Yesterday, as we explored hotels and homes for rent in Mineral de Pozos, we were pulled over by the local police.

“See that tree down there? Go stand under it,” he told us in Spanish.

We obeyed.

Not because we were afraid.

We obeyed because we were curious. He insisted on giving us a brief history of the town we were exploring.

We walked down the cobblestone road and stood under a pepper tree.

For thirty minutes, this Policía Turístca—an official designation—offered us stories and information about this pueblo mágico, also an official designation. Mineral de Pozos, as it turns out, is the town’s fourth name.

I videoed Officer David Ramírez as he shared stories of this place and its people.

• Calle San Luis where we were standing
• the Escuela Moderna
• the Chichimecas
• the architectural curiosities of the mines
• spelunking opportunities in the mines
• silver, gold, and iron
• and more

This could have read like a dry Wikipedia entry.

But it didn’t.

There were revolutions, legal red-light districts, hangings and executions, ghosts, crosses built where ghosts haunt, a Virgen de Guadalupe statue to balance the energies, catacombs, a town that emptied twice to become a ghost town and then, like a phoenix on its mountain, returned to life again.

What drew the people back?

Why do the ghosts linger?

I know what drew me here: the charm they’ve preserved, the charm they maintain through people like David Ramírez. I’ll share more about our conversation with the officer in the next few weeks.

2027 Writing Retreat

Takeaway from that police encounter and our stay here: This pueblo mágico has great quiet-writing-retreat potential, and I expect to host one in February or March of 2027.

And who knows? Maybe a group of us will be strolling through the intersection of Calle Centenario and Calle San Luis and get pulled over by the police.

We’ll stand under the pirul, the sacred tree with pink peppercorns, and learn more about histories of people and places and discover how uniforms can symbolize hospitality.

©Pennie Nichols. All Rights Reserved. 2026