In 1754 father Francisco Escalante began
the formal construction of the church's mission, which was completed in 1766.
Built with stone, it's characterized by it's "L" form, by it's tower erected
several meters behind its main facade, and by it's own suggested simplicity of the
California missions. Abandoned in 1828, it has been restored several times. Actually it
conserves the original appearance and in the interior a statue of Santa Rosalia and a
bell, both from the XVII century.
On October the 2nd of 1847, a heroic armed action took place here
against the North American invaders. The Mexican forces formed by a military group and a
numerous group of volunteers, Comundeños and natives and under the comand of Capitán
Manuel Pineda defeated the enemy.
In Mulegé you'll find the old state
penitentiary, finished in 1907. Novel because it was the only jail without
bars. The prisoners could go out to work during the day, they just had to be back at
night. Escape attempts were rare, and when someone did, the other prisoners pursued the
escapees to bring them back to jail. The Mulegé population lived together with all social
classes to whom they offered respect and a fondness, maybe that's why they are the best
hosts in Baja California Sur.
From the original groups that inhabited the area, there are known to
be extraordinary samples of rupestrian art, that exist in the surroundings of this
paradise called Mulegé, such as the cave paintings in the Sierra
de San Borjita, the most well-known, photographed and investigated. Also the
paintings and petroglyphs of La Trinidad.
Mulegé has been a favorite traditional destination of the tourist
that look for rest and contemplation of nature; to the sport fishing lover, the history
student and ecologist; the lover of the beautiful bay; Bahía de
Concepción, a few kilometers from Mulegé with awesome landscapes and a
multitude of beaches with soft, white sand: Santispac,
Concepción, Los Cocos, El Burro, El Coyote, Buenaventura, El Requesón and Armenta.
In a tour through the town, a visit to the mission church; the
regional museum (located in the old state penitentiary building); the banks of the
river-estuary and the beach at El Sombrerito are all recommended.
Mulegé, of course, provides quality services for the visitor.
Different hotel classes, R.V. parks, restaurants, bus depot, a national airport and
airstrip; sport fishing and scuba diving agencies and tours combining cave paintings and
ecology.
