Aguascalientes State

The state of Aguascalientes is one of Mexico's smallest and its focus is squarely on the city of the same name. According to local legend, a kiss planted on the lips of dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna by the wife of a prominent local politician brought about the creation of a separate Aguascalientes state from neighboring Zacatecas.

Beyond the museum-rich capital city formal tourist sites are few, but it's a pleasant-enough drive en route to or from Zacatecas, through fertile lands of corn, beans, chilies, fruit and grain. The state's ranches produce beef cattle as well as bulls that are sacrificed at bullfights countrywide.