The toll of church bells echoed to years past. Its melodic chime signaled another hour’s passing, but for many youth that day, it gestured the commencement of a very significant, right-of-passage—their First Holy Communion. The aisle of the Colonial cathedral was flooded with girls in ethereal white dresses, their hushed excitement tangible. I watched in anticipation as my then-boyfriend’s niece floated down the aisle in a gauzy dress, a vision of cotton candy and the sweetness of a girl playing dress up in her mother’s wedding dress. Proud, shiny parents clicked cameras, the tiny bursts of light startling the sacred past. Outside, the smell of handmade corn tamales infused the air, while agua fresca and elote (roasted corn on the cob covered with hot chili powder, mayonnaise, queso fresco, and lime juice) beckoned to us from the nearby sunny plaza.
In Queretaro, Mexico, sunbeams color the sidewalks and open-air squares are filled with children licking pastel-colored fresh fruit paletas (popsicles), while adults linger over café con leche in al fresco verandas that surreptitiously spill onto cobblestone sidewalks.
This idyllic town could come straight from the pages of a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, but it is far from imagined. Visiting Queretaro, Mexico—just a short two-hour drive from the booming metropolis of Mexico City—is a brilliant way to experience Mexico and its history without the sunburned tourists and watered-down margaritas.
In Santiago de Queretaro (the capital of Queretaro), the past is effortlessly present. Known for its beauty and colonial architecture, the historic center of Queretaro has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Originally the home of the Otomi Indians, Queretaro was conquered after a bloody battle with the Spanish in the 1500s. Starting in the sixteenth century, the Spanish, and indigenous dwellers such as the Otomi, the Tarasaco, and the Chichimeca resided together in Queretaro, and the many buildings and religious monuments nod to this multicultural cohabitation.
Wandering the streets of Queretaro, surrounded by centuries-old buildings and indigenous dwellers who gather in side streets to sell multi-colored dolls and intricate hand-woven tapestries, it was easy to feel that I was slipping in and out of time. The town has splashes of European splendor, but the generations of natives give the town its depth and vibrant culture.
