Hidalgo del Parral is a city and seat of the
municipality of Hidalgo del Parral in the
Mexican state
A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...
of
Chihuahua. It is located in the southern part of the state, from the state capital, the city of
Chihuahua, Chihuahua
The city of Chihuahua or Chihuahua City ( ; Lipan language, Lipan: ) is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. , the city of Chihuahua had a population of 925,762 inhabitants. while the metropolitan area had a popu ...
. As of 2015, the city of Hidalgo del Parral had a population of 109,510 inhabitants,
while the metro area had a population of 129,688 inhabitants.
During the colonial period the city was a significant supplier of silver to the Spanish empire and was known as San José del Parral. The name of the city was changed after independence from Spain, in honour of Fr
Miguel Hidalgo
Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte y Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican Wa ...
, widely considered the 'Father of the Country'.
Geology
Hidalgo del Parral mushroomed from the base of a hill of silver known as the Cerro la Prieta. The hill, is a part of the eastern foothill belt of the
Sierra Madre Occidental
The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...
, characterized by thick eroded deposits of tertiary volcanics.
The
bed rocks of both
sedimentary
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock formed by the cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or deposited at Earth's surface. Sedime ...
and volcanic origin supply both
lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
and lead-free
silver vein bearing ores.

Parral's topography is characterized by both the silver vein bearing ores of its hill and adjacent basins that allowed for: the growth of crops such as
maize
Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
,
cattle grazing, and easy routes of communication to the state capital.
History
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Parral was once a bustling center for
silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
mining.
According to legend, Juan Rangel de Biezma came here in 1629, picked up a rock on the “Cerro la Prieta” (La Prieta Hill), licked it and proclaimed, “There is a mineral deposit here.” This deposit produced silver for 340 years.
Despite legend, as early as 1567, the silver mines at
Santa Barbara were established in the territory of the Conchos people. However, in 1631, a vast new silver strike was made in what is now southern Chihuahua. Later, in 1640, it was declared "Capital of the World of Silver" by monarch
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...
, at the very height of the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
, that included territories in
Eastern Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan ...
, Italy, and the
Low Countries
The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
.
Colonial Era
Urban design and economy
Parral's urban design during the colonial period did not mirror the stereotypical checkboard grid layout. Instead, the city developed with housing situated as close to the mine and hill as possible. Over time these temporary quarters evolved to more permanent, ''jacales'', adobe structures surrounded by corrals plots of vegetables.
The development of Parral's association with its grain farms and
stock ranches was based on the region's major physical characteristics and the necessity for agriculture to sustain the region's growing population. Under colonial authority the region was developed as a permanent mine-ranch settlement complex, requiring large amounts of food and labor.
Despite the fact Parral was not the most lucrative of the northern Mexican colonial mines, by 1640 Parral's population was 8,500, making the town the largest north of the tropic of cancer in the Americas, and nowhere else in the Americas during the colonial period was there a larger concentration of enslaved African people living in a single place.
Mining and labor
Labor within the mines was challenging, physically brutal, and frequently exploitative. The principal shaft of the mine at Cerro Prieta was 420 feet deep. In order to access the metals lodged beneath the ground, workers, dug with picks,
wedges, metal points, and
crowbars.
Tools weighed at times up to forty pounds, and miners were working for twelve hours or more a day. Alongside grueling physical labor, miners were also at risk for danger on the job. Diggers regularly fell into shafts, were crushed by collapsing sections of the mine, and breathed in large amounts of silica causing scar tissue and lung decay. The inhalation of silica in the mines would build up in miner's lungs over years gradually causing severe lung scarring, low oxygen levels, and eventually death.
After metals were retrieved beneath the surface, miners, frequently enslaved Indigenous and African men utilized leather bags to bring metals to the surface. Derived from the Nahuatl word, ''tenatl'', a fiber or leather bag, ore carriers were generally referred to as ''tenateros''.
Carrying 225–300-pound bags of metallic rock from the shafts to the surface, enslaved miners crawled through low passages and ascended by way of pine logs and ladders, before being unloaded into carts for transport.
A member of the
Reales de Minas in Northern Mexico, the mines in Parral had a distinctive militaristic political and social structure.
Labor for the mines of Parral was initially hard to obtain as the
Chichimec people were not sedentary and were able to resist Spanish forced labor in the
repartimiento
The ''Repartimiento'' () (Spanish, "distribution, partition, or division") was a colonial labor system imposed upon the indigenous population of Spanish America and the Philippines. In concept, it was similar to other tribute-labor systems, such a ...
system. Thus, systems of free labor emerged in the mines of Hidalgo del Parral that attracted large numbers of
Aztec
The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...
and
Tarascan workers from the Southern mining company, Axace and Xixime workers from Sinaloa, Opata from Sonora and some Huichol and Tepehuan workers from
Durango
Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...
.
Connecting networks of migratory native mine workers and suppliers across the region, the economic sphere of Parral extended far beyond the colonial center's geographic boundaries.

After extraction, metals were transported from the mine to dozens of estates, known as
haciendas
A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards) ...
, across the region for processing. Utilizing the smelting method to crush the ore into coarse gravel and combine it with molten lead, workers separated silver from rock. A few haciendas in Parral did not use the smelting process, and instead utilized patio amalgamation.
Independence
The large area of southern
Chihuahua inhabited by the
Tarahumara people included the highway between the mining districts of Parral, Cusihuiriachic, and Chihuahua.
Asarco
ASARCO (American Smelting and Refining Company) is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in Tucson, Arizona, which mines and processes primarily copper. The company has been a subsidiary of Grupo México since 1999.
Its three largest ...
managed the La Prieta mine until the boom ended in the early 1930s; the minerals that were extracted were sent to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
for final processing and then shipped back to
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, the US and other markets. After the end of the silver mining boom, Parral was almost completely abandoned in the early 1930s.
Currently, Parral is a medium-sized town in the state of
Chihuahua mainly dedicated to commerce and is an important regional center for trade between the southern regions of Chihuahua and northern
Durango
Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...
. It received its first local television station in 1969, the now-defunct
XHJMA-TV channel 3,
["Cierra Ifetel el canal 3 de Parral"](_blank)
''El Diario de Parral'' 4 April 2014 and it currently has one local station,
XHMH-TV channel 13.
Parral is often associated with several historical figures, including
Mexican revolution
The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...
ary leader
Pancho Villa
Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...
, who was assassinated in Parral on July 20, 1923, and initially buried here; and border ruffian "Dirty"
Dave Rudabaugh, a sometime friend and foe of
Billy the Kid
Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who was linked to nine murders: four for which he was solely res ...
.
Locals and visitors of Parral can visit the Palacio de Alvardo, a late nineteenth century house belonging to a mining baron, as well as, if accompanied by a guide, the mine itself.
Its intricate network of streets and alleys are distinctive features of the city, helping to preserve its colonial style. Urban development has been slow due to the lack of potable water and its complex physical geography.
Notable sites
El Palacio de Alvarado
It belonged to one of the most prominent families in Parral, descendants of
Pedro Alvarado owning the silver mine called “La Palmilla.” This family was rich enough to offer the President
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...
to pay the national external debt. The palace was constructed by
Federico Amérigo Rouvier and it is now a museum and cultural center. It has preserved much of the original European-made furniture. The walls of the patio were painted by Italian painter
Antonio Decanini between 1946 and 1948.
El Hotel Hidalgo
This historical building was a gift from
Don Pedro Alvarado to
Pancho Villa
Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...
and is located next to the Plaza Guillermo Baca.
La Casa de la Familia Griensen (the Griensen Family House)
This is where
Elisa Griensen was born. She distinguished herself in Parral history by fighting against a contingent of U.S. soldiers sent to capture Pancho Villa after he crossed the border and attacked Columbus, New Mexico.
The Francisco Villa Museum
The Francisco Villa Museum is a historical building located on the street near the spot where Villa's enemies waited days for him to pass and ultimately assassinated him in 1923. Every year in July, his death is reenacted here.
Casa Stallforth
This was a beautiful and luxurious palace (during the era), with a beautiful baroque style; decorated in the facade with many beings from the
Nordic mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
, that once belonged to the Stallforth family—who along with the Alvarado family, became the town's main benefactors, contributing much to its infrastructure.
Notable events
The annual staging of the Murder of
Francisco Villa, a recreation using props from the era, in the exact place of the historical event.
The annual Cabalgata Villista, is a long-distance horse ride with statewide massive participation and a spectacular visual event as thousands of horses enter the city (see
Cavalcade).
Food
In addition to its diverse and rich History, Parral is famous for its traditional foods. Parral was recently named as one of the “Ten Gastronomic Marvels of Mexico,” primarily for its artisan confectioneries ''dulces de leche''. These include a wide variety of candies and pastries from old recipes based on milk, sugar, and natural fruits. Some other notable recipes with a touch of Parral are enchiladas, rayadas, barbacoa, steaks and cabrito (goat).
Dulces de leche
Dulces de leche are cooked-milk confections found nationwide in Mexico; Parral has been historically acclaimed since the 1930s because of the distinctive flavor of its dulces de leche—candies made with nuts like pecans, peanuts, hazelnuts, and fruits such as apricot, pineapple, coconut and others. Parral's candies have been shipped around the world; interesting destinations include Vatican City, Washington DC, and London.
These traditional confections arrived in Parral in the early 20th century. The origin of recipes is unknown, although it is believed that they arrived in southern Mexico from Europe during the colonial times. Then, these recipes were transferred to later generations.
One of the most famous confectionery artisans in Parral was Don Pablo Rodríguez, founder of La Gota de Miel. Don Pablito (as the Parralenses knew him) was born in Teocaltiche, Jalisco in the late 19th century. He and his wife arrived in Parral in the early 20th century, after working for several years in the State of Coahuila as a baker and a cook in the Hacienda del Rosario (now Parras de la Fuente) for Francisco Madero and Mercedes González (parents of
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Francisco I. Madero). It is believed that their recipes might have acquired some influence from professional chefs also working in the hacienda at the time.
Several local artisans in Parral had recently—in the late 1990s—attempted to imitate ''Don Pablito's'' original recipe without success.
Enchiladas
Enchiladas are a specialty Mexican plate also found nationwide, and Parral is traditionally famous for its delicious enchiladas. They are a rolled maize tortilla stuffed with meat and covered with a tomato and chile sauce. Enchiladas can be filled with a variety of ingredients, including meat, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, or seafood.
These other traditions in Parral started in the early 20th century and they gained notoriety in the mid-late 20th century. Enchiladas originated in Mexico. Anthropological evidence suggests that the indigenous people of the Valley of Mexico traditionally ate corn tortillas folded or rolled around small fish. Writing at the time of the Spanish conquistadors, Bernal Díaz del Castillo documented a feast enjoyed by Europeans hosted by Hernán Cortés in Coyoacán. In the 19th century, as Mexican cuisine was being memorialized, enchiladas were mentioned in the first Mexican cookbook, ''El cocinero mexicano'' (''The Mexican Chef''), published in 1831, and in Mariano Galván Rivera's ''Diccionario de Cocina'', published in 1845.
8] Probably, as with the dulces de leche, these recipes arrived to Parral from immigrants from the south of Mexico.
Among the most famous cookers of enchiladas in Parral was Doña Cuca, near the historical Calicanto bridge.
Barbacoa
Barbacoa is meat from cattle or sheep slowly cooked over an open fire or, more traditionally, in a hole dug in the ground covered with maguey leaves; although the interpretation is loose, in the present day it may refers to meat (traditionally whole heads are used)steamed until tender.
During colonial and post-colonial times, Parral was famous because of its delectable barbacoa or birria de hoyo. Such barbacoa contained ingredients as laurel (bay leaf), garlic, maguey, onions, and other condiments. It was one of the luscious foods of the executives, foreigners, and miners working in the silver mines at Parral.
Sports
Judo
Parral has one of the best clubs of Judo throughout Latin America: ''Judokan Parral''. It is a Judo academy in one of the most isolated places in Mexico. Among the most recognized alumni of Judokan is
Vanessa Zambotti, and Olympic judo-fighter with international experience, winner of a gold medal in the XIX Central American and Caribbean Games and silver medalist at the Judo World Cup in 2008. Judo in Parral is recognized at Panamerican level thanks to Judokan Parral.
Judo is increasingly becoming important for future generations who follow the sport closely in the North of Mexico. Judo in Parral is being recorded through oral testimonies and photographs to sketch this part of northern Mexico in popular history, including the impact of judo among practitioners.
Baseball
Parral is famous, primarily in the North of Mexico, for its baseball team ''Los Mineros de Parral''.
Government
As of January 2020, the city's mayor is Jorge Alfredo Lozoya Santillán, while the current city clerk is Francisco Adrián Sánchez Villegas.
Notable people
*
Gloria and
Nellie Campobello, ballet dancers and choreographers. Born in
Ocampo, Durango, spent their childhood in Parral.
*
Consuelo Duval, actress.
*
Manuel Gómez Morín, politician, founding member of the
National Action Party, born in
Batopilas, Chihuahua, then moved to Parral.
*
Juan Gómez-Quiñones, historian, professor of history, poet, and activist. Co-editor of the
Plan de Santa Bárbara.
* Linda Helú Atta,
Carlos Slim's mother.
*
Humberto Mariles,
show jumping
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...
champion in the
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...
in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, where he won gold medals both in Individual Jumping and in Team Jumping.
*
Carlos Montemayor, novelist, poet, essayist and literary critic.
*
Adrián Mora, professional footballer, currently playing for
Toluca
Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...
.
*
Antonio Ortiz Mena, politician and economist. Director of the
Mexican Social Security Institute
The Mexican Institute of Social Security (, IMSS) is a Federal government of the United Mexican States, governmental organization that assists public health, pensions and social security in Mexico operating under the Secretariat of Health (Mexic ...
from 1952 to 1958,
Secretary of Finance and Public Credit from 1958 to 1970, president of the
Inter-American Development Bank
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America. It serves as one of the leading sources of development financing for the countri ...
from 1971 to 1988.
*
José Fernando Ramírez, historian.
*
Yair Rodríguez, mixed martial artist, former Interim
UFC Featherweight Champion.
*
Misael Rodríguez, bronze medal, boxing
men's middleweight at the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
*
Rafael Rangel Sostmann, rector of the
Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.
*
Aurora Reyes Flores, painter, first female exponent of Mexican muralism.
*
Alfredo Ripstein, film producer.
*
Jesús Gabriel Sandoval Chávez, professional boxer.
*
Vanessa Zambotti, judoka, Gold medalist in the
Pan American Games
The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...
,
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
2007.
*
Alex Dey, motivational speaker.
*
Eric Garcetti
Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the List of ambassadors of the United States to India, United States ambassador to India from 2023 to 2025. He was the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles f ...
, Los angeles Mayor 2012-2022.
Geography
The city is located in the southern part of the state, from the state capital, the city of
Chihuahua, Chihuahua
The city of Chihuahua or Chihuahua City ( ; Lipan language, Lipan: ) is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. , the city of Chihuahua had a population of 925,762 inhabitants. while the metropolitan area had a popu ...
.
Climate
Parral has an altitude-moderated
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''BSk'') with rainfall limited to heavy thunderstorms during the hot summer months. During the dry season from October to May, days range from mild to hot and nights from chilly to mild.
Frost
Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...
s are common though not persistent in the winter.
Sister cities
*
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...
, United States
*
West Kanpur, India
References
Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
External links
Municipio de Hidalgo del ParralOfficial website
Parral from above Photo
Estacion del Tren de Parral
Parral Chihuahuawww.PuroChihuahua.comwww.enparral.comParral images
Map with the points of interest in the city of Parralhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE26jkv3b2c
{{Authority control
Populated places in Chihuahua (state)
Populated places established in 1631
1631 establishments in New Spain
Municipality seats in Chihuahua (state)