Santiago

History

Before the Spanish, this valley belonged to Guachichil groups who knew it as Cayucuapa. The Spanish called it Potrero Grande or Bocas de Santiago, and later Guajuco, after one of two Guachichil brothers who raided Monterrey in 1621. The canyon is still called the Cañón del Huajuco.

In 1645 Diego Rodríguez de Montemayor, great-grandson of Monterrey's founder, asked Governor Martín de Zavala for land next to his mother's properties. The grant was made official on March 20, 1646. Conflict with the native people, who defended their territory, led the family to abandon the settlement, but they returned in 1670 when the eldest daughter, Margarita, married Lucas Caballero de los Olivos. Over the next decades the founder's children and relatives set up a string of haciendas, among them San Miguel, El Cercado, San Pedro de los Salazares and the one later called Santa Rosalía, where the town center stands today.

The settlement was raised to the rank of Valle in 1712 as Valle de Santiago del Huajuco, with Gregorio de Treviño as its first authority. On March 31, 1831 it received the title of Villa de Santiago, which it still carries. It was named a Pueblo Mágico in 2006.