March14_2010

Botanical Glossary - Home - References Cited

The feast day of Santiago Cuilapan (Saint James Cuilapan) is celebrated on July 25 each year. The Dance of the Conquest, a reenactment of Cortés' defeat of the Aztecs, is presented by plumed dancers wearing spectacular oversized disc-shaped headdresses. The dance, performed in the atrium of the monastery, has roots extending back to the annual commemoration by the Mixtec people here in Cuilapan of an ancient victory they had achieved over their Zapotec rivals. At the time of the Conquest, Cuilapan was a Mixtec enclave in otherwise Zapotec territory.

Photos - L-R - The keystoned arches of the open church courtyard and fine stone work walls at Cuilapan de Guerrero. This lovely stone church and monastery is located south of Oaxaca city along highway 131 toward Zaachila in the Valley of Oaxaca. The open arches in frame left look out toward the east, while the arch in frame right is the main entrance from the church courtyard to the inner monastery.

The monastery also played an important role in the history of Independent Mexico. About 300 years after its construction, the Templo de Santiago Apostol served as a prison for Vicente Guerrero. In 1831, 10 years after the formal Declaration of Independence of Mexico, Vicente Guerrero, (one of the leaders of the independence movement) was forced to step down from the presidency due to a coup led by the infamous Genera Santa Anna. Guerrero fled Mexico City, but was betrayed and captured in Huatulco. From there he was sent to the Convent of Cuilapan to spend his last few days. Guerrero was then tried and executed in Cuilapan de Guerrero - a town later named after him.

Photos - Columns (left frame) and smooth stone arch in the open church courtyard at Cuilapan (center). The column base in frame right shows the deep square notch in the rock face that would be the home for a column of stone.

Photos - Frames left and right: Pilaster bases with fine smooth stonework which are features characteristic of colonial monasteries in the 16th century.

Center frame: Columns at a smooth stone arch entranceway to the monastery have been placed on a stone shelf.

Click here for more photos of Cuilapan de Guerrero in Oaxaca, Mexico for this day.