Spratling’s transformation of Taxco, Mexico (article)

Found this article from Business Mexico, September 01, 2001, by Patricia Alisau. Have a read!

Spratling’s silver city: Who would have thought that this “Man from New Orleans” put Taxco on the map?

When the legendary William Spratling arrived in 1929, Taxco was a somnolent village spread over rugged foothills in the heart of the Sierra Madre. It was both inexpensive to live there and wasn’t located far from the pre-Hispanic culture he was studying in the valley of Guerrero.

In less than a decade, the architect from New Orleans would transform Taxco into a flourishing silver center, the likes of which had not been seen since colonial times. Silver had been discovered in 1524 by captains in Hernan Cortes’ army while they were on a mission to scout for iron with which to make weapons. The subsequent discovery made Taxco the first silver city of New Spain, and one of the richest suppliers of ore to the Spanish Crown. Read the rest of the article…