“…hundreds of thousands from all over Mexico come to visit the church for it is a well known pilgrimage site.”
If you get bored with the beach scene of Zihuatanejo or Ixtapa and are in need of a diversion for a day, jump aboard a bus to Petatlán (petlatl and tlan), meaning the place of petates – very thin mattresses made from palm fronds. The bus rolls through coconut, mango and papaya plantations, large huertas (ranches) and crosses over several small rivers where women wash clothes and naked children delight in the water. Located about an hour south of Zihua, the city of some 60,000 souls lies on both sides of the highway leading to Acapulco. Its economy rests on agriculture, farming, cattle, pig and goat raising.
The business downtown district is built around a white church located atop a hill. The church is dedicated to Padre Jesús de Petatlán who performed miracles throughout Mexico. (Relics of that priest can be seen there, enclosed in a wooden box.) Famed friar Juan Bautista founded the first religious center here in 1555 and the original church was destroyed by an earthquake caused by an eruption of the volcano Paricutin in 1943. The present church was built in 1949, badly damaged by another earthquake in 1985 and repaired in 1990. The city is a seat of a Catholic diocese, and during la semana santa, (easter week) hundreds of thousands from all over Mexico come to visit the church for it is a well known pilgrimage site. Over the years, we have seen throngs of penitent Mexicans, rosary in hand, inching up the 50 or more steps to the front entrance on their knees to prayer or to thank the padre. Adjacent, is a church-owned and operated souvenir shop where religious paraphernalia, milagros, key chains, etc. are available.
During that holy week, Petatlán hosts its annual state fair which draws a half-million visitors each year. Hundreds of venders from Mexico City, Uruapan, and Acapulco, among others, take over the main street leading to the fairgrounds. Anything and everything made in Mexico is available then. That week is the social event of the year. Petatlán is also known for its gold, there are some two dozen gold vendor stands around the church. The city became a gold “center” a century ago, but gold was mined there even prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores.
Petatlán has a large sized zócalo (town square), lined on all four sides by City Hall, a public library, restaurants and shops and the ubiquitous video game arcades and a monument dedicated to the heroic military cadets who fought at the celebrated battle of Chapultepec. The architecture of the city is remarkably different than that of Zihuatanejo. Being inland, thus warmer, the houses and buildings are much thicker walled and the front sidewalks are shaded by brick roofed lean-tos supported by two foot thick pillars, forming colonnades. The bus ride will cost you $2 round trip. Enjoy the music and the jolts and try to remember that your visit to Petatlán was worthwhile-and hopefully-memorable.
-February 2000
