Ex Hacienda Molino de Guadalupe, 13 mil hectáreas de historia en Juárez Coronaco Puebla.

MOLINO DE GUADALUPE: THE FORGOTTEN EMPIRE OF JUÁREZ CORONACO Documentary script for Hugo H channel After traveling the rural roads that crisscross this region of Puebla, we finally arrived at a place that for centuries was a symbol of wealth, power, and industry. Today, silence reigns within its walls. Time has reclaimed what was once human territory. The stones resist the passage of time. And among ruins, weeds, and crumbling structures, it is still possible to discover the traces of one of the most important industrial complexes that existed in this part of the state of Puebla. We are at the former Ex Hacienda Molino de Guadalupe, located in the community of Juárez Coronaco, on the border between Puebla and Tlaxcala. A site that once controlled more than thirteen thousand hectares of productive land and that for decades boosted the regional economy through agriculture, the textile industry, and the manufacture of fine pottery. But to understand the magnitude of this place, we must travel back more than four centuries. The first documentary references to Molino de Guadalupe appear in 1614. Interestingly, these were not records of agricultural production or monumental constructions. The hacienda first appears in documents related to a dispute over the use of the waters of the San Martín Texmelucan Valley. And this is no coincidence. Because water would be precisely the resource that defined the destiny of this complex for centuries. During the viceroyalty period, Molino de Guadalupe functioned primarily as a flour and grain refinery. Its strategic location and access to water allowed for the development of an infrastructure capable of handling enormous quantities of agricultural products. These activities laid the foundation for what would later become a true industrial empire. For generations, the mills harnessed hydraulic power to transform the region's agricultural production. However, the period of greatest growth would come many years later. At the end of the 19th century, a figure appeared who would forever change the history of the hacienda. His name was Marcelino García Presno. An entrepreneur of Asturian origin, he arrived with a vision far more ambitious than simply producing flour. Under his management, Molino de Guadalupe ceased to be merely an agricultural hacienda and became a gigantic industrial complex. It was then that three textile factories dedicated to the production of cotton yarn and fabrics emerged. Their names still survive in historical records: La Asturiana. San Félix. And San Juan. But the growth didn't stop there. The fine earthenware and porcelain factory known as La Asunción was also built. A mechanized sawmill. And a factory dedicated to the production of furniture and packing crates. For the first time, agriculture, manufacturing, and industry coexisted within the same economic system. Molino de Guadalupe had become a true regional powerhouse. While the fields produced raw materials, the factories transformed those resources into value-added products. It all happened here. In these lands that today seem forgotten. And much of that success depended, once again, on water. The complex boasted an advanced hydraulic system for its time. Water was captured from the Atoyac River and channeled to a huge sump built on the elevated part of the facilities. The flow then fed hydraulic turbines capable of generating the mechanical energy needed to power industrial machinery. Once used, the water returned to the river's natural course. It was a remarkable feat of engineering for its time. A demonstration of how technology and natural resources could be combined to drive economic development. The architecture also reflected the prosperity achieved. The enormous factory buildings exceeded four thousand square meters in area. The walls were built with stone extracted from nearby basins. Resistant materials that still stand today despite abandonment. Even the main entrance was conceived as a declaration of power and faith. Two large stone reliefs welcomed visitors and workers. On one side, Saint Christopher. On the other, the Virgin of Guadalupe. Symbols that symbolically protected one of the most important industrial centers in the region. But no empire lasts forever. And the events that would forever transform this place were about to unfold. The Mexican Revolution would change the fate of Molino de Guadalupe forever. Its strategic location on the edge of the Texmelucan Valley made the hacienda a military target.