Mexico has been filled with magical towns. It is true that this country has never had to be short of magic, But for some time now, the Ministry of Tourism's wand must have gotten out of hand because it has spilled out in gushes throughout its geography.. So, suddenly and without control, like an epidemic. The thing started in 2001 with Huascar de Ocampo, continued with Mexcaltitan, San Miguel de Allende and of course came to Real de Catorce, with all those “gringos” bewitched and stuffed with peyote. Thus up to a total of 111 towns today. All magical.
For a town to reach the category of magical, the following is needed:: a more or less well preserved square, its corresponding bandstand in the center and rows of colorful colonial buildings on the sides, or failing that, a stylish enclave of proven antiquity. With all that, you can call the Ministry of Tourism and they will put you on the list.. Months after, if everything goes fine, They award you with several subsidies and the name of your town printed in huge plastic letters. The mammoth, very strident colors, It comes to keep the kiosk company in the center of the plaza and gives such a peculiar air to the place that at times they make you wonder if instead of colonial Mexico you are in Disneyland.
– Hey you! Come closer for a moment. If you had to choose… Where would you place this??
Batopilas is also a magical town, although you don't need anyone to certify it. Located in the depths of the Sierra Tarahumara, in the state of Chihuahua, The few streets of the town welcome you after several hours of winding road from Creel, main tourist center of Copper Canyon. Batopilas is small and cute, enclosed between bare hills that seem to contain a tremor, covered as is, of hundreds of cacti bristling on its slopes.
Batopilas must be the only magical town in Mexico where there are no tourists but there are vans of armed men
There are several attractions around the town.: a jesuit mission, indigenous rarámuris communities and dozens of marijuana and poppy plantations intended to manufacture heroin. Batopilas must be the only magical town in Mexico where there are no tourists but there are vans of armed men in balaclavas who enter the stores to buy ice cream.
– We are debating whether to put it next to that bench or there in the back where the band plays at parties.. What we want is for it to be seen.
I, Instead, I'm more interested in not being seen much. Although I had been told that Batopilas had been quiet lately, you never know. Especially when you go there to ask questions. I can't help but be shocked when the three men call me and gesture for me to come closer..
-They brought it recently and in principle we placed it here, just while we decided, but we're not convinced how it turns out.
We look at the thing, we project spaces and perspectives, possible combinations, as if we were going to change the sofa in the living room to make room for the new bookshelf. maybe there, at the end of the square, entering from the right... -I dare to suggest.
B-A-T-O-P-I-L-A-S
The truth is that I can't think of any corner that could improve the urban feng shui of the town if "this thing" has to be fitted..
-Not, from there it would not be visible through the main entrance, I would stay behind the kiosk, What would the tourists think??
At that moment the second truck arrives (that's what they call the pickup trucks here) full of masked kids with machine guns who park in front of the store in the square. The Tourism Committee of the City Council, This is how the three men in the square introduced themselves, indifferent to my gaze, insists. A final decision must be made; The sign is quite heavy and they are not going to be moving it around the town.. They want an unbiased opinion.
A final decision must be made; The sign is quite heavy and they are not going to be moving it around the town..
It's barely noon but the temperature at the bottom of the Barranca must be around forty degrees and we agree that perhaps it would be best to leave the sign where it is.. When asked questions, they tell me that I am a journalist.. They say they sensed something. I tell you that I have come to do a report on the Rarámuris indigenous people, known throughout the world for being excellent long-distance runners who participate in marathons around the world. I have come to interview some of them, in no way to ask strange things, les assure. I smile, they smile at me. At that moment a whistle is heard and the guys in the balaclavas leave the store and get into the van that drives at full speed towards the mountains.. more smiles.
I'm lucky, inform me. I am currently the only visitor in town and they would love for me to be the first to try something. Not, a new attraction for this summer, nothing weird. A travel journalist like me... they really don't know who is luckier, them or me, ensure. The traffic continues in the square. Now two vans arrive loaded with about twenty soldiers who get out., They spread out through the streets and enter some houses. Some Rarámuris indigenous people raise their heads half sleepy. I direct my gaze towards a window, just as someone inside slams it shut.
– What attraction is that??
Juan Pacheco, self-presented as responsible for tourism development of Batopilas, points to the sky. Then to a cable, then to the hill in front. Suda, smiles.
-Zip line!
The harness looks new and the cable sags limply across the entire town and the river that divides it.. The jump is made from the Town Hall itself, from the municipal police department specifically. There are four agents in Batopilas who have tried it before, say.
At this point, the journalist's jump on “the magical town” has already generated quite a bit of expectation.
While they are equipping me, uniformed and armed people have gathered, the two do not necessarily coincide in all cases. WiFi does not reach here and at this point the journalist's jump on “the magical town” has already generated quite a bit of expectation. A small group of Rarámuris indigenous people and neighbors watch as one of the youngest police officers finishes putting on my harness.. I don't know why they started talking about children.. If I have or would like to have one someday ask.
-I do not know, some day, if things go well. You never know... Doesn't this rope look a little old??
-In Europe everyone is very selfish, They don't even want to have children- one of the spectators is forced to explain, in the face of my growing nervousness and lack of clarity- Many die alone without their neighbors finding out.. They die without anyone really knowing.
-Go ahead, don't be a coward!
They evaluate me in silence, I smile again, but now no one smiles anymore. With the harness and carabiners I look like a clumsy and nosy Cowboy, ready to be shot high in the air like a pheasant. And now that? Now it's time to go up with Alfredo, What is the name of the agent who accompanies me?, to the fourth floor of City Hall to take the leap.
– And how is it working here as a police officer?? Don't you have any problem with “the situation?”?
-Not, for a police officer it's great. Since “they” are the ones who rule the town, no one dares to steal or commit any crime. And if someone does something, “They” find out quickly and locate the criminal in a few minutes. Here at the end we all know each other.
Some soldiers have finished searching the houses, They hold their rifles and look up
The square from this height looks like a frying pan in which the figures, tiny, They reverberate and melt with heat. Some soldiers have finished searching the houses, They hold their rifles and look up. Alfredo checks the harness one last time and advises me
-When you're close to the end, Remember that to stop you have to raise your legs. Right now we'll pick you up on the other side. Enjoy!
I jump and the rope tightens and whistles as I cross the town at full speed between puffs of hot air.. I sense the naked hills under a titanium sun and the little houses that from time to time reveal clusters of sleepy indigenous people and army cars.. Near the end, When I try to brake to cushion the impact I also perceive a multicolored flash., it's right there, the background. Clumped up next to a wall in the square… In the end they changed the sign.
Batopilas, Magic Town.
