Municipal Palace of Morelia

🏛️ Where Tobacco Became Freedom 📜

Walking along Allende Street, you'll come across a Baroque building that commands respect. It's the current Municipal Palace, the seat of the City Hall. But don't be fooled by today's bureaucratic procedures; these walls, dating back to 1781, have witnessed some of Mexico's most intense history.

🚬 The Origin: “The Factory” When it was built in 1781, this place wasn't for politicians, it was for smokers! Originally it was the Tobacco Rental Office (or “The Factory”). In the Viceroyalty, tobacco was an exclusive monopoly of the Spanish Crown, and everything related to the plant and its sale had to be registered and controlled here. Imagine the hustle and bustle of merchants and colonial bureaucrats in its halls.

⛓️ Hidalgo's Cry for Freedom The building's peak moment came on October 19, 1810. Just a few days after taking the city, the Father of the Nation, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, issued here (or arranged from here with Mayor José María Anzorena) one of the most important documents in human history: The Proclamation for the Abolition of Slavery. It was within this administrative context that the order was given to free the slaves and permanently prohibit their buying and selling. You are standing in the cradle of human rights in Mexico!

🎩 The House of Melchor Ocampo As time went on, this palace became a home. On 1846, the illustrious governor Melchor Ocampo (A scientist, liberal, and friend of Benito Juárez) used it as his official residence and office. It wasn't until 1856, following the efforts of General José Santos Degollado, the building was officially donated to become the headquarters of the City Council, with Pascual Ortiz de Ayala being the first mayor to work there.

📸 The Octagonal Courtyard If you have the chance to take a peek, do it. Its architecture is unique in the city for one special detail: it features a Octagonal Courtyard. Unlike the typical square courtyards of Morelia, this arcade design is a visual rarity worth photographing, along with the large city coat of arms that adorns the staircase.

📍 Why visit it from Pátzcuaro? Because it's a quick but meaningful stop on your Independence Route. While in Pátzcuaro and Janitzio you see the monumental statue of Morelos, here in Morelia, you stand on the very spot where your mentor, Hidalgo, signed the declaration of independence. It's connecting the dots of history before returning to the tranquility of our magical town.