Hacienda Jaral de Berrio

La Hacienda Jaral de Berrio

Jaral de Berrio (Ha ral de Berrio), the name just rolls off the tongue, much like the famed Jaral de Berrio mezcal must. Jaral de Berrio is the name of the hacienda. Hacienda, while imprecise, usually refers to landed estates of significant size. In fact, I’m told the haciendo of Jaral de Berrio was so large, you could ride from Durango to the outskirts of Mexico City and not leave the hacienda.

The Clock Tower

Haciendas originated as Spanish land grants, made to many conquistadors and crown officials. They were developed as profit-making, economic enterprises linked to regional or international markets. The system is considered to have started in present-day Mexico, when the Spanish Crown granted to Hernán Cortés the title of Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca in 1529. It gave him a tract of land that included all of the present state of Morelos. Cortés was also granted Indian labor, encomiendas, which gave him access to the vast pool of indigenous labor.

The owner of a hacienda was termed a hacendado. The hacienda was like the feudal system of Europe. The labor force would work for the owner of the hacienda, cultivate crops such as sugar, wheat, fruits and vegetables and produce animal products such as meat, wool, leather, and tallow and in return the hacendado would provide safety. The encomienda system was not considered slavery which the Spanish monarch opposed, but the hacendado could work the Indians as hard as they wanted.

The first Berrio to reach this valley of Jaral was Andrés de Berrio, who married Josefa Teresa de Saldivar in 1694. La Hacienda Jaral de Berrio was so productive that its owners became some of the wealthiest men of the time. So wealthy that they were given the noble title of Marquis. Marquis Miguel de Berrio, in 1749 became owner of 99 estates, Jaral being the most important one and something like the capital of a "small" state. With Miguel de Berrio, sales of agricultural products of the estate began.

The years went by and the bonanza continued.  Juan Nepomuceno de Moncada a Berrio, third Marquis of Jaral de Berrio, became hacendado  and was the richest in Mexico in his time and one of the largest landowners in the world according to Henry George Ward, British Minister in 1827. It is said that the Marquis had 99 children and gave each one a hacienda.

Juan Nepomuceno fought in the War of Independence, and was promoted to colonel by the Viceroy Francisco Javier Venegas. He formed a military contingent of peasants of the estate known as "Dragons Moncada" and was the last owner who took the surname Berrio. Thereafter all Berrios were known as Moncadas. The "Dragons Moncada" survive today only as a video game.

Today, production of mezcal is an important part of Hacienda Jaral de Berrio, which dates back to the 18th century, when it was known as aguardiente criollo del Jaral. Jaral de Berrio mezcal is bottled at the main compound of Hacienda Jaral de Berrio, and forms part of an ambitious program aimed at rescuing the site.

The owner of the hacienda vows the original hacienda compound and what were once its magnificent interiors, including their French decor, are to be restored to their former glory and returned to the splendor for which they were known.

Inside the Hacienda

Gary Reid and I visited Jaral de Berrio in mid-April and were saddened by the deterioration of the once glorious hacienda and the recent graffiti and destruction. In addition birds have made a mess of the place. The ruins are open throughout to the weather and birds and bats. We hope the owners follow through on their plan to restore

I saw two main parts of the mansion: the first was the house of Don Francisco Cayo and has a clock, and two towers; the second was built of stone and quarry smooth, adorned only with a veranda on the second floor.

Our Lady of Mercy

The estate has a church dedicated to Our Lady of Mercy built in 1816 and a separate annex to it, where Juan Nepomuceno (Moncado) erected a burial chapel for him and his family. Today you can see the plaques of each Moncado dating back to at least 1854.

Moncado Burial Chapel

Crypts of Moncado Family

The following photos are just some of what I saw that saddened me.

Paper Mache panel at the Grand AStaircase 

Bird Guano

Nymph llamada La Bathroom, painted in 1891 by N. González

When I was about to leave, almost overcome by the smell of bird and bat guano, a sort of requiem played over the landscape. The Church across the square played Ave Maria. It seemed to mourn the fall of a great house and signal a determination to restore the mansion for future generations.