Sunday, March 08, 2015

Day Three - Mexico City, Taxco


The old mining town of Taxco is filled with cobbled streets, traditional plazas and houses with elegant colonial facades. The small city of Taxco, sitting just north of the State of Guerrero, is very popular. Taxco is about 1/2 way between Mexico City and Acapulco. We parked just outside of town and took the uphill walk to the zocalo. The town is filled with Volkswagen taxis. 

Due to the intense exploitation of its silver deposits, Taxco became one of the most important mining areas in the empire of New Spain. Today, in almost every corner of the town, you can find stores where locally-produced silver jewelry is sold. It's a good shopping town. The city's name comes from “Tlachco”, which means “place of the ball game” in the Aztec language, Nahuatl. Following the conquest, Taxco acquired the name Taxco de Alarcon in honor of the famous colonial playwright, Juan Ruiz de Alarcon y Mendoza, who was born in the town in 1581. 











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