Where's Pancho Villa?

Overview

Toot Toot Thump Photo - Chihuahua, Mexico

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Pancho Villa's House, his headquarters during the revolution, is now the Museo de la Revolucion Mexicana, filled with Villa's original furniture; tons of guns; the car he was shot in; some wonderful photographs from the revolution; and an interesting, colorful mural.Pancho Villa's Mausoleum, commissioned by Villa himself, years before he died, is in a park in Chihuahua, but Pancho isn't there.The Cathedral, Nuestra Señora de Regia y San Francisco de Asisi, on the main plaza, the most beautiful baroque, or maybe churrigueresque, church this far north in Mexico. In part of the cathedral is the Museo de Arte Sacro (Museum of Sacred Art), housing some glorious ...Read More

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Cebolla Roja

Restaurant | "La Cebolla Roja"

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Chihuahua is a large city with many restaurants, we knew this, we had been here numerous times before. We drove in circles for an hour and could find nowhere to eat. Libby was getting that look, the feed me or die glare. I was about to utter the fatal words, "How about potato chips for dinner? Umm, which way to, umm, what's the name, you know, the hotel?" when I spotted the restaurant. "Look, the Cebolla Roja, I wonder if it's open." A quick, illegal and ridiculously dangerous u-turn into the empty parking lot, an open sign on the door, Libby's glare faded; I knew I was safe.The manager greeted us at the door, chuckled, made a lighthearted comment about women drivers, and seated us. Wood p...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 16, 2007

Cebolla Roja
Revolucion Nº 2018
Chihuahua, Mexico
+52 (614) 411 1244

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Palacio de Gobierno

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The Palacio de Gobierno is on Plaza Hidalgo. We were here the week before 16 de Septiembre, Independence Day, and all the buildings on the plaza were decked out in red, white, and green, the national colors. It was a bright, glittery, festive sight with flag vendors on the corners and banners hanging off of buildings, even the corn carts were decorated.We looked around the plaza and tried to figure out which bedecked building was the Palacio de Gobierno. It wasn't too hard. It is a huge neoclassical-ish building constructed of supposedly ochre colored stone; it looked pink to me. It was built in 1882 with a third floor being added, after a fire, in 1941.We walked inside and saw...Read More

The Palacio de Gobierno is on Plaza Hidalgo. We were here the week before 16 de Septiembre, Independence Day, and all the buildings on the plaza were decked out in red, white, and green, the national colors. It was a bright, glittery, festive sight with flag vendors on the corners and banners hanging off of buildings, even the corn carts were decorated.

We looked around the plaza and tried to figure out which bedecked building was the Palacio de Gobierno. It wasn't too hard. It is a huge neoclassical-ish building constructed of supposedly ochre colored stone; it looked pink to me. It was built in 1882 with a third floor being added, after a fire, in 1941.

We walked inside and saw three floors of arches, beautiful pink arches. Staring up, doing the tourist thing, I tripped over a chair and landed in a pile of more chairs. The place was being set up for a ceremony of some sort. We had to rush through the palace; it was going to close early.

On the ground floor, around the main courtyard, are some interesting murals, painted in 1961 by Aaron Piña Mora. They depict the history of Chihuahua, from Cabeza de Vaca's expedition in 1530 through the revolution in 1910. The section dealing with the mine workers is particularly creepy, and moving, as is the section depicting Hidalgo's execution.

Off to one side, in the Altar a la Patria (Altar to the Homeland) is an eternal flame burning in the exact spot Miguel Hidalgo was executed. Nearby is a mural of the man at gunpoint and a plaque reading, "In this spot, Don Miguel Hidalgo, father of national independence, was sacrificed, at seven in the morning on the 30th of July in the year 1811."

On the second floor are even more murals, country scenes with cowboys on horseback herding cattle, more arches, and a nice view down at the main courtyard. We rushed out just as people were starting to arrive for the ceremony. On our way out we saw a sign for the Museo Hidalgo, but no entrance. Maybe the Palacio de Gobierno is considered the Hidalgo Museum. Speeding through, it took us maybe 15 minutes to see the place, we would have liked to spend another 15 minutes or so to get a better look at the murals. It is open from 10am to 4pm, sometimes 8pm. There is no charge to enter.

To get here from La Plaza de Armas, the main plaza, head northeast along Libertad 4 blocks, turn right on Carranza, go a block, and look right. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on February 18, 2007

Palacio de Gobierno
Calle Aldama s/n
Chihuahua, Mexico

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Museo de la Revolucion Mexicana

Attraction

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Housed in Pancho Villa's 50-room mansion, Quinta Luz, the Museum of the Mexican Revolution is a must see for anyone visiting Chihuahua. Not only does it have an incredible array revolutionary artifacts but it is a great example of how the rich lived in revolutionary Mexico.After Pancho Villa's death, in 1923, the state of Chihuahua declared Luz Corral de Villa his official widow and owner of the mansion. When she died in 1981 she left the estate to Chihuahua with the condition it be made into a museum of the revolution.The house is a beautiful hacienda style structure, with an abundance of arches and wrought iron railings, built around various courtyards. Part of it is still closed to ...Read More

Housed in Pancho Villa's 50-room mansion, Quinta Luz, the Museum of the Mexican Revolution is a must see for anyone visiting Chihuahua. Not only does it have an incredible array revolutionary artifacts but it is a great example of how the rich lived in revolutionary Mexico.

After Pancho Villa's death, in 1923, the state of Chihuahua declared Luz Corral de Villa his official widow and owner of the mansion. When she died in 1981 she left the estate to Chihuahua with the condition it be made into a museum of the revolution.

The house is a beautiful hacienda style structure, with an abundance of arches and wrought iron railings, built around various courtyards. Part of it is still closed to the public.

Most of the furnishing and decor are from when Villa was alive. His widow changed almost nothing, living in a shrine to her deceased husband. Now little guns on the wall point the way through the house. Most of the signs are in Spanish but much of what is in the museum needs no explaining. Some rooms are full of weaponry used during the revolution, some have historical documents but what I found the most interesting were the many photos of the revolution and of Villa. Copies of some of the pictures are sold in local stores but many I had never seen before.

Outside, in the courtyards, are the highlights of the museum. Along a hallway, through some arches, is a colorful, exciting mural of Villa and the revolution. Farther along, in another courtyard, is the car in which Pancho Villa was murdered, still full of bullet holes. Towards the back of the house is a peaceful garden shaded by trees. A great place to cool off on a hot day.

To get to El Museo de la Revolucion Mexicana from the main plaza go a block southwest to Ocampo, turn left, go 13 long blocks to Mendez, turn left, and go two blocks down the hill.

We found the museum with no problem. There was plenty of parking on the street in front of the house. The museum reopened later than scheduled that afternoon. Usually Tuesday-Saturday 9am-1pm and 3pm-7pm, Sunday 10am-5pm, closed Mondays. One of the security guards was outside he gave us the lowdown on the place, told us where to look for bullet holes, told us of Villa'a life, fact and legend. It was an informative, pleasant half hour.

We entered, paid our ten pesos, and were informed photography was not allowed indoors but in the courtyards, no problem. Libby and I both found the house fascinating, glanced at the guns, then she headed to the documents and I studied the photographs. I loved the colorful mural, she did not. The car was, well, a car, but I had to see it, I was on a Pancho Villa kick, I had actually planned this trip around Pancho Villa. We left after about an hour and a half and judged it an afternoon well spent. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on February 18, 2007

Museo de la Revolucion Mexicana
Calle 10 #3010
Chihuahua, Mexico

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Chihuahua (General)

Attraction | "Pancho Villa's Mausoleum"

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Pancho Villa had his mausoleum built long before his death. He chose the spot; he chose the design. It is beautiful, a tall graceful building of carved pink stone, surrounded by fluted columns and topped by a delicate, domed tower. It is set in a park and surrounded by trees. It seems like an awfully fancy resting place for a horse thieving bandit, or, for the Robinhood of Mexico, whichever way you choose to view him. Finding Pancho Villa's MausoleumPancho Villa is THE hero in Chihuahua but nobody seems to know exactly how to get to his mausoleum. We were told it was in a park but no one could agree on which one. We were pointed in the general direction. We tried to foll...Read More

Pancho Villa had his mausoleum built long before his death. He chose the spot; he chose the design. It is beautiful, a tall graceful building of carved pink stone, surrounded by fluted columns and topped by a delicate, domed tower. It is set in a park and surrounded by trees. It seems like an awfully fancy resting place for a horse thieving bandit, or, for the Robinhood of Mexico, whichever way you choose to view him.

Finding Pancho Villa's Mausoleum

Pancho Villa is THE hero in Chihuahua but nobody seems to know exactly how to get to his mausoleum. We were told it was in a park but no one could agree on which one. We were pointed in the general direction. We tried to follow the map to Parque Revolucion, it sounded like a place a revolutionary would rest. There was road construction. We wandered. We saw a park with a lovely building surrounded by trees. We picked our way through the torn up street. We found Pancho Villa's Mausoleum. We knocked but nobody was home. Not even Pancho Villa could find the way to his mausoleum.

We are not sure if we were in Parque Revolucion, there were no signs, but we believe so. To get here from the main plaza, head southeast on Independencia for about eight blocks, turn left on Jimenez, go a block or two and you should see the park, between Calle 3 and Calle 7. If you don't see the mausoleum, ask someone, it can't be more than a block or two away.

Where is Pancho Villa?

On July 20, 1923, Pancho Villa was shot, murdered, along with four of his friends, while driving down the street in Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua. He was buried in Parral, we have heard various versions as to why. His mausoleum, actually no longer his, was expropriated by the governor of the state, or maybe the mayor of Chihuahua. Or possibly it was a battle between his twenty or thirty wives; the one in Parral, having custody of the body, and, possession being nine tenths of the law, won.

Anyhow, shortly after being put in the ground in Parral, he was allegedly dug up, decapitated and his head stolen. There are theories as to who would do such a thing. The two most popular suspects seem to be the CIA, who wanted to study his brain to see what made him so smart, and the Skull and Bones Order from Yale, because that's the kind of thing they do. My theory – one of the wives, in a jealous rage.

He was reburied and years later, in 1976, dug up again, this time by the Mexican government. His possibly headless body was shipped off to Mexico City, to rest with other revolutionaries, like Carranza and Madero, in the Monumento a la Revolucion. He never did get to use his mausoleum. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on February 18, 2007

Chihuahua (General)

Chihuahua, Mexico

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Chihuahua (General)

Attraction | "The Cathedral"

Quote:

Our first stop in Chihuahua was the Plaza de Armas. I find visiting the main plaza in any Mexican city gives me a feel for the town. The one in Chihuahua is large, clean, rather formal looking, with small trees, a couple of statues, and in the middle a fancy bandstand donated to the city by Belgium. The plaza is surrounded by big buildings built around 1900 and the beautiful church. Thankfully I had worn shoes and had a skirt stuffed in my purse which I put on over my shorts so I could go inside the church.Nuestra Señora de Regla y San Francisco de Asis, Chihuahua's cathedral, is the finest example of baroque construction in Northern Mexico. It was started in 1726, the exterior was finished by...Read More

Our first stop in Chihuahua was the Plaza de Armas. I find visiting the main plaza in any Mexican city gives me a feel for the town. The one in Chihuahua is large, clean, rather formal looking, with small trees, a couple of statues, and in the middle a fancy bandstand donated to the city by Belgium. The plaza is surrounded by big buildings built around 1900 and the beautiful church. Thankfully I had worn shoes and had a skirt stuffed in my purse which I put on over my shorts so I could go inside the church.

Nuestra Señora de Regla y San Francisco de Asis, Chihuahua's cathedral, is the finest example of baroque construction in Northern Mexico. It was started in 1726, the exterior was finished by 1758 but because of Apache raids the interior took longer. The bells were finally hung in 1798.

The main facade of the church is intricately carved, in the niches are the twelve apostles and to either side are stately bell towers. The sides of the church also have beautiful carvings. The interior of the church, remodeled in 1940, is also beautifully carved, especially the high altarpiece and the cupola.

On the southeast side of the church is the Museo de Arte Sacro which displays religious paintings from the 18th century, many of them originally from the Loreto church which was demolished in 1878, painted by Miguel Cabrera, Jose de Alcibar, Antonio de Torres, and others. The museum also houses the ashes of Padre Maldonado and the coffins of various bishops. The centerpiece of the museum is the locally crafted chair made for Pope John Paul II's visit to Chihuahua.

When we entered the museum we were not sure if we were in the right place. We were in a small room where there was a lady in a chair knitting. We saw no signs indicating a museum. She looked up, assured us we were where we wanted to be, collected our ten peso (US$1) entrance fee and asked us to leave our cameras with her. No photography is allowed. She then gave us a detailed description of what we would see, the history of the pieces, names of the artists and such. Some of the paintings were beautiful, emotion provoking. Some I found flat and dull. The chair the Pope sat in is center stage in the museum. We left, completely forgetting about our cameras. The lady came out after us to give them back. The museum is open weekdays from 10am to 2pm and 4pm to 6pm, and since it is part of the church you are expected to dress modestly. The cathedral is open daily from 10am to 8pm. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 4, 2007

Chihuahua (General)

Chihuahua, Mexico

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Chihuahua Journals

Where's Pancho Villa?