Hidalgo. The Chapels of Atotonilco de Tula 1.

In this and upcoming posts, we look at three early colonial buildings in Atotonilco de Tula in southwestern Hidalgo: first the main church of Santiago, and then two regional chapels: those of San Jose Zacamulpa and San Pedro Boxfi.

We begin with the principal church of Santiago, with a focus on its sculpted front.  The nave is built from rubblestone, braced by exterior buttresses and capped  by rows of merlons.

Beautifully carved from soft golden limestone, the west porch stands out against the coarsely textured facade, braced by angled buttresses. 

The ensemble is a classic example of 16th century Plateresque style. Outsize winged angel heads seem to fly out from the arch above doorway, barely contained by the Franciscan cord around them. 

Grotesque style compositions of cherubs posing in a stylized garden of birds fruit and flowers, all modeled in the round, adorn the jambs.

Haloed statues of Peter and Paul occupy Gothic flavored niches to either side of the doorway, whose canopies are carved with crouched animals and winged cherubs.

 

The other feature of interest is the rose window overhead, possibly the earliest such example in Mexico, whose intricate tracery adds a touch of refinement to the rough masonry of the upper facade, 

Unusually, no image of the patron saint appears on the facade, although a worn relief of the Franciscan stigmata on the stairway wall beside the church (red arrow) indicates its Franciscan origins. A larger related relief in better condition can be seen at nearby Apaxco

Apaxco relief

Text, photographs and graphics © 2024. by Richard D. Perry

all rights reserved

Morelos: Ocuituco fountain

Adding to my previous posts on outstanding colonial fountains,* this is a post on the example in the monastery at Ocuituco. 

The church front as restored in 2020

The large hexagonal fountain is set on a similar pedestal in the center of the cloister. Carved stone lions crouch on each corner, several of them now headless.

Currently the fountain does not function.

*San Agustin Morelia; Tochimilco; Acambaro; Acatzingo;

text and color photography © 2024 Richard D. Perry

Hidalgo. San Francisco de Pachuca

As the capital of the state of Hidalgo, Pachuca has surprisingly few important colonial monuments. The church and former convento of San Francisco, though, are among the oldest religious buildings in the city and the largest and most important. Founded in 1595 by the Franciscans, the chapel was built and finally completed between 1660 and 1667.

Later, in the year 1732, the convento of Pachuca was chosen to house the Apostolic College of Propaganda FIDE, an important Franciscan evangelical institution. During the 1770's the College achieved its greatest influence, as missionaries trained here went to regions as far away as the New Kingdom of León and Nueva Santander (today the states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas).  

The Temple of the convent of San Francisco. 

Its façade is of simple proportions, fashioned in a tiered baroque style, and reputedly designed by one Fray Francisco de Torantos. 

   Part of the façade was destroyed by dynamite in 1924 during the Delahuertista rebellion and has been subsequently restored.

   The whitewashed facade contrasts with the rough stonework of the tower base and flanking buttress; it rises in three tiers and features openings with a variety of frames.

Nuestra Señora de la Luz 

The principal chapel is that of Nuestra Señora de la Luz, located behind the main church. Built in the late 1700s it presents a simple facade of coarse masonry.

The whitewashed interior is notable for its magnificent gilded  altarpiece, fashioned in the sumptuous late baroque estípite style.

The first tier showcases the richly robed statue of St Joseph with the Christ child. The flanking niches framed by complex estípite pilasters hold statues of Franciscan saints Philip of Jesus and San Pascual Bailón.

  

In the center of the retablo is a late colonial painting of the patron saint in her classic pose, saving a youth from the jaws of hell, signed by the poblano artist Lopez Herrera?

On the upper level a grand gilded niche houses the figure of La Purísima accompanied on either side by statues of Sts Pedro Regalado and Pedro de Alcántara.

 

 The attached cloister dates from the early 1600s;  currently restored, it is home to the Hidalgo Cultural Center, the State School of Arts and the National Museum of Photography.

text © 2024 Richard D. Perry

images courtesy of Niccolo Brooker and online sources

Lost Missions of Yucatan; Lalcah

In our occasional series on Lost Missions of Yucatan, we focus here on the unrestored country church at Lalcah, now in the state of Quintana Roo.

Located a few kms south from the great roofless frontier church at Tihosuco, on which it may have been once dependent,  the village, abandoned until recent times, retains the shell of its late colonial country church.

The surviving fragments include much of the masonry facade, and most interestingly, its painted, 17th century? wall retablo in the former apse of the church.

Facade interior

The Facade

A broad triangular facade, its steep lines reflecting the original thatched nave roof, is notable for its double entry. The plain facade also features three windows, at one time opening above a wooden choir loft burned during the 19th century Caste War, following which the church and pueblo were abandoned. The loft was accessed by a stone stairway, still standing, its opening beside the west doorway.

stairway entrance

Arched openings along the roofless nave give access to the exterior, indicating its probable original function as as open chapel.

The Apse and retablo

Originally, as now, this area was roofed in rough masonry and retains the most interesting feature of the church: its painted wall retablo, a rare colonial survival. Divided by pairs of plain pilasters, it features several niches that retain significant traces of the original painted figures of archangels.

This remarkable altarpiece is in urgent need of conservation.

text © 2024 Richard D Perry.

text and images based on the monograph:

Lalcah, un pueblo olvidado en la selva de Quintana Roo

by LUIS ALBERTO MARTOS LÓPEZ

Michoacán. Tacámbaro. La Capilla de Sta Maria Magdalena

 This modest church, now serving as the chapel of the eponymous Hacienda in whose lands it is located, is of considerable importance in the history of the region. 

   Founded in the 16th century under the auspices of the first Governor of Nueva Galicia, Cristóbal de Oñate, it represents the  beginning of the evangelization of the area by the Augustine order , a precursor structure to their larger convento at nearby Tacámbaro.

Boasting a surprisingly ornate carved entry that dates in part from its founding, the chapel has been added to over the centuries and was recent stabilized and restored.

The Facade

Although, as mentioned, it has been altered over the centuries, much of its original detailing is intact, notably the west doorway with its carved jambs and layered archway. 

 

St Paul                           St. Peter

 

As is often the case, the apostles Peter and Paul flank the doorway

while another statue, that of the patron St Mary Magdalene, stands in a similarly framed niche over the doorway.

The outlying pilasters are carved in late 18th century estípite style, and capped with winged angel reliefs.

The small atrium is walled, its arched entry framed like the chapel doorway.  The wall is surmounted by a sequence of columns; it is not clear what the columns may have supported if anything; although possibly a colonnaded portería of some kind.

The interior

The otherwise austere single nave is capped by a modern painted ceiling in the style of western Michoacan.

© 2024 Richard D Perry

photography courtesy of Niccolo Brooker

for more details consult La capilla de Cristóbal de Oñate : Santa María Magdalena en Tacámbaro

by Gloria Angélica Alvarez Rodríguez. 2006

Yucatan. Purisima Chumayel

The church of the pilgrimage town of Purísima Chumayel, retains a classicYucatecan front, capped by a soaring espadaña. 

Also of note here are first the gilded main altarpiece, dated 1738, fashioned in a late baroque style with delicate columns and passages of golden filigree.

and then the large thatched side chapel, home to the iconic image of the Black Christ, also known as El Santo Cristo de la Transfiguración, a venerable crucifix which attracts pilgrims from across the region.

text and images © 2024 Richard D. Perry 

Mexico: colonial statues

 In previous posts we looked at colonial statuary from the state of Chiapas. In this post we review a selection of the statues we featured in our other guidebooks*

These are contrasting figures of St Paul, facade statues from the early monasteries of Acolman (left) and Atotonilco de Tula (r)

This remarkably realistic, sinewy figure of St Christopher bearing the Christ Child resides in the convento of Cuernavaca cathedral, formerly the Franciscan monastery'

This richly accoutered statue of John the Baptist, part of the main altarpiece in the monastic church of Xochimilco, is one of our particular favorites.

Next, this strangely elongated high relief figure of St. Dominic appears on the facade of the Dominican church at Tepoztlán.

Lastly this unusual statue of St Christopher, cut into one corner of the church of Santa Monica in Guadalajara, is known locally as El Cristobalón. Of particular interest are the sockets inset into the chests of both the saint and the Christ Child, thought to formerly containing jade or obsidian "hearts"

* Mexico's Fortress Monasteries; Blue Lakes & Silver Cities.

text and graphics ©1992 & 2024 Richard D. Perry

all rights reserved.