Dolores Hidalgo

On the morning of 16 September 1810, the parish priest Miguel Hidalgo rang the bells of this town's church and called his congregation to rebellion - the Grito de Dolores that begins Mexican independence, re-enacted every year by the president in the capital and, with more intimacy, here on the plaza where it happened. The parish church still stands over that square with its Churrigueresque facade; Hidalgo's house is a museum, and the independence museum next door fills in the conspiracy that ran between here, San Miguel and Queretaro. The town's second identity is ceramic: Dolores is a major Talavera and majolica centre, and workshops around the edges sell tiles, dishes and urns by the truckload at a fraction of boutique prices. Its third is frankly bizarre and beloved - the nieve carts on the plaza, where artisanal ice creams run from mamey, cajeta and tuna cactus to the town's notorious dares: avocado, cheese, corn, mole, beer, tequila, chicharron and shrimp. Ordering one, grimacing and photographing it is practically compulsory.

What you actually see

• The parish church - where the grito was called in 1810.
• The Hidalgo house museum - the priest's rooms and the plot.
• The Talavera workshops - tiles and dishes at source prices.
• The nieve carts - shrimp and tequila ice cream on the plaza.

When to go

September 15-16 for independence nights at their source; otherwise dry-season days when workshops and the plaza are lively. Ice cream is a year-round hazard.

Honest expectations

The town is workaday compared with San Miguel's polish - come for history, ceramics and ices rather than architecture-gazing. Ask which Talavera is lead-free if you intend to eat off it. Sunday plaza crowds are cheerful and dense.

Nearby

San Miguel de Allende and the Atotonilco sanctuary lie south; Guanajuato city sits an hour west.