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Founding
Founding of Tlayacapan
municipal seat of Tlayacapan, State of Morelos, Mexico
- 1400
- Mesoamerica and the Caribbean
Founding
municipal seat of Tlayacapan, State of Morelos, Mexico
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
Tlayacapan (Spanish pronunciation: [tlaʝaˈkapan]) is the name of a town and a municipality located in the northeast part of Morelos state in central Mexico. It is located 60 km east from the state capital of Cuernavaca and about 1.5 hours south of Mexico City. It is a rural area, whose way of life has not changed much over the 20th century, with 90% of its population still partially or fully dependent on agriculture. The town has old mansions, houses with red tile roofs and streets paved with stones. Many ravines crisscross the area and are crossed by numerous stone bridges.
The main landmark is the former monastery of San Juan Bautista, which towers over all the other structures. It was built beginning the 1530s, along with 26 chapels scattered around the original town as part of the "spiritual conquest" of the area. Today, this monastery is part of the Monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl, which was made a World Heritage Site in 1994. Culturally, the town is famous for two things: being the origin of the Chinelos dance and the home of the Banda de Tlayacapan band, the most important culturally in the state and nationally recognized.
Tlayacapan was also a popular filming location for many Mexican and American films such as La Valentina, starring María Félix and Eulalio González, and Two Mules for Sister Sara, starring Shirley MacLaine and Clint Eastwood. American rock band The Killers, filmed the music video of their hit song When You Were Young, in 2006.
Towering over everything else in the town, is the former monastery of San Juan Baustista (John the Baptist). This monastery is part of the series of monasteries near the Popocatepetl volcano which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1994. Today only the church portion retains its original function and serves as the parish church for the municipality. The patron saint of the town is John the Baptist, whose feast day is celebrated on 24 June.
The monastery complex was constructed by the Augustinians between 1534 and 1574, along with a number of chapels scattered throughout the town. It is fronted by an atrium which is larger than in any other monastery complex in the state. The facade of the church has small images of suns and moons. Its complex is a mixture of a number of architectural styles including Roman, Medieval, Plateresque, Gothic and Moorish. The church is one of the largest in Morelos. Despite its importance, the building lacks altarpieces and decorative elements in its architecture. The number 12 is found in all of its corners, 12 foundations, 12 doors, 12 main rooms, and others. The total comes to 144, the number of walls of the "perfect city" described in the Apocalypse. The main nave of the church measures 14 meters wide, 28 meters tall and 56 meters long, and match those of the Santi Quattro Coronati basilica in Rome. One of the main attractions of the monastery museum are the frescos in the entrance hall and meditation hall. The paintings in the entrance hall were done for evangelization purposes. The monastery's church remains with its original function. The rest, such as courtyards, cloister, chapels, dining hall, prayer rooms, kitchen, gardens, and monks’ cells have disappeared or have been converted to other uses.
The cloister area and part of the open chapel have been converted into a site museum. This museum contains pre-Hispanic artifacts, Catholic religious objects, religious paintings from the 17th century and more. One item which stands out is a painting of "Nuestra Señora de la Luz" an oil work of the Virgin Mary pregnant. It is claimed that from whatever angle the work is viewed, the Virgin appears to be looking directly at the onlooker. Two other important pieces are anonymous paintings from the 16th century with Flemish influence presenting Saint Augustine and pictorial fragments from an altarpiece from 1737. The museum also contains a number of mummified remains on display. These were found under the floor of the main nave of the monastery church in 1982, when restoration work was being performed. These remains are of several children and one adolescent, each found in its own wooden coffin and in good condition. They were identified as upper-class Spanish due to their dress. The belief at that time was to be buried in the church as close to the altar as possible in order to reach heaven sooner. Today they can be viewed in the museum in the room which used to be the dispensary. For this reason and others, photos inside the museum area are strictly prohibited.
The museum area underwent more restoration work in 1997 which was funded by the INAH, the Instituto de Cultura de Morelos, and the American Express Foundation. Much of this work involved the cleaning and restoration of the murals in the cloister area. Some of the best preserved works are in the Sala Profundis or meditation room where there are depictions of the Four Evangelists, Saints Peter and Paul, the Virgin Mary and the Crucifixion.
Associated with the monastery is a series of 26 chapels, which were located in places were pre-Hispanic rituals had been performed as part of the "spiritual conquest" of the area. Some of these chapels have been abandoned and are in ruins. Eighteen remain in use and are being gradually restored. These chapels are divided into three groups, Capillas de Cabecera (main chapels), Capillas de Calpulli (family chapels), and Capillas de Relación. While some are simple, even humble structures, several of the chapels are surprisingly elaborated with decorative facades, towers, espadañas and decorative gateways, some dating from colonial times. Each of the chapels has its own feast day and each neighborhood has its own chapel.
It has 21 chapels associated with it, classified into three groups: capillas de cabecera capillas de calpulli and capillas de relacíon. The most important of these are the capillas de cabecera or roughly "head chapels" which include El Rosario, Santa Ana, Señor de la Exaltación and Señor Santiago. These four chapels mark the four pre-Hispanic neighborhood temples or teocallis in each of the cardinal directions, in the same relative location vis-à-vis the main teocalli, where the monastery is now. Santa Ana is found in the north, La Exaltación in the south, Santiago in the east and El Rosario in the west.
The chapel of the Señora del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary) is one that marks the town's traditional western boundary and lends its name to the surrounding neighborhood. It has an east–west orientation and is paired with the chapel of Santiago (St. James) on the east side of town. It is adorned with stucco filigree, with seven niches in the body and three in the bell areas. It used to be said that when the bells of this chapel sounded, hunger would go away. Festival of the Señora del Rosaio is 7 October, with toritos de luces (small bull shaped frames with fireworks), festival and wind bands.
The chapel of Santa Ana (St. Anne) is located in the north of the town. Its facade is very sober and contains a medallion of the saint, which was placed there in 1973. Inside, the saint is represented along the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus. This is the only chapel which does not have a canon vault but rather a gothic style one. Each year, pilgrims to Chalma leave from and return to this chapel. The neighborhood around it, called Barrio Norte or Barrio Santa Ana was the traditional exit to Mexico City. The chapel of Santa Ana is the scene of the commemoration of the Virgen de los Dolores (Virgin of the Sorrows) on the sixth Friday of Lent and the Procession of the Holy Burial (Santo Entierro) during Holy Week.
The Santiago Chapel is found in the Santiago neighborhood, which used to be called Texcalpa, or the "witch" (male) neighborhood. Here are found many of the town's potters making everyday items such as pots for mole. The interior of this chapel is more decorated than most others with multicolored winged angels and saints. There is a three-gate opening into the atrium. The original atrium cross was decorated with flowers but this was stolen some time ago, as well as a number of other objects from the chapel property. The original doors remain, decorated with a mixture of symbols representing stars, suns and people. The squares with depictions of the sun and moon are considered to be particularly important. Each bell tower is decorated with Talavera tiles as well as stone spheres, which contain certification as to their perfection. Feast day is 25 July and celebrated with pre-Hispanic dance.
The Capilla de la Exaltación, also called Capillas de La Cruz, is located in the south. It contains an image of a Black Christ said to work miracles and is the object of local pilgrimage. The day of the Señor de la Exaltación is the first Friday of Lent, with events from Thursday evening to the following Sunday, such as pre-Hispanic dances and fireworks.
The capillas de relación, or chapels related to a specific ancient deity converted into a saint, consist of Nuestra Señora del Tránsito, San Lucas, San Pedro and San Jerónimo. The day of Nuestra Señora del Trànsito is the fourth Friday of Lent, with activities beginning on Wednesday and extending to Sunday. This consists of dances called jaripeos, fireworks and processions as the Virgin makes her way to Tepoztlán. One of the town's many legends involves the Virgen del Transito figure of the Virgin Mary, which was originally from Tepoztlan. This figure was burned and one was sought who could repair it in Tlayacapan. It is said that this figure "fell in love" with the figure of Saint Martin and wished to stay, so it became too heavy to lift. Today, the image has its own chapel in the far southwest of the community, but the figure itself remains in the chapel of San Martin.
The capillas de calpulli cover other types of sites in the four pre-Hispanic neighborhoods. They include San Jerónimo, Santa Marta, Santa Cruz de Altica, San Diego, La Magdalena, San Lorenzo, La Tlazcalchica, San Nicolás, La Concepcón, San Miguel, La Asunción, San Martín, La Natividad and Los Reyes. Those chapels on the outskirts, such as San Nicolás, San Pedro, San Lucas, Las Animas and El Transito, mark traditional exits from the pre-Hispanic village. The smallest chapels, also called ermitas (hermitages) mark topographic sites or other devotional areas. The festival of the Chapel of Santa Cruz of Altica is on 3 May, as well as the chapel of Tlazcalchica. The Capilla de la Natividad contains the Museo del Alfarero or Potters’ Museum.
The Cerería Museum and Cultural Center (Wax or candle factory) is housed in a building which covers an entire city block and dates back to the 16th century. Its original function was the Encomendero Español or the headquarters for the local encomendero system. In the 17th century, it became one of the first waxworks in the Americas. This waxworks was noted in the region for making beautiful candles, and became a place to stock up on these for those traveling to and from Mexico City. The building was enlarged over time showing a number of different architectural styles. It contains a large alijbe or water storage tank in the main courtyard. There are also gargoyles. During the Mexican Revolution, the building served as a barracks for Emiliano Zapata’s troops.
The building was repaired and converted into its present function in the late 20th century. The restoration of the La Cerería was a common cause for the community, who were aided by researchers, scholars and other volunteers from outside. The rooms have been conditioned to display aspects of the municipality’s history and traditions, such as its pre-Hispanic past, its musicians, its pottery tradition, its numerous 16th-century chapels and the Chinelos. There are also two rooms dedicated to temporary exhibits. Workshops offered vary from crafts to personal development to languages such as English and Nahuatl to painting to chess as well as local traditions. The building has been used to film a number of movies because of its architecture.
The former Hacienda of San Nicolás is located in the Pantitlán neighborhood, but it is in ruins. It is said that it originally belonged to Hernán Cortés who bequeathed it to a grandson named Pedro in the 16th century. The original owners supported the work of the local Augustinians and when then property first became abandoned, these brothers took it over. In 1809, the government confiscated it and it has remained government property since.
The origin of the name is from Nahuatl and means "over the point or nose of the earth" but it can also be translated at "the limits of the earth."
The first culture in the area was the Olmec, who are known only by archeological remains. Some of the archeological work done here was by Francisco Plancarte y Navarete, who was also the second bishop of Cuernavaca in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He found a large number of Olmec clay figures here and other areas nearby.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Tlayacapan”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.