Palacio de Ocomo in Oconahua

After we left Oconahua in April, the palace (Palacio de Ocomo) was re-opened by the archeologists. How exciting! And, too bad we had already left as it would have been so cool to document with photos and interviews. Right now (April 2006) they are discovering walls underground, digging out the earth by hand and unearthing the layout of the old palace structure. There is also an underground tunnel that goes from the palace to up the hillside, De La Cruz del Gallito. According to the archeologists, the Indians used to hide in the tunnel and escape using the tunnel when other tribes came with the purpose of attacking them. They also believe that the palace priests used this tunnel. There used to be a grand structure made of rock/stone and most of the rocks and stones were removed years back to build the local Catholic Church. This was a common practice for the church at that time, unfortunately, as now the original structure is destroyed. Much of the history was lost at this time. Ana's opinion: It would be nice if they would build a school, something instructional or historical, something for the children instead of the school out of those rocks. God does not need a church, God is everywhere. Just my opinion.

Now, people in the town really need to know the history and stories about this palace and it's significance to the people. After the archeologists leave, I really hope that they are able to share information with the people of this town as this is their history. Their ancestors created this palace and I hope they are able to learn about the significance of this palace.

This is the organization that is currently sponsoring the dig: INAH; http://www.inah.gob.mx/inah_ing/face.html please contact them and let them know how important this is.