El Arbolito

El Arbolito is a mining barrio climbing the hill just north of Pachuca's historic centre, about 800 metres from the Reloj Monumental clock tower. On 28 February 2023 Mexico's federal tourism ministry named it a Barrio Mágico: the fourth in the country, after Chetumal's historic centre, the Barrio de Tlaxcala in San Luis Potosí and Villa de Seris in Hermosillo, and the first in Hidalgo.

It was one of the first neighbourhoods of mine workers in the 19th century, when British companies drove Pachuca's silver boom, although most of the hillside filled with houses in the early 1900s. Part of the roughly 8,000 km of mine tunnels between Pachuca and Real del Monte runs beneath it. Residents say a huge pepper tree once stood in the middle of the barrio, ringed with benches where miners gathered, and that this little tree gave the place its name; where it stood there is now a mine wagon donated by the Real del Monte mining company. When mining declined, many houses and tenements emptied out and the barrio carried a rough reputation for years.

Today you explore it on foot along alleys and long flights of steps that tire the legs but open onto views of the city. The designation brought the federal Rutas Mágicas de Color programme, which began repainting facades along Galeana and Reforma streets in October 2023, using a palette proposed by INAH, the national heritage institute, and chosen with a local collective; the Cancha del Pueblo sports court is covered in murals by residents and artists. Old bars such as El Gran Golpe and La Nueva Veta, where miners went for pulque, are still open, and neighbourhood groups like Unidos por El Arbolito and Arbolito Cultura run walking tours, street parties, bazaars, workshops and music.