Oaxaca. San Bartolo Soyaltepec 3: The Documents

As at Yautepec restoration efforts at Soyaltepec unearthed forgotten colonial documents among the cofradia archives.

Page from the Graduale Sanctorale

Of the greatest interest were two rare 16th century illustrated books of liturgical chants entitled El Graduale Sanctorale and El Graduale Dominicale, originally printed from woodblocks in Mexico City.
    These were then carefully restored by ADABI * specialists in document conservation, and subsequently displayed in the city of Oaxaca before returning to Soyaltepec.

Dated title Page from the Graduale Sanctorale

*ADABI: Apoyo al Desarrollo de Archivos y Bibliotecas de México 

Source: Dirección de la Biblioteca de Investigación Juan de Córdova: 

text © 2019 Richard D Perry

images © Felipe Falcón, Fidel Ugarte Liévana, Gibrán Morales Carranza, & José Luis Cruz.
see our recent Oaxaca posts: Yautepec; Tixá; Yatzachi el Alto; San Juan Tabaá; Zoochila; 

Oaxaca. San Bartolo Soyaltepec 2: The Altarpieces.

 San Bartolo Soyaltepec, the nave

Several gilded altarpieces line the nave on either side, the majority unrestored.  Most date from the later 1700s.  One that has been recently restored is that of El Rosario on the north side. 

Rosario iconography:

1 La Anunciación   2 La Inmaculada Concepción   3 Los Desposorios de la Virgen

4 La presentación de Jesús en el templo  5 La Epifanía (Adoración de los Reyes Magos) 

6 La Visitación de la Virgen a Santa Isabel   7 La Virgen de los Dolores

(Jesús descendido de la cruz en el regazo de la Virgen)

8 Santa Ana   9 San Joaquín

Dated 1788 it is framed in classic Oaxacan baroque style with helical columns and pilasters densely carved with entwined foliage, and projecting cornices hung with spindles. Passages of foliated gold relief fill the intervening spaces.

   Apart from the two fine statues of San José and The Virgin of the Rosary in the center niches, the remaining images are all paintings, dedicated to episodes in the life of the Virgin.

Among the other retablos, that of San Miguel stands out with its original bescrolled caryatid supports.

Another colonial artifact inside the church is the 18th century table organ case, a reminder of the importance of music at Soyaltepec and throughout Oaxaca in colonial times.

Source: Dirección de la Biblioteca de Investigación Juan de Córdova: 

text © 2019 Richard D Perry

images © Felipe Falcón, Fidel Ugarte Liévana, Gibrán Morales Carranza, & José Luis Cruz.
see our recent Oaxaca posts: Yautepec; Tixá; Yatzachi el Alto; San Juan Tabaá; Zoochila; 

Oaxaca. San Bartolo Soyaltepec 1: The Church

Turning our attention again to Oaxacan churches of historical and artistic interest, we visit the Dominican church of San Bartolo Soyaltepec in the Mixteca Alta region, near the priory of Yanhuitlan.

Our first post (of three) looks at the church fabric itself, the focus of recent restoration work *. The present church dates from 1723, and its west front is typical of Dominican houses in that it presents a retablo style facade, in this case framed with two tiers of paired spiral columns—rare in Oaxaca—together with a bull's eye choir window. The intervening sculpture niches are currently empty of statuary. The facade has recently been restored to its original red color.

The facade shows little other sculptural ornament aside from an escutcheon in the crowning gable that features a painted relief of a sword—the traditional instrument of martyrdom for the patron Saint Bartholomew. 

  

tower cupola and vane;                                                embedded reliefs

A squat single tier north tower caps the church front. Reliefs embedded in the base of the tower include the Spanish Royal arms.

Entwined strapwork and densely carved stucco ornament distinguish the lateral entry.

The arcaded porteria beside the church has also been restored.

* funded by La Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú Oaxaca (FAHHO)

see our recent Oaxaca posts: Yautepec; Tixá; Yatzachi el Alto; San Juan Tabaá; Zoochila; 

                                                       text © 2019 Richard D. Perry

sources:Memoria #4. Biblioteca de Investigación Juan de Córdova

                                           images courtesy of Felipe Falcon, Fidel Ugarte Liévana, Gibrán Morales                                               Carranza and José Luis Cruz.

Missions of Michoacán. Zacapu: the hospital chapel

For our second post on Zacapu we turn to the former hospital chapel, now dedicated to Guadalupe, and its gem like colonial altarpiece.

The Hospital Chapel
On the north side of the vast paved plaza out front of the main church, now partly obscured by a modernistic structure and along a narrow walkway, we can still find the former hospital chapel of Zacapú.

Once dedicated to the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, the chapel is now dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe, whose yearly festival is noted for its energetic, swaying procession.

The facade retains its original doorway and choir window, with several embedded stone shell reliefs, one with the date of 1649.

The boxy interior is roofed by a traditional wooden beamed ceiling with arrocabe supports on either wall, and is enriched by a small but highly refined gilded retablo gleaming at the far end. 

The classic portrait of Guadalupe at center is flanked by statues of Sts Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Virgin Mary.

    

Fashioned in an idiosyncratic late baroque style, the retablo features elegant siren like caryatids carved in sinuous postures with twisted heads, which might fancifully seem to relate to the steps of some women in the Guadalupe procession, popularly called La Topa de Guaresitas.

  

text © 2019 Richard D. Perry

images courtesy of Niccolo Brooker and Felipe Falcón.

Visit our earlier pages on the missions of Michoacán: San Nicolas de Obispo;  Naranja de Tapia; Charapan; Tupataro; Quinceo; Zacán; Pomacuarán; Nurio;  Cocucho;  Ajuno; Santiago Charapan; San Sebastián Corupo; Tanaquillo; Santa Clara del Cobre; Tlalpujahua; Tzintzuntzan; Uruapan; Capácuaro;  Huiramangaro; Tarímbaro, Jarácuaro;  Ziracuaretiro;

Missions of Michoacán: Santa Ana Zacapu

This is the first of two posts on the colonial churches of Zacapu in central Michoacán.

In ancient times Zacapú was the site of a major shrine dedicated to the sun god Curicaueri, which overlooked a lake sacred to this greatest of the Tarascan deities. Although the lake subsequently degenerated into unhealthy marshland, the settlement remained populous into the 1500s.

 In 1540 Fray Jácobo Daciano, the aristocratic Danish friar and "Apostle of Michoacán" whose name is also associated with Tarécuato and Tzintzuntzan, founded the mission here, supposedly raising the first primitive thatched chapel with his own hands. A statue has been erected in his memory in the atrium, complete with his broad-brimmed pilgrim’s hat.
   By the end of the 16th century, Santa Ana Zacapú was counted among the leading Franciscan houses in Michoacán. The present church was erected during the 1570s, under the supervision of Fray Pedro de Pila, the distinguished builder of Tzintzuntzan.

The Church Front
Studded with bold shell reliefs, the imposing Plateresque facade recalls Tzintzuntzan and Erongarícuaro, although the Corinthian columns, paneled jambs and pedestals give it a more soberly classical appearance. Note the unusual angled shells flanking the doorway.

  

The atrium resembles a sculpture garden with its carved 17th century stone cross and a handsome sundial set on a column alongside the statue of Fray Jácobo. The curvacious clock gable and church tower are more recent additions and the interior has been entirely made over, retaining few obvious colonial features.

The Atrium Cross
Simply carved with minimal ornament, the cross employs a cross- within-a-cross motif, and is decorated with plain rosettes on the neck, shaft, and flared arms.  A crude skull and bones relief foots the shaft.

The Convento

Although much of the portería arcade has now been closed in, the adjacent convento has a raised exterior gallery in the regional manner. The tunnel-like entry vestibule bear fragmentary frescoes, possibly portraying the entry of the 12 Franciscans in 1524.

A narrow passage conducts us to the ample cloister, which is framed by sturdy Tuscan arcades with massive stone columns and slab capitals. Beneath low stone arches set on thick scrolled brackets, the cavernous corner niches still preserve vestiges of devotional murals.
Visit our earlier pages on the missions of Michoacán: San Nicolas de Obispo;  Naranja de Tapia; Charapan; Tupataro; Quinceo; Zacán; Pomacuarán; Nurio;  Cocucho;  Ajuno; Santiago Charapan; San Sebastián Corupo; Tanaquillo; Santa Clara del Cobre; Tlalpujahua; Tzintzuntzan; Uruapan; Capácuaro;  Huiramangaro; Tarímbaro, Jarácuaro;  Ziracuaretiro;

text and images © 1996 & 2019 Richard D. Perry

Missions of Michoacán: Aranza

Located in the Sierra Tarasca north of Uruapan, the indigenous pueblo of Aranza is a center of purépecha culture in Michoacán. 

At the heart of the community is the venerable church of San Jerónimo, which houses El Santo Niño de Chichihua* whose revered image is the focus of colorful seasonal festivals and attracts devotees from across the region. 

The 16th century church front is fashioned in the regional style, its great arched doorway set on broad jambs and prominently surmounted by a decorated alfiz. In the local custom too, the doorway is flanked by several outsize shell reliefs, rosettes and leafy vines.

  
 

Another venerable piece of early stonework at Aranza is the atrium cross, incised with a date along the base. Generally plain, it is carved with eroded, fleurs-de-lis on the arms and a single cannonball on top.  And inside the church, stands a monolithic baptismal font carved like the doorway with outsize foliage and rosettes beneath a cord like rim.

Also typical of the region is the church interior, covered by a broad, wood beamed ceiling or alfarje. This is set above supporting, Mudejar style arrocabes, braced by intricately scrolled zapata brackets backed by painted ornamental urns and trimmed above and below by spiraling cord moldings.

  

In contrast to the rustic ambience of the nave, a "barococo" altarpiece spans the apse, its neoclassical form softened with gilded ornament. The stylishly red robed image of St. Jerome, the patron of Aranza, occupies an upper niche.  

  

 text © 2019 by Richard D. Perry.   
color images by the author and © Niccolò Brooker.

* The name is derived from an Aztec term signifying female servant or wet nurse, testifying to the prehispanic origins of the cult. 

Please see our previous posts on the Missions of Michoacán: Tupataro; Quinceo; Zacán; Pomacuarán; Nurio; San Lorenzo; Cocucho; Naranja; Ajuno; Santiago Charapan; San Sebastián Corupo; Tanaquillo; Santa Clara del Cobre; Tlalpujahua; Tzintzuntzan; Uruapan; Capácuaro; San Nicolas de Obispo; Huiramangaro; Tarímbaro, Jarácuaro; Arocutín; Ziracuaretiro; Angahuan;

Missions of Michoacán: Ihuatzio

Located on the eastern shore of Lake Patzcuaro, Ihuatzio (Place of the Coyotes) rivaled neighboring Tzintzuntzan in prehispanic times, as its extensive temple ruins testify, but after the Conquest its importance dwindled relative to its neighbor.

Ihuatzio, coyote sculpture ( atop tower)

Nevertheless the Franciscans founded a mission here, under the patronage of St Francis, subject at first to the monastery at Tzintzuntzan, and later Patzcuaro.

The present church dates from later colonial times although retaining some typical features of early Michoacán missions, notably the sculpted west porch, framed with relief foliage and rosettes and surmounted by an alfiz. 

And like many other area churches, the facade is enlivened with numerous embedded reliefs, including various plants, animals, fish and birds as well as the shells ubiquitous throughout Michoacán.

 

angel holding crown of thorns?  (above doorway)

 

text © 2019 Richard D. Perry

facade images courtesy of Niccolo Brooker