discovered that the first residents of Múzquiz looked an awful lot like cast members from a Jurassic Park movie. The town is one of Mexico's designated Pueblos Mágicos.
Understand
[edit]By the early 18th century, Northern Mexico was a tough place for a Spanish settler to put down roots. The hot, arid climate was bad enough, but the westward expansion of the United States to the north was putting constant pressure on the indigenous Americans, many of whom fled further west and south into Mexican territory where they would often attack Spanish settlers trying to establish farms or mines in the region.
In 1737 the Spanish established Santa Rosa María del Sacramento as a fort to protect the state of Coahuila y Tejas against indian incursions. The fort also served as a military prison. A town began to grow around the fort. The town was named Melchor Muzquiz in 1850.
In the 1830s, Texas revolted against the Mexican government and became a state of the U.S., though native indian incursions continued in Texas and across the states of northern Mexico. Also in the 1830s, the U.S. government instituted programs of genocide and forced removal of indigenous peoples from the eastern United States. A group of Seminole people who had interbred with African slaves feared slavery if they remained in the U.S. and so migrated to Melchor Muzquiz in Coahuila, where they established a new homeland. These people are known as the "Black Seminole" in the U.S. (where a population also has a reservation in Oklahoma) and in Melchor Muzquiz are called the Mascogos. In Melchor Muzquiz, the Seminole have an ejido adjacent to the Kickapoo lands.
In the early 19th century, the Kickapoo tribe occupied a wide swath of territory stretching across the midwest into Texas and Mexico. In 1850, the Mexican government granted an ejido (communal lands) to the Kickapoo. The Mexican Kickapoo tribe is closely associated with 3 Kickapoo tribes recognized by the U.S. government in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The Kickapoo ejido is 17,000 acres on the former lands of the Hacienda de Nacimiento.
Today, the town of Melchor Muzquiz embraces its Kickapoo and Seminole communities and takes pride in local indigenous festivals and traditions.
Get in
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The nearest airport to Melchor Muzquiz is Piedras Negras (PDS IATA). It is served by regional carrier Aerus with flights from Monterrey (MTY IATA).
By bus
[edit]The nearest town with good bus service is Nuevo Rosita, about 20 minutes by taxi from Melchor Muzquiz. Nuevo Rosita is served by several daily buses operated by Autobuses Anáhuac from both Piedras Negras and Monclova. The bus from either city to Nuevo Rosita will take about 2 hours with tickets starting at M$300.
By car
[edit]Melchor Muzquiz is 150 km south of the U.S./Mexico border at Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras. From Piedras Negras, drive south on federal highway MEX-57 (and/or tollroad MEX-57D). The trip is on good, straight, well-paved roads and will take about 2 hours.
Get around
[edit]Múzquiz is easy to get around by walking. Its a small town laid out on a grid system with one highway (MEX-53) running through the center. For recreation areas or to visit the indian ejidos, a taxi is useful. Taxis are plentiful and can be found near the Parque Principal, or your hotel receptionist can call one for you.
See
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- 1 Museo Julio Galan, Adolfo E. Romo 1428, Campestre, ☏ +52 864 616 6522. F-Su 10:00 - 14:00, closed M-Th. Julio Galán was a famous modern/contemporary artist in Mexico who was particularly prolific from the 1980s until his sudden death in 2006 in a traffic accident while en route to Monterrey. Like many artists of recent decades, his work was often transitional and while some works felt surreal, others were described as neo-contemporary. He explored varied themes and was embraced by the LGBT community who appreciated his works exploring homosexuality. The museum in Melchor Muzquiz is housed in his boyhood home where he experienced a privileged upbringing. It includes gardens with walking trails as well as rooms featuring decorative arts representative of the 1960s and 1970s.
- 2 Museo Paleontológico de Múzquiz, Adolfo E. Romo 1701, La Cascada, ☏ +52 864 616 4800, [email protected]. Interesting small paleontology museum that focuses on the region's pre-history. There are some dinosaur bones and tusks from a wooly mammoth, but most of the fossils are sea creatures found in sandstone formations. There are also displays of minerals describing the local geology. The museum is small, but very modern. Tours (in Spanish) are available. Free.
- 3 Parroquia de Santa Rosa de Lima, Santa Rosa, Centro (next to Plaza Principal). Beautiful church that looks like an histsorical colonial era church but is actually a modern building constructed in 1939, but using neoclassical architecture and methods. The main nave is bright and colorful with stained glass windows along the upper gallery and an array of modern murals of Christ and his disciples on a sky-blue background on the walls of the lower level.
- 4 Museo de Ganaderia (Cattle Ranching Museum), Calle Ferrocarril, Infonavit. Small regional history museum focused on livestock and ranching practices in the local area.
Do
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There are hundreds of square miles of open land around the town and good areas nearby for active outdoor sports including hiking, mountain biking, kayaking and zip lining. Natural areas include the Rio Sabinas and nearby parks.
- 1 Parque la Cascada. Town park with hiking trails, views of the small waterfall, a zipline, and recreational amenities such as tennis courts, basketball courts, soccer field, and picnic areas. Several areas where you can swim, though some facilities are not well maintained.
Buy
[edit]There are some grocery and convenience stores around town but no traditional marketplace and no shops with any distinctive regional products.
Eat
[edit]- 1 El Jacal, Calle Morelos No. 619 Sur, ☏ +52 864 103 3747. Tu-Su 12:00 - 23:00, closed M. Comfortably elegant traditional restaurant serving Mexican cuisine with an emphasis on grilled meats. M$200.
- 2 El Clarin, José María Morelos 515, El Aguacate, ☏ +52 864 616 0673. Daily 06:00 - 22:00. Local lunch place, known for its empanadas.
- 3 Bingo, Hidalgo 302, Centro, ☏ +52 864 616 5300. Tu-Su 08:00 - 23:00, closed M. Casual restaurant, particularly popular for breakfast when the Huevos Bingo are recommended and the coffee is free before 11am.
Drink
[edit]Sleep
[edit]- 1 Hotel Sierra Bonita Muzquiz, Esquina con, Adolfo E. Romo y Manuel Dávila Santos 1900, La Cascada, ☏ +52 864 132 2830. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Modern hotel with clean, spacious, well equipped rooms. Hot water in the showers cold A/C in the rooms. On-site restaurant serving tasty regional dishes. Swimming pool.
- 2 Hotel Sabino Gordo, Adolfo E. Romo 906 pte, Fracc. Campestre, ☏ +52 864 616 0570. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 13:00. Modest hotel with clean, basic rooms. Attractive gardens on the grounds. On-site restaurant that is only reliably open for breakfast (which is quite good with fresh coffee, sweet breads and sliced fresh fruits).
- 3 Gran Hotel Muzquiz, Pdte. Benito Juárez 413, Centro, ☏ +52 864 616 2222. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Modern hotel with spacious rooms and off-street parking (under the guest rooms). On-site restaurant.
- 4 Hotel San Carlos, Pdte. Benito Juárez 605 Norte, Centro, ☏ +52 864 616 5070. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Modern hotel close to the town center (3 blocks from Plaza Principal). Clean, spacious rooms. On-site restaurant.
- 5 Fiesta Mexicana, Miguel Acosta SN, ☏ +52 864 616 1212. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. 20th century modern hotel with some dated facilities. Good on-site restaurant and live music on weekends. Off-street parking.
Connect
[edit]Cell coverage is spotty in the area, though 4G coverage in town is generally reliable. Service along roads into town is often limited to 3G.