On the high plains where Jalisco meets Aguascalientes, the village of Ciénega de Mata gathers around the remains of what was once one of the largest haciendas in New Spain. In the colonial period, the estate covered an enormous territory, with cattle, sheep and horses grazing over a territory measured in leagues rather than fields, and its owners were among the most powerful families of the region. The surviving buildings, including a chapel and parts of the main house and its walls, are listed as part of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the great colonial road that linked Mexico City with the far north. Haciendas like this were the backbone of the colonial economy, supplying food, animals and shelter to the endless traffic of the road.
The region around it is the Altos de Jalisco, a highland area known for its ranching culture, its horsemanship and its deeply rooted Catholic traditions. It was a heartland of the Cristero War in the 1920s, when Catholic rebels rose against the anticlerical policies of the federal government, and the memory of that conflict is still strong. The highlands are dairy country too, producing cheeses and cajeta, a sweet caramel made from goat's milk.
The roads here are mostly long and straight, crossing a rolling plateau at around two thousand metres with fields of maize and beans, scrubland and occasional stands of nopal cactus. Traffic is light on the secondary roads, but watch out for livestock, slow farm vehicles and the ubiquitous topes in villages. The sky is huge, the light hard and bright, and afternoon storms are common in the rainy season, from June to September. Toward Aguascalientes and Encarnación de Díaz, the main highways carry more traffic, including heavy trucks.
The village is small, so for fuel and services, head for Encarnación de Díaz or Aguascalientes, a city with all amenities, or the town of Palo Alto, about twenty-five kilometres away. Small stores in the village sell drinks and snacks, and you may find a family kitchen offering simple food. Stop in the plaza, take a look at the chapel and the old walls, and imagine the hacienda at its height, with vaqueros driving herds across the plains. It is a quiet, windswept place, and its history is far bigger than its present.