Kerhiretarhu

Kꞌerhiretarhu, later Santiago de Querétaro, grew at the meeting of the central Mexican highlands and the northern frontier. Otomi and other indigenous communities inhabited the district before Spanish settlement. The town’s streets and neighbourhoods preserve the imprint of the different peoples who made it their home.

Tradition places the founding of Santiago de Querétaro in 1531, associated with the indigenous leader Conín, baptized Fernando de Tapia. The town became a base for expansion into the Bajío and the mining country, including the later settlements of Guanajuato, Celaya and León. Between 1726 and 1735 a long aqueduct was built to bring water to a central distribution point in the town near the church of Santa Cruz. In 1810 a conspiracy in Querétaro helped set in motion the uprising for Mexican independence.

The later city of Querétaro lies here.