Exploring Colonial Mexico©
Exploring Colonial Mexico©
This charming little Franciscan mission * is to be found northeast of Mexico City near ancient Teotihuacan. Oxtoticpac was a visita of Otumba,* famous as the scene of an epic battle during the Spanish conquest, in which Cortés defeated a pursuing Aztec army.
In the colonial period, Oxtoticpac (Above the Caverns) was a mining town, the source of fine-grained volcanic tufa (tezontle) for stonecarving, and later, metal ores. The Franciscans adopted St. Nicholas of Bari, the patron saint of miners (nickel was named for him), as the patron saint of the mission. It was founded in 1527 and the modest 16th century convento was the first permanent structure.
An arcaded gateway gives access to the atrium where a magnificent 16th century cross * stands on a high zócalo, or base. The cross is expertly carved with the Instruments of the Passion, exhibiting the high standard of craftmanship that might be expected in this ancient stoneworking center. Smaller crosses in the corners of the atrium mark the locations of the former processional posa chapels.
The Church
Carved rosettes and the Franciscan cord motif adorn the deep set church doorway - a cousin to the main entry at Otumba. A mutilated statue of St Nicholas rests in a niche above the doorway, flanked by octagonal ocular windows - later additions, as are the dome and the soaring, multi-tiered bell tower.
The nave, however, retains much of its original characterincluding the sanctuary arch, decorated like the doorway with rosettes and cord reliefs. It retains its old wooden floors, which may overlay pre-hispanic structures and tombs as well as the extensive network of subterranean caves or volcanic tubes, as the place name suggests. Other colonial furnishings include a handsome wooden pulpit and the fine gilded retablos.
The Retablos
Completed in the late 1600s, the gilded main altarpiece of San Nicolás is designed in Renaissance style with the addition of baroque spiral columns. It features a profusion of ornament including carved eagles and angels in addition to floral and grotesque motifs. The upper niche showcases a statue of the saint in his bishop's robes and regalia. The Virgin of Guadalupe also appears in a vitrine, flanked by four large canvases depicting her Apparitions on the hill of Tepeyac.
A second ornamental altarpiece, of intricate anastilo design from the 18th century, also survives in the nave.
The Convento
Simple, squat arcades - upper and lower - front the convento, which faces the atrium on the south side of the church. On the upper level, recessed behind the wider center arch is the former open chapel, used by the friars for open air services before the church was built.
The lower arcade houses the old baptistry with its original stone font, dated 1570 and carved with the Franciscan cord and monograms of Christ. The monastery doorway opens from the lower arcade leading to the diminutive cloister with its low colonnades and cramped side rooms, one of which contains an early mural showing San Nicolás de Bari in the company of angels and other Franciscan saints.
Another, later mural at the top of the narrow stairwell depicts St. Christopher, the bringer of Christ to the New World - who is frequently shown in Mexican Franciscan monasteries. Another stone basin carved with rosettes and rimmed by the Franciscan cord occupies the center of the cloister patio.
