La Noria de Santo Pantaleón 

Sombrerete, Zacatecas

– A Mining Ghost Town -

 

“If you were an eagle soaring in the restless mountain winds, you would spy a town below, its ruins clinging to the craggy slopes.  You would see old walls, strange, conical formations-and a tiny, orange chapel.  This is an old, ghostly mining town called La Noria de Santo Pantáleon”. 

 

Resting in the notch of a low mountain just to the northwest of Sombrerete is the abandoned, mining ghost town (pueblo fantasma) of La Noria de San Pantaleón.  Well, it’s not quite abandoned, as about 20 families, mostly descendants of the original miners, returned to re-occupy some of the long-deserted casas that once comprised the now tiny community. (The town reached a population of 5000 in the early 20^th century).  The old 16^th century Spanish Colonial gold and silver mining town sets at an altitude of around 8,700 feet (2,684 meters).  The community now consists of scattered casas and tiendas, a church (Templo San Pantaleón) with a convent attached, a tiny chapel, and a few, small civic buildings.  On the nearby mountainside sets the remains of old mining structures, and curious, conical structures long ago deposited by the excavated material from the mines bored into adjacent mountains. (The material was deposited by large containers suspended by cables). The (four) huge conical piles gradually solidified into solid structures that appear like extra-terrestrial creations.  On the top of a nearby ridge is an observation tower built by the local population.  “La Noria”, as it is called, is a curious place with intriguing beauty, and most worthy for exploring, painting, and photographing. 

 

Sketch map of La Noria´s central garden, watercolor by author. 

 

During my visit there with the Director of the Tourism Office, I manage to measure and sketch the centrally located plaza edged by a small church and abandoned structures. Next to the church is a small garden (jardín) with a gazebo (kiosco) in its center.  I quickly concluded that this magical pueblo fantasma deserved a place in this book.  I highly recommend spending time here.  The community is small and very safe. 

 

Vista (watercolor) of La Noria.

Be sure to bring a picnic lunch and plenty of water.  La Noria is about a 20-minute taxi ride from Sombrerete´s historic center.  Because of its high altitude, dress accordingly. 

A Casa in La Noria, oil painting by the author. 

La Noria de Santo Pantaleón will be include in my upcoming book, Painting Mexico: Sombrerete.