Regional Museum Ojinaga

The first two rooms are connected in a single section, titled “Del fósil a la cultura material: el desierto vivo”, addressing paleontology and archaeology, as well as the natural aspects of the region; among the pieces is a reproduction of a fossilized skull of a Cretaceous marine reptile, whose original is safeguarded in the scientific collection of the Servicio Geológico Mexicano in the city of Chihuahua; it also presents archaeological materials emphasizing the ancient cultures developed within the area known as La Junta de los Ríos, where the Conchos and Bravo rivers converge. The second room addresses the features of the natural environment typical of the desert region. It describes the flora and fauna and highlights the three great canyons formed by imposing mountains crossed by rivers and which are the natural attractions of the area: Pegüis, in Coyame del Sotol, and San Carlos and Santa Elena, in Manuel Benavides, the latter protected as a natural area that borders the Big Bend National Park in the United States. The third room is titled “Ojinaga a través del tiempo”, mainly historiographic contents from the era of the viceroyalty, 19th century and the Revolution; it describes the institutions that arose after the Conquest such as presidios (Spanish military garrisons) and ranchos, as well as the technological, ideological and religious elements developed in the era. Here is exhibited a replica of the bell tower of the Mission of Ojinaga, from the 18th century. Rooms four and five, “La vida en el rancho” and “Tradiciones populares en el desierto”, jointly address contents related to artisanal traditions, music, gastronomy, historical memory and life on the ranches, relevant to the regional identity of that part of the state of Chihuahua.