Today, the colonial part of the city is a World Heritage Site, due to the Baroque and other structures built during its mining days.

[3] The first people to populate the area arrived approximately 10,000 years ago, when the climate was wetter and warmer, with different vegetation and wildlife.

[2][4] These peoples were mining silver and other metals in the hills long before the Europeans arrived,[5] making the area important in pre-Columbian times.

Another, Pedro Almindes Chirinos Peralmindes, went to explore the lands to the north, taking Zacatecas with little trouble but not knowing of the riches underneath the soil.

[2] The Zacatecos initially fought the permanent presence of the Spanish, but the mining potential of the area strengthened the Europeans’ resolve and the natives were defeated in the 1540s.

The mining camp spread southwards along the course of the Arroyo de la Plata, which now lies underneath Hidalgo Avenue, the old town's main road.

Most of the mendicant religious orders in New Spain eventually established monasteries, making Zacatecas an important center for evangelization.

The battle continued until about 5:00 that afternoon, when Huerta's troops began to abandon their positions, and the División del Norte took the strategic hills of La Bufa and El Grillo, entering the city.

[7][18] The main road through town aligns north–south along the Arroyo de la Plata, with the rest of the city filled with small winding alleys and streets and tiny plazas.

At the top of this mountain is a museum and statues honoring Pánfilo Natera, Francisco Villa and Felipe Ángeles, which are related to this event.

[9] Despite the fact that there is still a significant amount of minerals left to extract, mining operations ceased in 1960, because the entrance is located in the middle of the city making this too hazardous.

[9] Today, visitors can take a small train which leads into the mountain for about a half a kilometer, then walk with a guide along some of the narrow passages.

Inside are clothing and uniforms, arms such as shotguns, mousers and cannons, historic maps of Zacatecas and newspaper and photographs from the era.

[8][21] The museum is fronted by the Plaza de la Revolución, which contains statues of Francisco Villa and two other generals who successfully led the attack on the city.

The plaza side portal has two levels with stone columns and a sculpted scene of the crucified Christ with the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist.

[9] The American author Mrs. John Wesley Butler, in her book "Historic Churches in Mexico" tells us that the artist who designed the façade was French.

[1][18] The exterior is marked by its red roof,[17] and the interior has a courtyard surrounded by arches and a stairwell with a mural depicting the history of the state.

Originally, it was a traditional Mexican style market but has since been modernized into a mall with stores selling crafts, silver, leather, Zacatecas wine, antiques, charreada gear, Huichol needlework and regional sweets.

[18] Another market for crafts is the Casa de Artesanias in front of the Temple of San Agustín, which sells wool serapes, masks, Huichol figures, wood boxes, ceramics and more.

[20] Events featuring bullfighters such as Lino Zamora, Epifanio del Rio, Eloy Cavazos, Manolo Martínez and Curro Rivera were held here.

[21] The Pedro Coronel Museum is located in the old monastery of the Santo Domingo church, which also housed the former Jesuit college of San Luis Gonzaga.

The archive includes works by Pablo Picasso, Dalí, Miró, Braque, Chagall, Basarelli, Eduardo Degas and Hogart.

The Festival Cultural de Zacatecas[32] is held each year in the city during Holy Week, which unites artists of different genres from classic to rock and offers visitors more than 130 attractions.

The main concert hall for the event has a capacity of 5,000 and has hosted names such as Vicente Fernández, Alejandra Guzmán, Rocío Dúrcal, Rio Roma, and Ha*Ash.

These are considered to be a traditional form of nightlife in which one can dance, sing and drink mezcal or beer-based punch called "heribertas" for free.

The party then winds its way around the narrow streets and alleys of the city, with people drinking the heribertos from little jars called jarritos.

[34] Zacatecas is the seat of a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Category II Regional Office, to promote training, research and conservation of artistic, historical, natural and archaeological heritage of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

[9] As municipal seat, the city of Zacatecas is the governmental authority for 180 other named localities,[37] which total an area of 444 km2 (171 sq mi).

[1] Principal wild vegetation is that adapted to dry areas such as nopals, mesquite, maguey and grasses, with pines and holm oaks in the higher elevations.

There is some industry related to food processing, textiles, wood products, paper and mining equipment as well as the making of crafts such as sarapes, stonework, leather and precious metals.