Exploring Colonial Mexico©
Exploring Colonial Mexico©
Jewels of Jalisco
South of Guadalajara, just off the main road to Lake Chapala, lies the ancient village of Santa Anita Atliztac. Signifying "White Water" in the Aztec language, Atlixtac was a flourishing community ruled by the lords of nearby Tlajomulco, when the Spaniards arrived.
Beside the humble 16th century Franciscan monastery (right), stands the grand parish church, noted for its filigree-like "Jaliscan baroque" facade. The elaborately sculpted doorway is ringed by angels holding the Gospels and playing archaic musical instruments.
The gable of the facade features a wonderful relief of the Holy Family set against a tapestry of dense foliated ornament.
Statue of St. Francis in an orna- mental niche with a pelican archway.
The convento, south side The cloister, north side
The Guadalupe Chapel
< Opposite the church is the recently renovated Guadalupe Chapel, formerly the sanctuary of the old Indian hospital, now the shrine of Our Lady of Santa Anita, whose revered image is the object of pilgrimage from surrounding communities.
Our Lady of Santa Anita
According to legend, the image of Our Lady of Purification, as it was originally called, was brought to the village by a hermit in the late 1600s. After the hermit's death, the santo demonstrated mysterious curative powers, her visage always turning dark at the moment of any miracle. Cherished by the villagers as their traditional protectress against plagues, the Virgin was enshrined by the Franciscans in the Guadalupe Chapel.
Our Lady of Santa
Anita is a tiny carved wooden image, only 18 inches in height,
revealing delicate Spanish features and finished in a painted
and gilded estofado style. As with other traditional figures
of the Virgin in Mexico, she is richly bejeweled and luxuriously
clothed in stiff, spreading vestments. She wears a gold crown
and a silver aureole, and stands above a silver crescent moon. >
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