Pancho Villa~not in swimming trunks!


Sleepy little town of Mapimi~1598 A.D.
After our trip to the mine & defying gravity at the Hanging Bridge of Ojuela we visited the sleepy town of Mapimi. The town dates to 1598. We visited the old 1772 church where I was suprised to learn that there was a notice posted about a couple's intentions to be married at the church & it is posted for a period before the wedding. The purpose is so anyone who is going to contest the upcoming union will come forward! This is still very common in small towns in Mexico & dates back to a Papal Cannon of centuries past. How times have changed in the rest of the world. I am assuming the wedding was to take place as announced this evening at 6pm. We did not stay to attend the wedding! Apparently in a small town like Mapimi everyone would be invited to the wedding, even visitors. We also visited a museum celebrating Revolutionary Heros. There we had a guide who showed us photos of the Ojuela Mine when it was still in production as well as a photo Pancho Villa in his swimming trunks! Of course this image was very strange since I heard stories as a child from Great Grandaddy about riding with the Texas Rangers chasing Pancho Villa into Mexico. This stately gentleman in the swim trunks shown with the visiting dignitary somehow didn't look the part!