Explore The Bajío Scattered with enchanting colonial towns and
rugged, dust-blown hills, the fertile valleys of the Bajío
spread across Mexico’s central highlands almost from coast to
coast and as far south as the capital. This has long been the
most heavily populated part of the country, providing much of
the silver and grain that supported Mexico throughout the years
of Spanish rule. Indeed, the legacy of Spanish architecture
remains at its most impressive here, in meticulously crafted
towns that – at their cores at least – have changed little over
the centuries. The Bajío grew rich on just one thing – silver –
but in time the region also grew restive under the heavy-handed
rule of Spain. The wealthy Creole (Spanish-blooded but Mexican-
born) bourgeoisie were free to exploit the land and its people,
but didn’t control their own destinies; lucrative government
posts and high positions in the Church were reserved exclusively
for those actually born in Spain, while the indigenous peoples
and poor mestizos were