Nestled in the heart of the magical town of El Rosario, lies the sunken area, now known as the Iguanero Lagoon, among fruit trees native to the region such as bananas, mangoes, guamúchiles, and weeping willows, which fill you with nostalgia for the grandiose history of Rosario in mining.
The legend goes that a cowboy named Bonifacio Rojas went out to look for some cows that had been released to graze. Upon realizing that one of them was missing, he sets out to search at a gallop on his horse. A branch snatches the rosary he had hanging around his neck. To avoid losing it because of its sentimental value, he decides to throw his hat as a signal to come back later for it.
Upon finding the cow, he returns to the place where he had dropped his rosary, but it was already too late to return to the Hacienda. He decides to camp at that spot and lights a large bonfire.
Upon rising the next day, he stirs the ashes with a stick and realizes that the stone had melted, he gives some to his boss and with a tool, he strikes a blow, carving out a slice of the rock. To his amazement, the stone was impregnated with high-quality silver.
It didn’t take long for the seekers of the precious metal to realize such a discovery, and they began to gather around this place, thus marking the beginning of the foundation of our former Royal Mines.
The open-pit mine was called Tajo Mines, from which interesting stories emerge, such as that of Lewis Leonard Bradbury, who acquired shares in these mines. He fell in love with a beautiful and humble Rosarense lady named Simona Martínez, who worked doing household chores at the Loma house, where the Tajo Mines offices were located. Due to the significance and wealth of Simona Martínez de Bradbury, she was known as “The Cinderella of El Rosario.”
It wasn’t until 1936, when a hurricane hit El Rosario, and the open-pit mine where significant amounts of gold and silver were obtained was completely flooded. The manager at that time, Milton K. Campbell, was in one of the chambers of the Tajo Mines house.
Upon stepping out and witnessing the magnitude of the hurricane, and upon thinking that his workers were trapped beneath the waters in those mines, he suffered a massive heart attack that ended his life. Had he checked the clock, he would have noticed that no one was working at that moment since it was lunchtime.
Text by: Lic. Mario Alberto Tirado Rodríguez
Director of Tourism of El Rosario
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Our photos have “Creative Commons“ license. This license allows you to use our photos, without needing permission, legally. When using the photos, the only requirement is that you provide credit as follows:
“Photography: Miguel Angel Victoria / Sinaloa 360”
English translation made by Camila Campos Juárez, student at PrepaTec Campus Sinaloa. Tecnológico de Monterrey.
