Religious Icons: Part Two-Churches

 Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. Church of La Santísima

Mexico is predominantly a Catholic country, and Tepoztlán is no exception. We'll explore many churches that are in different parts of town. But not all. That would be too large a project.

I'm not sure that a church can be called a religious icon, however I'm using this to follow up on my Religious Icons: Part One article, that dealt mostly with altars.

All of the photos and the video were shot and edited by me in Tepotzlán.

Near the Center of Town

The Santisima Church, shown above, is near the town's center, as is San Miguel Church, shown below.

 Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. Church of San Miguel

Tepoztlán is divided into barrios, each one its own community that has a church with the same name. The names are of different saints, and the community hosts a fiesta to honor that saint on their day of the year.

We've seen two churches near the center, and now let's take a look at the main church in Centro, called Ex-convento. According to Wikipedia, The church was built by the Tepoztecan Indians under the orders of the Dominican friars between 1555 and 1580, dedicated to the Virgin of the Nativity. From its name, you can tell that it used to be a monastery. Now it houses a church with different sections and a museum. After the earthquake, in 2017, it sustained some damage and was closed for reconstruction. It has reopened. Here is a slideshow for your enjoyment: 

Away From the Center

Here are three churches that are located a bit of a distance from the center of town. The church of the barrio of Santa Cruz (This is not to be confused with the one in the barrio of Huilotepec, as it has the same name. We'll cover that one in the next section.):

Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. Church of  Santa Cruz

Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. Church of Tierra Blanca

Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. Chapel of Tierra Blanca

Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. Church of Santo Domingo 

An Outlying Barrio

The barrio of Huilotepec is a fifteen minute drive from the center of Tepoztlán. Here is the Facebook page for its church. And here are some images:

Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. Huilotepec's church

Huilotepec is a fifteen minute drive from the town's center. This is the Facebook Page.

Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. Huilotepec's church

Murals and Water

As you might know, the Catholic religion in Mexico is syncretic with pagan indigenous root religions. Because of this, the element of water is worshiped, as evidenced by the altars near streams, and of the murals near at least one church.

Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. Bridge over a stream with altar near Tierra Blanca Church

Frogs and Guadalupe

In the previous article on religious icons, a couple of topics came up that I will clarify.

First of all, there was a question--why so many statues of frogs are at water taps and at altars. I learned that each barrio has its own characteristic animal.  The frog (sapo in Spanish) is the totem animal of the barrio of Santo Domingo.

Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. Frog icon in a park in Santo Domingo

And here is the image of Guadalupe, which is very commonly seen at altars:

Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. Image of  the Virgin of Guadalupe at an altar

Her story is long and complex, as the most important religious and cultural icon of Mexico. To some, she represents the Virgin Mary, to others she is Tonantzin, the mythological "Mother of All" of the Aztec pantheon. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims visit her shrine in Mexico City on the day of her fiesta, December 12. To learn more, you can look at this documentary video, or read the Wikipedia entry.

I'll share a personal encounter. When some friends heard I'd moved to Mexico, they encouraged me to visit the shrine. I did so a few years after moving here, coincident with a job interview I had in Mexico City. Thanks to her, I got the job. When I lost it two months later, I returned, but learned she would not help me again. What do you think?

Addendum

You may have noticed a change in appearance of this blog, and the addition of a more standard comments section. This is part of an update of my whole web site. What do you think?

Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. 

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