San Luis Potosi’s QuarriesBetween History, Oblivion and Destruction

Abstract

Throughout history, what has identified the city of San Luis Potosí is a stone extracted from the slopes of the San Miguelito mountain range, which borders the extreme south-south-west of the valley; this stone of a striking pink color characterizes its most emblematic and ancient buildings. Cultural festivals have been designed to make it clear that this is a city with a “quarry soul”. Nothing, however, has been said about the history of these rhyolitic rock deposits that allowed the city to gradually cover itself with a unique and, indeed, characteristic face. In this article we approach the evolution of the San Luis quarries, their location and their history, which goes back to the founding years of the city, and how carelessness, ignorance and rapacity are destroying the quarries that fed the local architecture for more than four hundred