Mummy of an Executed Man Discovered in Celaya… and Wanted to Turn It into a Tourist Attraction

What could be considered the first mummified execution in the history of Guanajuato was discovered in Celaya. It is emerging as a potential new tourist attraction for that Bajío city, as it is being sought to incorporate it into the municipality’s collection of mummies.

In November 2024, employees of the South Municipal Cemetery of Celaya made the discovery of the mummy. While performing maintenance work, they found a corpse covered in earth. It was not in a coffin or in a mass grave, much less in a tomb or under a tombstone, but in an adjacent lot.

To their surprise, the body was mummified. Now, the municipal government of that city is seeking to add it as the 24th to its collection of mummies and display it in a space open to tourists.

In an interview, Celaya’s Director of Tourism, Carlos Olvera, revealed that when the mummy was discovered, it had a gunshot wound to the head. Following its discovery, the State Attorney General’s Office was notified and has since been holding it as part of an investigation.

However, the municipality is waiting for the identification process to be completed so that, with the consent of the family (if they have one and can be found), it can be donated and incorporated into its exhibition.

“The Public Ministry is investigating the body because we know this mummy died from a gunshot wound not long ago. The process was extremely quick, and we are trying to assess it so that, if we obtain the family’s consent, it can become part of this collection of mummified bodies,” he explained.

He explained that the discovery took place last year, was reported in November, and the release from the Public Ministry has not yet been received. However, he clarified that, starting this year, a legal process began to integrate this body into the municipal collection of mummies.

So far, it is unknown whether or not he has any relatives.

When asked directly how the mummified body was discovered, he said: “The cemetery staff gave us a report through the Municipal Services Department. They gave us the information and began the process of reporting it to the Public Prosecutor’s Office because it is a body that needs to be investigated.”