Toward the end of my recent trip to Mexico City, I came upon a website in Spanish called "Centro Histórico - 200 Lugares Imprescindibles" (The Historic Center - 200 Essential Places). The author has listed places of historic or cultural interest which are not on the typical tourist route. Most people would simply pass them by, thinking they were just another old building, but knowing the history behind them, these places take on greater interest. I was familiar with some of the sites, but others were new to me. So, on one of my last days in the city I made mapped out a route including just a few of these places... ones that might be of interest to my readers.
I began on Belisario Domínguez Street in a somewhat sketchy area a few blocks north of where most tourists venture. Located there is the Church of the Immaculate Conception, which was once part of the oldest, largest and richest convent in the city.
The convent was established in 1540 on land which at that time was on the edge of the city. The building was destroyed in the disastrous flood of 1629, but it was immediately rebuilt. The convent buildings once covered an area of over 200,000 square feet.
Legend tells of one young woman whose family forced her to enter the convent when she fell in love with a man beneath her social rank. According to the story, the broken-hearted novice committed suicide by hanging herself from a peach tree in the convent garden. Supposedly, for years afterward, the reflection of her image could be seen in the water of the courtyard's fountain.
I have passed by the church a couple of times, but the church doors have been closed. This time they were open, so I took a peek inside.
Just across the street from the church is a shady plaza. Homeless people occupy the benches. In that plaza there is a small chapel, octogonal in shape. It became known as the Chapel of the Dead. In the 19th century the bodies of dead paupers were stored there until they could be transported to a common grave in the cemetery.
And, no, my camera was not tilted. The chapel is sinking at an angle into the city's spongy soil.
Just down the street was another colonial church which was not listed on the website... the Church of San Lorenzo. It was also part of a convent.
A sign outside the church tells the history of the building. It was built in 1593. The sign says that the church withstood the flood of 1629, so I am assuming that this is the original 16th century structure.
This church is also sinking. To enter you have to go down a flight of steps to reach the door.
The interior certainly looks as if it could be over 400 years old.
Under the choir loft is a wooden relief portraying the Annunciation. It dates from the 1600s.
The 18th century pulpit is carved with motifs relating to the martyrdom of St. Lawrence. Perhaps you can make out the carving of the grill upon which the saint was supposedly roasted alive.
In stark contrast to the antiquity of the church, behind the altar is an abstract plaster relief called the "Divine Hand". It was done in 1958 by the German artist Mathias Goeritz.
He also designed the modern stained-glass windows in the dome.
Continuing down the street we come to this colonial mansion. In the 17th and 18th centuries it belonged to the noble family that held the title of Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo.
Through marriage, the first Marquis amassed one of the largest fortunes in the New World. It included silver mines, a cattle ranch which covered more than 11,000 square miles, and the first vineyard in New Spain.
We will now head south one block to Avenida República de Cuba where this school building stands.
The school stands on the site where, according to tradition, La Malinche lived. I mentioned La Malinche in an earlier post. She was an indigenous woman who was given to the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés as a slave. She quickly learned Spanish and served as an interpreter for Cortés. She also became the conquistador's mistress and bore him a son. After the conquest of the Aztec empire Cortés gave La Malinche in marriage to one of his soldiers. It was here that the couple had their home.
La Malinche is often regarded as a traitor who betrayed her people to aid the Spanish conquerors. In Mexico to call someone a "Malinche" is similar to calling someone in the U.S. a "Benedict Arnold".
I still have more to share with you from this walk around the Historic Center.
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