My Travel Partner Julie-Anne and I took Lechuza out to the town of Talpa De Allende. We knew the city was a religious destination but we didn't know what we were in for. This city is Mexico's Jerusalem. A religious destination. Much like how Saudi Arabia has the world's Hajis travelling on their hajj to Mecca, Mexico has its own pilgrims travelling, by foot, across 117.32 km to a humble little town tucked away in the Western Sierra Madre mountains.
Don't be fooled by its location on a spur off of the main highway- Many, many people find themselves here. The city is located 14km (8 Mi) off of the main drag across a mountain pass. At the top of the pass you'll find a massive tower. The tower is situated above the city so the pilgrims can look down upon it. "This is it, we've made it." they must say after their multi-day trek.
The tower is full of religious imagery and many bracelets and candles are place on or around fences and posts.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
When we went down into the city, we realized how clean it was. The religious tourism brings people from all over the country, and Jalisco, as far as Mexican states go, is one of the well-off ones. All of the tourism must bring in a ton of revenue, because I don't remember seeing a single homeless person, tweaker, or drunk anywhere. People walked through the streets and squares dusting off sidewalks and public spaces. Buildings were recently painted and very clean. There were few, if any, abandoned buildings.
We were at an AirBNB down the road from the turn onto "Sweet Street", a whole corridor lined with candy shops that created their own treats made from variants of sugar-cane preparations. They were done in-house, with primitive machines whirring, cooking, and mashing sugar-cane matter into batters they can fix into treats. The whole street smelled absolutely divine.
Upon reaching the end of the street was a small church with the town square and larger church just beyond.
THE CLIENTELE
People were bustling about, both locals and tourists, and we realized: There's not a single gringo to be seen. We've found ourselves in a Mexican destination that only the locals either know about or care to visit. I chock it up to the motorcycling being the point of access.
If you're a backpacker, this city is a dead-end. There's no where to go from here, so if you take a bus, you're taking the same route back. Also, those buses are covered in religious imagery and have messages such as "The Pilgrims choice!" written on the sides.
Because Talpa isn't a gringo tourist destination, we found ourselves unencumbered by vendor harassment. Typically we're shouted at along the street by restaurant waiters, juice vendors, children selling gum, or musicians looking for tips. Not here.
THE CITY
Talpa De Allende was only connected by highway as recently as 2007. In that time, the city has exploded with tourism and religious pilgrimages, and that's yielded a lot of income for the local government.
Whether they're guided by religion or public service, the leaders of this city have used its funds for some amazing purposes. The streets are lined with brand new, colored and patterned tiles. On a motorcycle, I cannot tell you how nice that is to no longer be on the Century-or-more-old cobblestone streets that jut your wheels around. The sidewalks are in good shape. The public square is clean and the local museum is also in good form. The buildings are all painted vibrant colors and it looks like they've all been given a fresh coat within the last 5 years at MOST.
Everything is clean and safe as far as Mexican towns go. I'd expect to see something of this caliber in a nice neighborhood in a major city, but it just seems like this whole tucked-away religious center of Mexican Catholicism is upstanding and worthy of a visit. The most you'll end up spending is time.
-JT
1/8/2023