Arroyo Seco is a town in Arroyo Seco Municipality located in the far north of the Mexican state of Querétaro. Its territory is part of the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve of Querétaro. The municipality is centered on the small town of Arroyo Seco, which was established as a military outpost then given town status in 1833 under the name of Villa de Guadalupe before changing to its current name. The town gained municipal status in 1931. The area is very rural with most people living in communities of under 100 people, with significant Pame communities. It has a traditional economy based on agriculture, livestock and forestry but it is also one of the poorest in Mexico, with high rates of emigration, especially sending migrant workers to the United States. It is estimated that one in four households in the municipality receives money from family members in this country. The municipality is also home to one of five Franciscan mission complexes built under the tenure of Junípero Serra, located in the community of Concá.
The town Arroyo Seco is a small town of about three hundred homes centered on a plaza named after Mariano Escobedo. The town originated as a military outpost called the Presido de Arroyo Seco. It became the seat of the municipality of the same name in 1931.
The houses are painted in various colors and its streets are quiet. The town is home to all municipal services and has the most developed infrastructure and social services in the area. This includes the Casa de Cultura cultural center, an auditorium and a library. The Mariano Escobedo plaza has an “oriental” style kiosk surrounded by large trees. On one side the main parish church called the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe dominates. This church was begun in 1904 and was supposed to be much larger than it is, but construction was suspended due to the Mexican Revolution. It has an austere facade and the interior has black pews. The most important yearly event in the municipal seat is the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe on 12 December.
Handcrafts such as saddles, leather goods and wooden barrels for water storage can be found in the town.
Geography
The municipality is part of the Sierra Gorda region, which is centered on northern Querétaro state. This region is a branch of the Sierra Madre Oriental, consisting of mountain chains that parallel the Gulf of Mexico. This land was sea bed 100 million years ago, which formed ancient sedimentary rock, mostly limestone, which easily erodes. This makes the area part of the Huasteca Karst Arroyo Seco is completely within the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve of Querétaro, which was established in 1997.
Most of the territory is mountainous, with gradients of over 25%. Altitudes in the territory range from 560 to 1340 masl with an average of 980masl. The mountain formations are subdivided into two parts. The first is a corridor along the border with Jalpan which is over forty km long and five km wide. This area has some very low valleys of only 700 masl. The second area is more rugged with canyons of up to 600 meters deep and peaks which reach over 2000 masl. There are a number of flat areas and valleys which are mostly along the Ayutla and Concá rivers. The principal elevations are Santo Domingo, Cantera, Cofradía, Soledad and Pitorreal.
The terrain is composed of sedimentary rock, mostly layers of limestone, which present on the surface with medium or fine grain and sometimes as clay. It, like most of the Sierra Gorda, is on former sea bed from 150 million years ago. Recently, Arroyo Seco and other municipalities of the Sierra Gorda have reported numerous small earthquakes. According to seismologists, these are caused by the movement of water through sedimentary rock. Erosion causes gaps and then the gaps settle onto themselves, causing the small quakes. One thing scientists are checking for is to see if any areas stand over underground cavities which may give way.
The area's location over the Huasteca Karst and the erosion of limestone has given rise to numerous pit caves. The largest of these in the Sierra Gorda is located in Arroyo Seco, called the Sótano de Barro, located in the Santa María de los Cocos community. The Sótano del Barro is one of the largest cavities of the world by volume, measuring 15 million cubic metres, surpassed only the Sima Mayor de Sarisariñama in Venezuela. In comparison, the Sótano de Las Golondrinas has a volume of only five million meters cubed. Its widest diameter measures 420 meters and its average width is 200 meters. It has a total depth of 455 meters with a direct drop of 410 meters. Its perimeter is surrounded by dense vegetation, which is a sanctuary for green macaws. It requires a walk or mule ride of about two hours through dense forest to reach. The walls of the pit cave are mostly vertical and partially covered by vegetation. At the bottom of the cave there is a small forest on a floor which was sea bed 100 million years ago, which measures 220 meters long and 100 meters wide. Despite its depth, the bottom of the pit cave receives an abundance of sunlight allowing for the growth of trees and other vegetation, making it an isolated mini forest. The bottom also has a number of small caves, with the largest fifty meters long. This pit cave has been classified as the deepest in the world although this has recently been challenged by those who wish to include those pit caves which are not continuous such as the Stary Swistak in Austria, which has a total depth of 480 meters. Hydrography Principal river systems include the Santa María, the Ayutla River and the Jalpan River with their tributaries such as the Concá River in the south of the municipality. The Santa María enters the municipality from San Luis Potosí and flows along a 400 meter deep canyon until it merges with the Ayutla River. This river flows northeast, forming another canyon then merges with the Jalpan River. There are about 100 accessible sources of water in the municipality with most located in the communities of Salitrillo, Concá and Ayutla. The municipality is home to the junction of two of the major rivers of the Sierra Gorda, the Santa María and the Ayutla River at a location called Las Adjuntas. The Santa María River here flows warm to hot in the summer and the Ayutla River remains cold. Although the two rivers have different water colors and temperatures, both are regulated by the surrounding environment. The Santa María River has a number of beaches which are open to camping. There is also sports fishing of native catfish. The northern border of the municipality is partially formed by the Verde River. The Concá Waterfall is located just south of the town of the same name. This waterfall is fed by a fresh water spring and falls into the Santa María River. Despite the name (which means dry stream or dry arroyo), most of the arroyos in the area have water in them most of the year. The municipality has ten easily accessible sources of surface water. However, the over extraction of water has led to dropping water tables and many of the area's fresh water springs are flowing at slower rates or have dried up. Climate The municipality divides into two climate regions. The north is semi arid with an average temperature of 22C and an annual rainfall of between five and 10.5mm per falling mostly in the summer. The other is semi hot with average temperatures varying from 18 to 22C with rains in the summer. In the winter, the area is vulnerable to cold spells, brought in by cold fronts that arrive from the north and west. The cold spells do not usually reach freezing as the municipality does not have the high peaks that neighbors such as Pinal de Amoles does, but snow mixed with rain fell in 2006 and in 2010, freezing temperatures did reach communities such as La Florida and San Juan Buenaventura. Very cold temperatures can prompt emergency services such as the provision of blankets by the municipality's civil protection service or evacuation to shelters. Communities which are most vulnerable to severe cold include La Sanguijuela, La Escondida de Guadalupe, La Cantera, Río del Carrizal and El Durazno. The area has had problems with droughts over the past decade, especially in 2009, which have been draining reserves and aquifers. The lack of water has caused the deaths of livestock and forced more people to emigrate from the municipality. Many communities now must rely on water trucked in from outside. Flora and fauna Vegetation on the limestone and other sedimentary soils ranges from lowland rainforest to grasslands to scrub brush in more arid areas. In forested areas, the trees include oaks, pines, white cedar, strawberry trees and oyamels. In the drier areas, there are also mesquite trees with some other desert plants including cactus. In the lowest elevations there are tropical hardwoods such as red cedar, Montezuma cypress and a tree called the “parota.” Wildlife mostly consists of birds and mammals such as doves, quails, chachalacas, eagles, roadrunners, and some waterfowl. Mammals include squirrels, rabbits, armadillos, white-tailed deer, foxes, coyotes, wild boar, pumas, raccoons, skunks, and opossums. There are some reptiles such as rattlesnakes and coral snakes.
Culture The most popular traditional music is Huapango, especially Huapango arribeño. It is most often played in “topadas” a type of musical duel between two musicians competing on improvisation of lyrics and melodies. Many of the songs are about history, arte and current events. In 2006, Guadalupe Reyes Reyes from El Refugio won the Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes in the Popular Arts category. He won the award for his contributions to Huapango arribeño. Reyes formed the band, Los Reyes de El Refugio and their work mostly focuses on rural life in the Sierra Gorda. He was born 1931, but had to work at farming early, learning to read and write mostly on his own. He was taught guitar and found he had musical ability, becoming a cantor at the local church when he was 14.
Typical dishes include jerky, cecina, “Serrano” style enchiladas and pit cooked barbacoa. Sweets include “chancaquillas” which is made with piloncillo and squash seeds. Beverages include aguamiel and pulque along with atole with sunflower seeds.
The various communities have festivals in honor of local patron saints, but the most important festival in the municipality is that honoring the Archangel Michael on 29 September. It is celebrated with street fairs and crafts exhibitions.
The mission church of Concá
The mission complex at Concá is one of five Franciscan missions which were built under the direction of Junípero Serra in the mid-to-late 18th century. The missions were the last in a long line of evangelization efforts in the Sierra Gorda, which were resisted by the indigenous peoples, especially the Chichimeca Jonaz for about two centuries. This resistance was militarily broken at the Battle of Media Luna in 1748. To consolidate Spanish dominance, the Franciscans under Serra had these churches with elaborate Baroque facades built in the heart of the Sierra Gorda. In addition to Concá, churches were built in Jalpan, Tancoyol, Landa and Tilaco. The facades are notable not only for their profuse decoration, but also for the appearance of a number of indigenous elements.