welcome to the town of el triunfo, an old mining town that boomed, and then busted. when silver and gold were found in the mountains in baja california sur and then a big mining company moved in in the mid-1800s, people streamed into the area, causing the population of el triunfo to climb to around 10,000. the mine has since closed, making this place a bit like a ghost town.
now the town is quite small, with a population of only a few hundred, but has great charm - cobblestoned streets, old beautiful buildings, crumbling brick walls, a church, a music museum, and mine ruins.
[center square]
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the music museum is a collection of pianos that were brought into el triunfo during its hay day. culture and music was apparently a favorite of the people who came here and the fun fact of the day is that at one time, el triunfo had more pianos per capita than any other city in mexico. the museum is quirky - a collection of old pianos (dating from the late 1700s!) up to more modern electric organs.
[entrance to the museum]
the church, nuestra senora de guadalupe, is from the same time period, around the mid-1800s. i love how its painted, in brighter colors than most missions. the inside is fairly bare, with a dark-beamed ceiling and it sounds like bats live somewhere in the rafters.
the mine's old smokestack dominates the sky and local landscape. it's around 40 meters high and still looks absolutely perfectly constructed. the rest of the old mine buildings - a processing plant, basically - are mostly destroyed and in ruins. makes for a fun place to explore and wander around and marvel at once was ...
the details of the town are great. for example, this beautiful door with carvings that show the history of the town
el triunfo is a wonderful escape and historical place to explore. there are little shops with local products, including fresh-made cheese, a bakery with freshly baked cochitos (pig cookies), and woven baskets.
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