Prison where Hidalgo was held after his capture, Chihuahua

What it is

This is a photograph of a building in Chihuahua that was the prison where Miguel Hidalgo was held after his capture in 1811. It was taken in 2014 and uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by a user named Gera vzqz92. The image shows a two-story white colonial building with arched window frames and a wooden balcony, next to a red-painted building. A plaque on the red building reads 'Recinto a Don Miguel Hidalgo'. A tall stone monument stands in the middle of the street, and children, a woman and green balloons can be seen nearby.

Why it matters

Hidalgo was a Catholic priest who led the Mexican War of Independence. His final imprisonment in 1811 took place at this site, so the place is tied to the end of his active leadership. The photograph is a modern view, not an eyewitness record of the prison in 1811. It shows how the site is marked and used in the present day, with a plaque that names Hidalgo and a public monument in the street.

Look closer

• What does the plaque and the monument tell you about how this place is remembered today?
• Why might a city mark a former prison in this way, and who would have decided to do it?
• What does a photograph taken in 2014 leave out about the prison as it looked in 1811?