THE TOWN THAT SILVER HELPED BUILD
If you climb a certain hill in central Mexico, you will find a town that
silver helped build. The town is Taxco [(tahs]{.smallcaps} koh).
Silver from the rich mines of Taxco helped pay for the red- tiled roofs,
the cobblestone streets, and one of the most colorful churches in
Mexico—Santa Prisca. The church has an altar set with gold. The towers
of the church are rose-colored and rise above the rows of little white
houses.
Taxco has been a silver mining center since a Spanish soldier named
Cortez founded it in 1529. The silver mines of Taxco were so rich that
Cortez used the silver to make silver cannons. These cannons helped him
to conquer Mexico. Today, Taxco is the center of Mexico’s silverware
industry.
The government of Mexico has made Taxco a national monument to make sure
that the town will always look the way it does today. Artists go to
Taxco to paint, and tourists go there to buy silver or to watch the
fireworks at fiestas.
