Nat tha hi

Nat tha hi was an Otomi settlement on the plain near the Laja River, in the country later known as Celaya. Its name refers to the mesquite trees of the district. By the 1560s the community had a chapel served by friars, and Spanish estates were spreading across the surrounding Bajío. In 1570 Viceroy Martín Enríquez authorized a Spanish villa near the indigenous settlement, amid conflict between colonial settlers and Chichimeca peoples. The town was organized the following year and became known as Celaya. Franciscans sought permission to establish a monastery there in 1573, adding an enduring religious centre to the growing settlement.

The later city of Celaya lies here.