Tzintzuntzan

[Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, Tzintzuntzan; 3/25/06]

The next stop on our tour of Lake Pátzcuaro was the town of Tzintzuntzan, founded by Purépecha (or Tarascan) Indians as their capital city in the 13th century. (There's a nice history of the town here, or see the capsule version on wikipedia.) After the rather tacky handicrafts stores of Quiroga, the garden of the Ex-Convento de San Francisco was peaceful and expansive. Spread out across the tranquil grounds are 33 ancient, gnarled olive trees (one for every year of Christ's life), planted almost 500 years ago by Don Vasco de Quiroga, a champion of the Purépecha people. Beside the Templo de San Francisco, built earlier for the Spanish, is the Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, built for the Purépechan people. [Click photo to view larger.]

With thunder rumbling over the lake but never moving in, we listened to our guide's explanation of the history of the place, then we all dispersed to wander, photograph, and explore for a half an hour or so before returning to our van.


[500-year-old olive tree in the garden of San Francisco in Tzintzuntzan]

Inside the churches...


[Templo de San Francisco]


[Templo de Soledad; click to view larger]

Comments

[stantonym]

1
A five-hundred year old tree!

2
I love the name of the town. "Tzintzuntzan." Fun for the tongue.

3
The images of the exterior of the church, and also its interior, totally remind me of rural southern Goa. No surprise really, that the Hispanic missionary influence (where it is well preserved) is so similar around the world.

[leslee]

Yes, amazing - and they look 500 years old.

I perhaps should have mentioned that the name Tzintzuntzan is said to mean "place abundant in hummingbirds" and to say the word is to mimic the sound of hummingbird wings. (Apparently there are no longer hummingbirds in the area.)

I'd love to see Goa. Sounds beautiful, as are its people. :-)

[Cliff]

I have just been to the ruins in Tzintzuntzun and saw many hummingbirds as well as other brightly colored birds.

[leslee]

Hi Cliff. How good to hear that there are indeed hummingbirds in Tzintzuntzan! We weren't there very long. Lucky you to see them.