Pabellón de Arteaga

Pabellón de Arteaga is a young town by Mexican standards. Before 1927 there was nothing here but a railway flag stop; the town grew up with the building of the Presa Plutarco Elías Calles, the first big irrigation project of the post-Revolution government, which turned the dry plains around it into farmland. It later took the surname of General José María Arteaga.

Today it is the center of the Aguascalientes wine route. Five wineries in the municipality are part of the route, including Hacienda de Letras, Vinícola Santa Elena, Bodegas Origen, Viña Las Cruces and Vinícola El Aguaje, and most offer tours and tastings. Old haciendas such as Garabato and Santiago date back to the late 18th century.

In town, the parish church of Guadalupe, built in 1946 in a modernist style, keeps a painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe attributed to the 18th-century painter José de Alcíbar, and its tall bell tower is a local landmark. Food is the other draw: Pabellón's burritos, filled with shredded beef, chicharrón or beans with rajas, are famous across the state, and the municipal market serves tacos, birria and gorditas from early morning.