Ecoturismolatino.com / EcoTravellers / Travel Guide / EcoTravel Directory / Mexico / Tlayacapan

Tlayacapan
Country: Mexico.

Tlayacapan means "on the tip of the earth" in náhuatl, its last autochthonous residents were the xochimilcas that faced the Spanish army on April 1521.

The first religious presence in Tlayacapan was the Franciscan brother Pedro of Melgarejo of Urrea who accompanied the Spanish army and saw the battles against the villagers that resisted finding refuge in the mountains, but they were defeated by lack of water the 8th and 9th of April of 1521. Thirteen years later the missionaries of the order of St. Agustine arrived in 1534, when the construction of the convent begun and concluded until 1574. The convent is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, and takes this name.

The city planner and architect of colonial Tlayacapan was an "alarife" (medieval architect), initiated in the art of building, heirs of the science medieval construction, expert of the geometric science, of the mathematical and symbolic game of the spaces. The most famous Augustinian alarife was brother Diego of Chavez, manufacturer of the main convents of Michoacán and general supervisor of all the plans of the order. Brother Jorge of Ávila another alarife who traced the conventual group of Ocuituco, Totolapan and possibly of Tlayacapan.

One of the main artistic delights of this convent are the well preserved frescoes in the open chapel, in pilgrim's portal and in the room profundis. Another of the attractiveness and points of interest are the natural mummies of Tlayacapan. These mummies are from the end of the XVIII century, as they indicate in the coffins. It was habit of this time to bury them inside the temples. You can find in exhibition mummies of children, adults and old men that were preserved by the conditions of the earth, the climate and the protection that the temple gave them.

The convent host a permanent exhibition of pieces and religious documents that date from the XVII century and are under perfect conditions. In the first level (to the only one the visitor has to access) you´ll see: pilgrim's portal, the open chapel, the cloister, the dining room, the portal to the vegetable garden, the room profundis, the sacristy, kitchen, cellar, and bakery. As all the convents of the XVI century, although of different religious orders, they maintain the basic elements that we have enumerated already, an open chapel, an atrium, its wall crowned with merlons, cloister and church. The only element missing as a consequence of time is the atrium cross.

Opening Hours: Daily, from 9:30 to 18:00 hours. Admission: $5 pesos. Pictures cannot be taken.

Other Places to Visit

It is important to visit the "Cerería" that harbors a permanent exhibition on Tlayacapan, as well as temporary exhibitions during the entire year. It is headquarters of the cultural center of Tlayacapan. Opening Hours: Daily from 9:00 to 20:00 hours. Entrance: $2 pesos children and $4 pesos adults. 26 chapels and hermitages exist in this small town. Tlayacapan is famous also for its ceramic and craft in clay.

How to Get There

If you go by car from Cuernavaca or Mexico City, go to Tepoztlán and from there take the highway heading to Cuautla, in the first toll booth turn right (the indications are visible). On bus from Cuernavaca take the bus Estrella Roja that goes to Yautepec from the main market Adolfo López Mateos in Cuernavaca ($9 pesos), from Yautepec take public transport heading to Tlayacapan.

<<Back to Mexico EcoTravel Directory
Mexico: Colonial Sites
	Tlayacapan Country: Mexico. Tlayacapan means "on the tip of the earth" in náhuatl, its last autochthonous residents were the xochimilcas that faced the Spanish army on April 1521. The first religious presence in Tlayacapan was the Franciscan brother Pedro of Melgarejo of Urrea who accompanied the Spanish army and saw the battles against the villagers that resisted finding refuge in the mountains, but they were defeated by lack of water the 8th and 9th of April of 1521. Thirteen years later the missionaries of the order of St. Agustine arrived in 1534, when the construction of the convent begun and concluded until 1574. The convent is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, and takes this name. The city planner and architect of colonial Tlayacapan was an "alarife" (medieval architect), initiated in the art of building, heirs of the science medieval construction, expert of the geometric science, of the mathematical and symbolic game of the spaces. The most famous Augustinian alarife was brother Diego of Chavez, manufacturer of the main convents of Michoacán and general supervisor of all the plans of the order. Brother Jorge of Ávila another alarife who traced the conventual group of Ocuituco, Totolapan and possibly of Tlayacapan. One of the main artistic delights of this convent are the well preserved frescoes in the open chapel, in pilgrim's portal and in the room profundis. Another of the attractiveness and points of interest are the natural mummies of Tlayacapan. These mummies are from the end of the XVIII century, as they indicate in the coffins. It was habit of this time to bury them inside the temples. You can find in exhibition mummies of children, adults and old men that were preserved by the conditions of the earth, the climate and the protection that the temple gave them. The convent host a permanent exhibition of pieces and religious documents that date from the XVII century and are under perfect conditions. In the first level (to the only one the visitor has to access) you´ll see: pilgrim's portal, the open chapel, the cloister, the dining room, the portal to the vegetable garden, the room profundis, the sacristy, kitchen, cellar, and bakery. As all the convents of the XVI century, although of different religious orders, they maintain the basic elements that we have enumerated already, an open chapel, an atrium, its wall crowned with merlons, cloister and church. The only element missing as a consequence of time is the atrium cross. Opening Hours: Daily, from 9:30 to 18:00 hours. Admission: $5 pesos. Pictures cannot be taken. Other Places to Visit It is important to visit the "Cerería" that harbors a permanent exhibition on Tlayacapan, as well as temporary exhibitions during the entire year. It is headquarters of the cultural center of Tlayacapan. Opening Hours: Daily from 9:00 to 20:00 hours. Entrance: $2 pesos children and $4 pesos adults. 26 chapels and hermitages exist in this small town. Tlayacapan is famous also for its ceramic and craft in clay. How to Get There If you go by car from Cuernavaca or Mexico City, go to Tepoztlán and from there take the highway heading to Cuautla, in the first toll booth turn right (the indications are visible). On bus from Cuernavaca take the bus Estrella Roja that goes to Yautepec from the main market Adolfo López Mateos in Cuernavaca ($9 pesos), from Yautepec take public transport heading to Tlayacapan.