Saltillo

Saltillo is one of the oldest post-conquest settlements in northern Mexico. The conquistador Alberto del Canto founded it in 1577 as the Villa de Santiago del Saltillo, named after a small waterfall fed by a spring. The local Guachichil people resisted — the Sierra de Zapalinamé is named after a chief who rose against the Spanish in 1584 — and in 1591 the Spanish settled their Tlaxcaltec allies in a separate town, San Esteban de la Nueva Tlaxcala, just across an irrigation ditch. For a century the Spanish town stayed tiny, with about 300 people, while San Esteban had about 1,750.

In the 18th century Saltillo became a commercial bridge between central Mexico and the north-eastern frontier as far as Texas, supplying wheat to the silver mines of Zacatecas and draft animals to the north. An annual trade fair, established in the late 17th century, sent livestock and goods as far as China and Europe. In 1824 the city became capital of Coahuila y Tejas, and in 1834 San Esteban was merged into it. In February 1847, during the Mexican–American War, the Battle of Buena Vista was fought about 19 km from the city.

The railway arrived in 1880, followed by telegraph, telephone and street lighting, and during the Revolution the city was occupied in turn by the forces of Huerta, Villa and Carranza. Universities were founded from the 1920s onwards. The real industrial boom came in the 1970s and 1980s, when General Motors, Chrysler and their suppliers built plants here, and the metropolitan area, with Ramos Arizpe and Arteaga, became known as the "Detroit of Mexico".

Saltillo's best-known craft is the sarape, a long woven blanket or cloak with bright stripes. Tlaxcaltec settlers are credited with bringing the tradition to Coahuila, and it is commemorated in a museum and in the name of the baseball team, the Saraperos. The city is also known for Saltillo tile, the thick, lightly glazed terracotta floor tiles named after it.

The Tlaxcaltec past is still visible in the Ojo de Agua neighbourhood, whose residents organise the danza de matachines in honour of the Holy Christ of the Ojo de Agua, with feathered headdresses, bows and arrows and decorated skirts. The city has around 22 museums, several theatres and cultural centres in restored colonial houses, and the Rondalla de Saltillo, a group of guitars and voices from the agrarian university, has been the best-known name in Mexican rondalla music for decades.

Baseball has been played in the city since the late 19th century, and the Saraperos have played in the Mexican League since 1970. Religious life is strong, and the cathedral, the Ojo de Agua church and the old parish of San Esteban all draw worshippers. Each July a festival marks the anniversary of the city's founding.

At the 2020 census Saltillo had about 880,000 inhabitants and its metropolitan area just over a million, making it the largest city in Coahuila. It is one of the most industrialised cities in the country. General Motors and Stellantis assemble vehicles here alongside many parts makers, and the Grupo Industrial Saltillo makes home appliances, silverware and car parts. Newer investment has brought pharmaceuticals, chemicals, ceramics and aerospace parts.

Saltillo has been rated the most competitive city in Mexico among those of over a million people. In the second half of the 20th century the large orchards that once surrounded it disappeared as factories spread, and the city now runs into Ramos Arizpe and Arteaga along its boulevards and industrial parks.

Water has always been a concern in this desert city, and the rocks of the San Lorenzo Canyon in the Sierra de Zapalinamé recharge the aquifers that supply its drinking water. Universities, among them the Autonomous University of Coahuila and the Antonio Narro agrarian university, give parts of the city a student population.

Saltillo's signature is pan de pulque, a bread raised with pulque, the fermented sap of the agave, which gives it a slight sweetness and a moist, airy texture. The dough is made into loaves, braided breads and pecan empanadas, and while it is found in a few states of central Mexico, in the north-east Saltillo and a handful of nearby towns are almost alone in making it. The bread is a deeply rooted local tradition, much sought after by the people of Saltillo, and the same dough is used for chorreadas, molletes, braided breads and obispos.

The rest of the table is northern. Saltillo shares with Monterrey the habit of cabrito, kid goat roasted over coals, and of machacado con huevo, dried beef scrambled with eggs. Sweets made from fruit and milk have been made in the city since colonial times.

Restaurants and cafés cluster in the historic centre, while the newer boulevards have steakhouses and chains. The city also has a small craft-beer scene.