Two of Thirty Seven

As I mentioned in the previous post, Cholula was the sacred city of pre-Hispanic Mexico.  There were supposedly 365 temples in the ancient city, one for each day of the year.  The Spanish tore down all of the temples, and built churches on top of many of them.  Thus it was said that Cholula had 365 churches.  Not true.  There are only thirty seven.  The most important is the Church of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios which was constructed atop the Great Pyramid.  On this recent visit to Cholula, Alejandro and I did not climb the pyramid or visit that church, but we did visit a couple of the churches in the center of the town.

The Church of San Gabriel faces Cholula´s main plaza.  It was built in 1529 by the Franciscan Order on the site of the pre-Hispanic temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent God.  By the time that the Spanish arrived, the Great Pyramid had already been abandoned for centuries, and was covered with dirt and vegetation as it is today.  The temple to the Feathered Serpent was the most important of the city's many shrines and drew pilgrims from all over Mexico.  The temple of course was demolished, and the Franciscans, who were the first order of missionaries to arrive here, built a monastery here.

The earthquake of September of 2018 hit not only Mexico City, but also the state of Puebla where Cholula is located.  San Gabriel was one of a number of churches in the area to suffer damage in the quake.

The church remains open, but the front entrance is closed while work continues to repair the damage.  You can see scaffolding around the bell tower.  If you look closely you might notice that the round stained-glass window above the door is also broken.

 Pieces that fell from the roof and the bell tower are sitting in front of the church.


Connected to the church of San Gabriel is a large chapel known as the "Capilla Real"  (Royal Chapel), also called the "Capilla de los Naturales" (Indigenous Chapel).  

Why it was called the Royal Chapel is something of a mystery, but its other name would indicate that this was a place that the native population could attend.  (Generally the Spanish and the Indians did not worship in the same churches.)

The interior of the chapel is simple, but its architecture is unique.  Its construction is similar to that of a mosque.  In fact, I have read that its design was inspired by the great mosque of Córdoba, Spain.  The structure has 49 cupolas, and inside there are seven naves lined with round and octagonal columns.  It is a bit of Moorish influence in Mexico.