This photo blog post has come in today from Mexico care of p&c hermana Jen. Far away in the Mexican province of Hidalgo, there is a little corner of Kernow called Real del Monte, twinned with Redruth. It’s a community steeped in Cornish culture, thanks to the pasty-munching influence of some 350 Cornish miners who ran the local mines in the early to mid 19th century.
Most of the photos in this slideshow were taken in the local cemetery, which contains hundreds of Cornishmen, many of whom died at alarming ages. My Mexican correspondent tells me that Bridget, the woman leading the renovation of the cemetery, is sister of Michael Galsworthy, the owner of the Trewithen estate.
Brilliantly, next weekend Real del Monte is celebrating the International Paste [sic] Festival. Just fantastic to see this sort of pasty respect overseas. Have a look in the slideshow to assess the local pasty specimen – it’s rounder and less ornate on the crimpage than a Rowes but looks ideal to me.
Want to read more about the Cornish in Mexico? Check this link for the Cornish Mexican Cultural Society.
ismay atkins
pasties & cream cornwall blog 
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October 7, 2011 at 2:22 am
renovation travels
Piqued (as in excited interest) by this blog post, I explored further, and found the most amazing wikipedia entry on Real del Monte.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_del_Monte
I especially like the info on the football team. Thanks!
I look forward to more p&c.
October 5, 2011 at 7:54 am
ismay atkins
Hello Pennsylvania! Thanks for your comment & the extract about East Nanticoke. Coombes sounds like a quintessentially Cornish name…
They certainly got around didn’t they?
October 5, 2011 at 3:31 am
renovation travels
I enjoy your blog. Viva kernow! Cornish mining skills were apparently much sought after world wide. I live in N.E. Pennsylvania, USA, where the cornishmen, working in the coal mines, also left their mark. Sadly, mining was no safer here.
THE SCRANTON REPUBLICAN, FRIDAY JANUARY 9, 1874
Accident at East Nanticoke.
A sad accident happened here Wednesday morning, by which a man was killed instantaneously at the No. 1 shaft, now being sunk by Mr. J. Teesdale for the Susquehanna Coal Co. It seems that the engineers called for some of the workmen to come and help get a flywheel in its place. When it was started this man did not let go his hold when the others did, and was consequently dragged up very quickly into the box, when the wheel passed over the middle of his body, almost severing it. The unfortunate man, whose names was Christopher COOMBES, was a native of Cornwall, England, and was liked by all his fellow workmen.