Jalpa de Cánovas

What Makes It Magical

With its wheat fields, and quince and walnut tree orchards, Jalpa is almost on the border with Jalisco. Its life began as a hacienda, the one that once belonged to Don Manuel Cánovas, to whom the town owes its name. Still present, telling the town’s history, are the old barns, the company shop, the administrator’s house and the small Santuario de Guadalupe, where the landowners once prayed, and now the town’s inhabitants do so in their place.

Why You Should Go

The Town Was Once a Hacienda

• What began as a Spanish mission and later became a livestock hacienda, is today the town of Jalpa.
• At the end of the 19th century, Guadalupe Cánovas inherited from her father, Don Manuel, the 80,000 acres of land that comprised the farm.
• The land was administered by her and her husband Oscar Braniff, until it was lost after the Revolution.
• Today only the old house remains, converted into a museum, and a few other buildings that were also part of the hacienda.

At the Very Least

Explore the old house of the Hacienda de Jalpa and see how its old owners used to live.

Don’t Miss

1. Wander through the Bodega El Lobo vineyards and try their wines, named after operas.
2. Visit the Presa Nueva or Presa de Santa Efigenia and take a trip on a kayak or boat.
3. Stay in the Hacienda Cañada de Negros and visit the church next to it, dedicated to the Virgen de la Luz (Virgin of the Light).