Centro de Interpretación Ruta Don Vasco — Attraction in Michoacán

We visited this museum and were very pleasantly surprised how much we learned while there. There was only one person there when we walked in, and he told us they usually require 4 people minimum to turn everything on. It is a digital museum, so they have to power things up, including the air conditioning. We were the only people (2 of us) but agreed to pay for 4 people, which cost 250 pesos ($12.50 USD). It is located in an old former Porfirio Diaz-era train station (1887), on a road parallel to a main industrial road, and is not terribly well signed, but Google Maps got us there.

There are many video explanations, in Spanish, some with English subtitles. Other displays had a choice of languages, including Purepecha! There was a short overview of Don Vasco de Quiroga, who came to Mexico in 1531 at the age of 60-ish (his year of birth is uncertain). He lived to 95. He was sent by Charles V of Spain to rein in the excesses of Guzman, who enslaved the indigenous people. Don Vasco attempted to establish a society based on Thomas More's Utopia (1516), based on 3 tenets - health, education, and industry, and of course, overlying all was Catholicism. He established hospitals, schools, and encouraged different pueblos to focus on a craft, like pottery, or shoes, or copper. That tradition lives on today in Michoacan.

The museum has good explanatory videos, good models of some key buildings like the church in Patzcuaro. There is a touch screen interactive display where you learn about food in Michoacan, and can "prepare" a dish like Sopa de Tarasca. There is a video tour of several important churches in the towns surrounding Lake Patzcuaro, a small troje (Purepecha house) with a video explaining how the houses were made. There is also a video showing how different things are made, today as they were 500 years ago - copper, guitars, pottery. The copper "demonstration" is cool with hologram workers (think Princess Leia's R2D2 display) heating and hammering copper. It all makes you appreciate how much effort and skill go into the things you find in the stalls...

Es un museo de enorme utilidad para quienes visitan la región por primera vez y quieren tener algunos referentes generales acerca de la historia y las tradiciones locales. El guión del museo tiene como punto de partida el homenaje a Vasco de Quiroga, a quien presentan como un magnánimo benefactor de indios y españoles. Después se habla de arte religioso. Luego, se da un salto hasta la actualidad, hablando de la cocina, la carpintería, la metalurgia, la alfarería, el día de muertos o de las animas. Sin embargo, poco se informa acerca de la diversidad social y el pensamiento de las sociedades que habitan la región. Empero, se obtiene información de interés, con el empleo de abundantes recursos audiovisuales e interactivos. En teoría, el lugar deberia estar abierto todos los días por las mañanas, pero parece que tiene serios problemas presupuestales, por lo que no encienden todos los medios digitales hasta que llega suficiente gente o se han vendido el número de boletos necesarios para cubrir el costo. Al menos, así nos lo explicaron. Si no hay gente suficiente e insistes en visitar el museo deberás cubrir el ingreso mínimo. Pareciera que no desean atraer muchos visitantes, ya que no hay información de esta exhibición en las oficinas de turismo o cultura. No hay difusión de ningún tipo. Sin embargo, conviene visitarlo para hacer que las actividades se retomen. El espacio es realmente nteresante, ojalá sea cada vez...

We walked from the Plaza to this small, wonderful museum. The museum is filled with history of the area. Both Mexican and English languages are exchanged in the archives. Don’t miss this lovely museum. Friendly and...