The most expensive street in the world? Yes, you’ll find it in Vizarrón de Montes, in Cadereyta de Montes, where more than a kilometer of streets have been covered in white, gray, and black marble for over 10 years.
Vizarrón de Montes is known for its richness in marble, the main industry that generates the area’s economy, according to its residents. Even the main garden in Vizarrón also features the beautiful stone on its floor, with planters and letters that welcome locals and visitors.
In an interview, Octavio Orlando Zamorano Gutiérrez, resident and member of the Pro Vizarrón Libre Committee, highlighted that one of Vizarrón’s unique features is its marble craftsmanship, which is why the town’s artisans and residents have displayed the stone in its streets, gardens, and even churches.
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In 2009, for example, the main garden was remodeled, and marble was placed in every detail of this space. The floor is made of marble balls and features floral carpets, as well as circles, a symbolic motif found in the Vizarrón church.
“Most of the streets in the center and surrounding areas are also made of natural stone, natural marble balls, which originate from erosion through dragging by water in nearby streams. Currently, it is artificially made in a tumbler, where it is polished by friction with other stones, and that is what was used right now for the motif of this garden,” he indicated.
Orlando Zamorano explained that there is a legend that Vizarrón Street was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most expensive street in the world because it is made of marble. He noted that on the main street, even the lane dividers are made of white marble, rather than painted.
The San José de Vizarrón Church, also known as the Old Church or Little Church, has its altar made entirely of marble, one of the first artisanal works that launched the marble industry in the region with Father Cirilo Servín; while the New Church is made entirely of pink marble on the floor and white marble on the walls.
Furthermore, the Vizarrón municipal monument is a 25-ton marble stone, and the street name labels are made of marble, engraved using a technique called martelinado. Likewise, the Vizarrón stones, which welcome visitors to the town, are made of marble.
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Humberto Pérez Vega, a craftsman from Vizarrón who participated in the remodeling of the garden and the construction of the marble streets, explained that one square meter of marble costs between 1,200 and 1,500 pesos. He emphasized that local artisans, bricklayers, tilers, and marble workers, among others, participated in the garden’s remodeling between 2009 and 2012, as well as in the reconstruction of the streets with marble in 2012.
“Evaluating costs, labor, and raw materials, it’s roughly between 1,200 and 1,500 pesos per square meter, because it involves marble, white cement, and more than anything, it’s the time it takes to place pebble by pebble and level them. Each pebble is placed specifically in the spot to give it symmetry, geometry, and all that, so it’s roughly 1,200 to 1,500 pesos per square meter,” he noted.
He explained that building streets with marble is a viable option because the stone embedded in concrete is durable, even during periods of heavy rain.
Despite being the most expensive street, Octavio Zamorano said that in recent years they have not received state or municipal support to rehabilitate the streets and improve their condition, acknowledging that the roadway is currently “half worn.”
Interesting facts about Vizarrón marble
Vizarrón marble can be found in several spaces in the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City, as well as in the columns of the old Puebla cemetery in Puebla, and in the Las Teresitas temple in the historic center of Querétaro, where there is a plaque that reads “made with marble from Vizarrón de Montes, Querétaro.”
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Source: oem
