Paracho de Verduzco

Paracho de Verduzco (always referred to as simply Paracho) is a city of 21,000 people (2020) in central Michoacan.

Understand
It is an indigenous community of the Purépecha plateau rich in traditions, among them the artisan production of guitars and other stringed musical instruments. It also has a wide and varied gastronomy.

The town center has a kiosk and a market where toys and food are sold. In addition, Paracho has a House of Culture, which was a boarding school for indigenous youth from 1937 to 1972; it now hosts different exhibitions, workshops and all kinds of cultural events. During the International Guitar Fair, the Paracho House of Culture becomes the main venue for the different exhibitions and stalls selling artisan products, not only from Paracho itself, but also from towns in the surrounding region.

Get in
Drive north from Uruapan or take one of the frequent buses.

Get around
The core downtown area is easy to walk around by foot, and that's where most of the interesting luthiers can be found, but you'll want a taxi to visit outlying areas.

See
Thursday is market day, when people come in from nearby villages to buy and sell.

Do
Each August a 9-day guitar festival, the "Feria de La Guitarra", attracts world-class musicians and interested luthiers.

Buy
Paracho is known for guitar-making and is full of shops selling handmade guitars and other string instruments.

Eat
Some restaurants and the internal mercado serves lots of good food across from the plaza.

Sleep
There is a nice clean hotel on main street 2 blocks from plaza.