Fresh Batch #24: Spanish Monasteries in The Valley of Mexico

Colonial Mexico

Santiago Tlatelolco

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This is the only monastery to mostly survive in Mexico City from the era when the Spaniards destroyed Tenochtitlan and built on top of it. According to Bernal Diaz, “After we had conquered that great and strong city, we decided to build a church to our patron and guide Santiago (St. James the Apostle) in place of the temple. A major part of the site was taken for the purpose. When the ground was excavated to lay a foundation, gold, silver, pearls and other precious stones were found in huge quantities, which treasure was preserved for the building of the church.”

That church sunk into ruin by the end of the 16th century, when Fray Juan de Torquemada built the new one seen today. He wrote, “I built a vaulted church for the monastery of Santiago… among the most notable in Christendom, without having any teachers to instruct me, but all by myself.”

Santiago Tlatelolco

The Dominican monastery of St. James and St. Philip in Azcapotzalco

This was the capital of the Tepanecs, the warrior people who controlled The Valley of Mexico before the rise of the Aztecs. But even they didn’t arrive to this area till the 12th-13th centuries.

If you’d like to learn about the real reason why the Spanish destroyed the Mexicans and their history, read Spirit Whirled: Terminalia (click the image)

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