The Cornish miners who brought football and pasties to Mexico

In the Mexican hill town of Mineral del Monte, Ciro Peralto Urbano’s bakery offers evidence of an unlikely cultural mix: the enduring legacy of Cornish pastries and a fiery passion for football.

Since 1975, Ciro has been offering traditional meat-filled pastries, preserving the recipe brought by British miners two centuries ago.

As England’s 2-1 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo plays on a shop television, ensuring the Three Lions advance to the last 16 of the World Cup and return to Mexico on Sunday, the deep historical links become clear.

For turnover, this connection goes much deeper than a single fixture. British miners who came to these mountains in the 19th century not only introduced the Cornish pasty, but also introduced organized football, laying the foundation for what would become Mexico’s national sport.

“The connection with football comes from the British,” Ciro said. “Football tradition should be preserved along with the pastry tradition.”

Cornish miners first settled in Mexico in 1824, traveling inland to Mineral del Monte, also known as Real del Monte. As more British families made the mining town their home, the game, both pasty and beautiful, took firm root, creating a unique cultural fabric that endures to this day.

“They brought football in an increasingly organized way,” said Wilfrido Soto Jarillo, former president of the Cornish cultural heritage group. He said amateur matches were played in the yard of the Dolores mine, in what is now a parking lot.

The mine has long since fallen silent, but Cornish pasty remains a local staple and its original recipe has been adapted over the generations. Mexican peppers and spices were added to traditional potatoes, onions and meat, while the game introduced by miners became the country’s most popular sport.

“This is the wonderful legacy they left us, gastronomy and sports,” Soto Jarillo said.

Just 18 km (11 mi) down the road in Pachuca is Hidalgo Stadium, home of CF Pachuca, considered Mexico’s oldest football club. Founded in 1892 and believed to have been founded by Cornish miner Francis Rule, the club’s roots go directly back to the British community that settled in the region.

Echoes of this legacy remain throughout the city. Pachuca’s Monumental Clock, ‌Reloj Monumental, has elements similar to London’s Big Ben and has a similar steel structure and clock mechanism, according to Club Pachuca tour manager Brasil Ordaz.

“Part of our culture is closely linked to England. There is also something of England in the heart found in Pachuca,” Ordaz said.

“All this comes together in Pachuca; today Mexico is performing well in the World Cup and people are gathering around this great emblem.”

At the nearby University of Football, CF Pachuca’s under-21 team trained under gray skies and persistent rain in conditions that would have been familiar to the Cornish miners who first brought the game here.

Ordaz said that although the game had already become Mexican, the British influence was still noticeable.

“We are very proud of what Pachuca is today, from the youngest children to the oldest generations,” he said.