San Luis Potosi Mexico

San Luis Potosi is a state in the nation of Mexico and the capital city of that state. The city has a population of around three-quarters of a million, and if the surrounding municipalities are counted, another hundred thousand can be added. The city is 6,157 feet high, a thousand feed higher than Denver Colorado.

The city is named for Louis IX of France, known as Saint Louis, and the Potosi mines discovered in Bolivia forty years before the city was founded. While San Luis Potosi never rivaled the Bolivian Potosi mines, the city became quite wealthy.

A Franciscan mission was founded on the site in 1583 and a city followed in 1592. Gold and silver mines in the area fueled the growth of the city, but lead and copper were also important. In 1854 Gonzales Bocanegra wrote the Mexican national anthem in San Luis Potosi. In 1863, during the French invasion, San Luis Potosi was the capital of Republican Mexico under Juarez in 1863 and again in 1867. Francisco Madero drafted the San Luis Plan while he was imprisoned in the city by dictator Porfirio Diaz and this set the stage for the Revolution of 1910.

The modern city of San Luis Potosi is an industrial city with, flourmills, smelters, textile mills, breweries and furniture factories and highways surrounding the city. The city contains many famous buildings such as the Plaza de Toros Fermin Rivera bullring, the Church of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, a baroque church with a famous sculptural altar and one of the finest façade’s in Mexico. The Jesuit college founded in 1624 was raised into a university in 1923 and the Científico y Literario is considered one of the best in Latin America. The city has a large supply of students, which helps create a young atmosphere and provide manpower and customers for a variety of cultural offerings and other entertainments.

San Luis Potosi is nicknamed the “City of Gardens.” There is at least one garden in each of the city’s seven original districts. Each of those districts also contains at least one major church. These churches are all in different styles as the city contained many different groups during its period as a regional capital during the northern expansion. The city is also called the “Two Hour City", as it is two hours away from many cities such as Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato and more. San Luis Potosi is also located in the middle of the country, and isn’t far from the metropolitan cities of Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.

The old colonial center of the city is closed to vehicular traffic, creating a pedestrian friendly main square around which the old marvels cluster. The Plaza de Armas, the main square, has the Palacio de Gobierno, the building which has twice been the capital building of Mexico, the Palacio Municipal, originally built as a haven for art, but in the wake of the city’s violent history of war, has become the city hall.

The city has an international airport, bus connections from the array of major cities that are only a couple of hours away or by car for those who want to drive themselves. Once within the city, taxies are available. These are not metered, so be sure to negotiate the price before getting into the car. Some hotels will arrange taxis for you, and those who speak Spanish can usually get a much better deal. There are local celebrations such as the National Dance Festival in the last two weeks of July and the National Fair the last two weeks of August. There is also a Spring Art Festival the last two weeks of May, but this is not a yearly event.

The downtown area has many banks with ATM machines, and many local Casas de Cambio will buy traveler’s cheques and cash for a suitable fee. Milk based, sugary sweets are a specialty in San Luis Potosi and are available almost everywhere in the city. The city has a relatively stable year round weather pattern, with warm dry weather. The rainy season is April through November, but this is generally a heavy and short rain in the afternoon, leaving a clear and cool evening. A sweater can be useful at night, especially in the winter season.