San Luis Potosí

The economic base during the times of New Spain was mining. Thisbrought about the foundation of a settlement that gave birth to citieslike San Luis Potosí. Around 1592, silver was discovered in the east of San Luis, in theCerro de San Pedro, consequently, this brought about a large Spanishimmigration.

 The town would become a geographical and administrativecenter, so that a link was established between Cerro de San Pedro andthe processing, commercial and service centers, consolidating thebases of its development. The ranches (haciendas) were built as a land organization system inthe region, classifying them as benefit, cattle, agricultural or mixedranches.

 It was the seventeenth century: a time of expansion andconsolidation of many settlements; this hacienda system immersed in abundance followed the discovery of that precious metal.

The city was organized according to its original outline, which consisted of a central plaza and nineteen blocks extended towards the four cardinal points.  San Luis Minas del Potosí was the one that attracted many immigrants towards its prosperity, who started to establish themselves around it, building neighborhoods and towns. Among others, the neighborhood of Tequisquiapan, a place of fertile lands in which Guachichil Indians settled toward 1583; Tlaxcalilla was founded in 1592 and was considered of great importance thanks to the Franciscan monastery built there.

 In Tlaxcalilla there was a neighborhood of Tarasc Indians that later founded the town of San Miguelito to the south of San Luis.  To the north, the neighborhood of Santiago was established by the Guachichil Indians, who lived next to the Tlaxcaltecs, so that the sedentary life of former would be influenced by later.  The peace in the region was somehow guaranteed by the consolidated economy in the area. The religious buildings were built as a symbol of faith and prosperity; the mining boom determined the architectural outline of San Luis during the passing of two centuries, bequeathing beautiful constructions to posterity.  In the historical center there is the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral, which was consecrated in 1854.  In the perimeter there are many beautiful buildings: the Government Palace, built in the seventeenth century, the Municipal Palace with its neoclassic style, etc.  Other interesting sites are the Plaza de Fundadores, a place where the first settlement of the region was formed in 1588; the Monastery and the Plaza del Carmen, the Alameda Juan Sarabia, and the Paz Theatre, all constructed at the end of the nineteenth century.  In front of the theatre is the Federal Palace, which is currently the Mask Museum and the Telegraph building.

The Public Granary Building and the old Royal Revenue Bureau are proof of vice regal architecture, the Monumental and Mercantile palaces are typical of Porfirian architecture, always elegant and distinctive of the economic splendor of that time; French influence is noted in the Crystal Palace, built in part in what was the Community House for Lay Sisters of the seventeenth century. San Luis Potosí is a privileged city in its geographical location, and this represents an incentive for opening investments and commercial relations with different states within Mexico or the United States. It is linked through various modern highways and railways, and it also has an active social and economic development plan that increases the social arena as time passes.  The mining industry is widely diversified, which permits supply of raw material to industrial companies, making production costs much cheaper.  

As far as productive capacity, labor in this city is quite adaptable and qualified, as well as less expensive than in other Mexican cities.  The modernization of San Luis Potosi has been a constant that summed up with other qualities, have made this urban center an excellent option for economic development.  The terms of globalization and total quality form part of this city, located in the center of the country: a working city, full of history, architectural jewels and urban spaces that still shine as in the times of the glory of the Cerro de San Pedro.  San Luis Potosí!