PICTURED SITES ARE DESCRIBED IN THIS TEXT.
Elderhostel invites participants to "immerse yourself in celebratory rituals for the dead. Roam the halls of imposing palaces and awe-inspiring cathedrals. Embrace the mystery that lies beneath the region's surface in museums and archaeological sites. Absorb the varying differences in three of Mexico's most fascinating cities to discover the traditional significance that defines this intriguing culture."
Tlaxcala is a city of 30,000 founded in 1525. Many downtown buildings remain from the 16th and 17th centuries as well-preserved examples of colonial-style architecture. The terra-cotta roofs of many of its buildings has given the capital of the State of Tlaxcala its nickname of Red City.
The city‘s Constitution Plaza has tiled fountains, a central bandstand, and several gardens. Colonial-era palaces and mansions border the plaza. The Government Palace on the plaza’s north side dates from 1545 and has many modern interior murals depicting the city’s pivotal role in the Spanish conquest. Since 1965, Desiderio Hernandez, a local artist, has been working on them.
The Church of San Jose nearby is unusual with its brick and tile exterior and ornate white stucco decorative motifs. Its interior is decorated in yellow and green.
The west side of the plaza has the Palace of Justice built in 1528 and the Legislative Palace built in 1551.
On the south side of the square was our hotel, Hotel Posada San Francisco, portions of which were built in the 16th century. The façade of the building was made of stone which sadly needed a good cleaning. The hotel’s appearance from the plaza was deceptive, as the modern hotel encompassed several nice buildings. It is said the original owner was a 16th-century lawyer who solved cases for both the rich and the needy. He secured a monetary payment from the rich and a stone for the facade of his building from the needy.
Plaza Xicotencatl, a small square near Constitution Plaza, had at its center a large statue of Tlaxcalan chief Xicotencatl. After helping the Spaniards conquer the Aztecs, he was hanged in 1521 for disobedience and became a martyr for the Tlaxcalan people.
Just above the plaza on a sloping cobbled pathway, an austere Franciscan ex-convent dates back to 1526 when Tlaxcala was named the first diocese of New Spain. Construction was finished in 1540 of what has become the Cathedral de Nuestra Señora de la Anuncion. Its most unusual feature is carved Moorish-style wood ceiling beams gilded with gold studs. A chapel contains two historically important items: a large stone baptismal font where Tlaxcala’s four chieftains were converted to Christianity and a carved pulpit dated 1520 with the Spanish inscription reading, "Here the Holy Gospel had its beginning in this New Word." Beneath the cathedral is an open-air Gothic-style chapel, believed to be the oldest in the Western Hemisphere, where Cortés attended Mass prior to marching with his Tlaxcalan allies to conquer the Aztec empire in 1521.
From the cathedral’s courtyard there is an excellent view of the city’s 19th-century Plaza de Toros (bullring), and a massive bell tower dating back to the late 16th century. Tlaxcala State is known throughout Mexico for producing Mexico’s fiercest bulls.
Further up the pathway from the plaza was the bottom of a staircase of almost 100 steps to the Neighbor’s Chapel. Built in the 17th century, it is open each year on the Thursday before Easter and the Thursday after Trinity Sunday for a festival honoring the Eucharist.
Located on a hill overlooking Tlaxcala’s city center and surrounding volcanic peaks, Santurario de Nuestra Señora de Ocotlan is one of Mexico’s most sacred religious treasures. Local legend explains the sanctuary was built on the site where the Virgin appeared in 1541, ending a long drought by making water flow from that very spot. The sanctuary dating back to 1670 is renowned for its intricate, ornate white plaster facade set off by oval shaped red tiles. Two gleaming white bell towers adorned with apostles have lacy plaster carvings. Inside the cathedral stands a statue of the Virgin backed by the main altar with gold leaf ornamentation. Behind the altar is the Camarín, an octagonal-shaped dressing room decorated by a local artist who spent 25 years from 1715 to 1740 carving gilded wood figures covering every wall and the ceiling. The church is most notable as a pilgrimage site. In 1541 the Virgin Mary appeared to a poor peasant, telling him to cure an epidemic with water from a stream that had suddenly appeared. Franciscan monks, eager to find the source of the miracle, ventured into the forest where they discovered raging flames that did not harm one particular pine tree (ocotlan). When they split the tree open, they discovered the wooden image of the Virgin de Ocotlan, which they installed on a gilded altar. Many miracles have been attributed to the statue, which wears the braids popular for indigenous women at the time.
An index of articles related to this trip can be seen at our home page: http://www.worldisround.com/home/jdtan/index.html
If you have any questions, email them to me at jdtanner@a5.com rather than including them in your remarks at the bottom of the photo page.
Diane Tanner
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