”After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.” Nelson Mandela

Querétaro Day 4…..three more stops in the city before we head home after an enriching time spent in this vibrant colonial city. It’s filled with many plazas overflowing with the colors and sounds of life.

The Cerro de las Campanas (“Hill of the Bells”) is a hill and national park and is noteworthy as the place where Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg, along with two of his generals were executed; definitively ending the French intervention in Mexico. The mountain gets its name from rocks that, according to legend, make bell sounds when struck.

The site was initially marked with piles of stone topped by crosses made of sticks. In 1886, the first monument was constructed on the site: three stone columns engraved with the names of the deceased, surrounded by iron bars supported by wooden columns. In 1900, after relations between Mexico and Austria resumed, the Emperor Maximilian Memorial Chapel was constructed on the site. Commissioned by Emperor Franz Joseph I in memory of his late brother, the chapel was dedicated on April 10, 1901.

On May 15, 1967, the centennial of the arrest of Maximilian, a portion of the mountain, including the east side and the summit, was designated a national park. This was the same day as the inauguration of a statue of Benito Juárez. Its base features an engraving of a quote by Juárez, “Entre los individuos como entre las naciones, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz [es]” or “Among individuals as among nations, respect for the right of others is peace”.

The irony is that Benito Juarez was the person who ordered the capture and execution of Maximillian.

Convento Santa Clara, built by the son (Criollo) of the founder of the city of Querétaro, the convent was built in 1606 to give shelter to the religious vocation of his daughter Maria Luisa of the Holy Spirit. This was to shield her from the discrimination faced by the new generation of new Spaniards born in the new world. In the colonial era, the Temple of Santa Clara was one of the most important and wealthiest of New Spain.

Temple and convent of San Augustine … this architectural complex is the most original and artistic expression that the Augustinians built. The construction was carried out between 1731 and 1745 in an exceptional baroque style. In the temple, there is an image of the crucified Christ known as Lord of the Home. The cloister of the former convent, one the most beautiful in the Americas, now houses the Museum of Art.

We drove by El Teatro de La Republica. This lovely old functioning theater carries a very heavy historical burden. On the night of the 15th of September 1854, the premiere of the Mexican National Anthem was presented. In 1867 a tribunal met to decide the fate of Emperor Maximilian. Mexico’s constitution was also signed here on January 31, 1917. The stage backdrop lists the names of its signatories and the states they represented. In 1929 politicians met in the theater to organize Mexico’s political party, the PNR (now called PRI).

On the ride home my mind was in a constant playback of the sites, sounds, smells we experienced over the last four amazing days.