Bright and early Saturday morning we ventured with another couple from Portland on a excursion to five nearby pueblos. The trip was put on by the school and our driver/tour guide was a history major with a great knowledge and love of the area.
Our first stop was Tiripitio about 20 minutes outside of Morelia. It has an amazing history of being the first University in all of the Americas (north AND south). Attached is a Augustinian monestary with quite advanced construction and architecture for being 500 years old. Here also was one of the most advanced indigenous cultures in all of Mexico. It took an enormous amount of bloodshed and coersion to get the native people to adopt the ways of Spain. The Augustinian monks moved in to try and help stop the bloodshed, and were able to help incorporate some of the native culture into the teachings of the monks. While it didn't preserve their culture, it did allow a few small things to remain familiar to the natives.
Our second stop was another little town just off the main road. Here there was another church painted entirely with the stories of the Bible. The monks had the very talented indigenous people paint the frescos on the inside of the church to help teach them the stories and practices of Catholicism. Unfortunately the paintings have deteriorated quite a bit. The church is unique that it is built mostly of wood, and therefore quite a bit more difficult (and expensive) to preserve the structure.
Third stop was Tzintzuntzan (sin-sune-san). This was the indiginous religious center of the whole Michoacan region. Here they built 5 enormous semi-circular pyramids each symbolizing the five elements know to them; earth, fire, water, sky and sun. They are built on an artifical hill over looking Lake Patzucaro. An amazing creating since they did it without horses or domesticated livestock. All the work was by hand. Pictures to follow...
Fourth stop: Patzcuaro. Neat little colonial town that was the economic center of the region for just a couple hundred years. Lots of craft stores and home to the first Cathedral in the Americas. We did a little shopping here and picked up some local crafts.
Our last stop was in Santa Clara del Cobre. This little town was the center of the region's copper trade and we visited a copper foundry where all the work is still done by hand. We saw the process start with recycled copper wire, and followed the process through to a finished piece. But since each piece takes about 3 days to make, we got the abbreviated version. Absolutely amazing how much work it takes to form just a single piece. Pictures to follow...
We then returned home just in time to see the weekly fireworks and light show at the big cathedral in town. The streets are shut down and the plaza once again turns into a fiesta. Then we went to bed. Long day of walking and touring left us a little worn out, but excited to have learned so much.
Thanks for all the emails about the lack of pictures. We are still working on getting our pictures online. The technogy here is not quite the same as up north, and we didn't come as prepared as we should have. Please bear with us.
Our first stop was Tiripitio about 20 minutes outside of Morelia. It has an amazing history of being the first University in all of the Americas (north AND south). Attached is a Augustinian monestary with quite advanced construction and architecture for being 500 years old. Here also was one of the most advanced indigenous cultures in all of Mexico. It took an enormous amount of bloodshed and coersion to get the native people to adopt the ways of Spain. The Augustinian monks moved in to try and help stop the bloodshed, and were able to help incorporate some of the native culture into the teachings of the monks. While it didn't preserve their culture, it did allow a few small things to remain familiar to the natives.
Our second stop was another little town just off the main road. Here there was another church painted entirely with the stories of the Bible. The monks had the very talented indigenous people paint the frescos on the inside of the church to help teach them the stories and practices of Catholicism. Unfortunately the paintings have deteriorated quite a bit. The church is unique that it is built mostly of wood, and therefore quite a bit more difficult (and expensive) to preserve the structure.
Third stop was Tzintzuntzan (sin-sune-san). This was the indiginous religious center of the whole Michoacan region. Here they built 5 enormous semi-circular pyramids each symbolizing the five elements know to them; earth, fire, water, sky and sun. They are built on an artifical hill over looking Lake Patzucaro. An amazing creating since they did it without horses or domesticated livestock. All the work was by hand. Pictures to follow...
Fourth stop: Patzcuaro. Neat little colonial town that was the economic center of the region for just a couple hundred years. Lots of craft stores and home to the first Cathedral in the Americas. We did a little shopping here and picked up some local crafts.
Our last stop was in Santa Clara del Cobre. This little town was the center of the region's copper trade and we visited a copper foundry where all the work is still done by hand. We saw the process start with recycled copper wire, and followed the process through to a finished piece. But since each piece takes about 3 days to make, we got the abbreviated version. Absolutely amazing how much work it takes to form just a single piece. Pictures to follow...
We then returned home just in time to see the weekly fireworks and light show at the big cathedral in town. The streets are shut down and the plaza once again turns into a fiesta. Then we went to bed. Long day of walking and touring left us a little worn out, but excited to have learned so much.
Thanks for all the emails about the lack of pictures. We are still working on getting our pictures online. The technogy here is not quite the same as up north, and we didn't come as prepared as we should have. Please bear with us.
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