San Francisco Anbanica

San Francisco Anbanica is the historic core of El Pueblito, the seat of Corregidora municipality, about 8 km southwest of central Querétaro. The recognised barrio takes in the municipal seat, the main square, the parish church of San Francisco Galileo, the Sanctuary of the Virgin of El Pueblito and the El Cerrito archaeological zone. Documents from the late 16th century already mention San Francisco Anbanica as a congregation of Indigenous farmers, and early in the 17th century it took the name Galileo, shared with its parish. Anbanica is translated as "high temple".

That high temple is El Cerrito, a pyramid that served as the region's political and religious capital from about 400 to 1500. Its busiest period came under Toltec influence, between 900 and 1200, when it grew from a local ceremonial centre into a regional shrine, probably devoted to a female deity. It was still revered as late as 1632, and the vegetation covering it made it look like a hill, hence its name, "the little hill". It was declared an archaeological monument on 9 November 2000 and has a site museum.

Close by stands the Sanctuary of the Virgin of El Pueblito, given the title of minor basilica by the Holy See in December 2024. Its February festivities, nearly four centuries old, are organised by hundreds of families grouped into corporaciones, with dances, inherited rituals and religious devotions, and the state of Querétaro has declared them intangible cultural heritage. On the main square, the church of San Francisco Galileo faces the arcaded former town hall, home to the Museo Anbanica de Historia, and the Plaza Gran Cué hosts fairs and cultural events.

Mexico's federal Tourism Secretariat (SECTUR) named San Francisco Anbanica a Barrio Mágico on 29 June 2024, at the Tianguis Internacional de Pueblos Mágicos held in San Antonio, Texas; it is the first in Querétaro.