Cuatrociénegas

History

Archaeological finds show that people were living in this valley some 5,000 years ago. The name, "four marshes", was given by the first settlers for the springs that create lakes and wetlands in the middle of the desert.

Several attempts to settle the place failed before Antonio Cordero y Bustamante succeeded on May 24, 1800, founding the town as Nuestra Señora de los Dolores y Cuatro Ciénegas. The parish of San José was built in 1806.

On December 29, 1859, Venustiano Carranza was born here, in a house from the early 1800s that is now a museum. Carranza had the town hall built in 1899, went on to lead the Constitutionalist side in the Revolution, and was president of Mexico from 1915 to 1920. The town's formal name, Cuatro Ciénegas de Carranza, honors him.

In 1860 an Italian immigrant from Padula, Miguel Ferriño, started a small distillery of brandy and grape spirits that grew into Bodegas Ferriño, one of the oldest wineries in Mexico, known for its Sangre de Cristo wine. A second family winery, Vitali, opened in 1948.

In November 1994 the federal government declared the valley a protected area for flora and fauna. Scientists have since studied its pools for clues about early life on Earth, and the town has become the main center of Coahuila's desert region.