June 30th Puebla, Mexico

This morning we woke up to sunshine in Puebla!  After a delicious breakfast at the hotel we got onto the bus to take us to Cholula.  The guide was incredibly knowledgeable about Puebla and was able to tell us some interesting details about the city’s history, politics, and the economy.  Puebla of the Angels was founded in 1531.  There are many stories about why the city is called Puebla of the Angels.  Some say it is because it must have taken angels to lift the heavy bells to the top of the churches.  Others say that the city was built by divine design.  The oldest part of the city is located in the city center and the modern buildings are built around it.  

As we drove out of Angelopolis, as the modern part of the city is called, we passed through a more rural area.  Farmers around the area use the soil fertilized with volcanic ash to grow wheat, sweet potatoes, and prickly pear cactus.  Farmers are able to take advantage of the underground aquifers to irrigate the land. 

The guide shared the rich cultural history of the indigenous groups in Puebla.  He said that in Puebla there are 7 Pre-Hispanic languages still spoken by indigenous people.  

He talked to us about the Reformation period when Benito Juarez worked to take power away from the churches and place more power in the government.  He said that part of the reformation was to make record keeping of births, deaths, marriages, management of graveyards and education government responsibilities.  

When we arrived in Cholula we visited two of the beautiful churches.  Cholula is known for the number of churches in the area, many of which are built on top of ancient pyramids.

 Here is the exterior (above) and interior (below) of the first church we visited.  As you can see the churches we visited were constructed in the baroque style with very ornate decorations and lots of gold leaf.

 My favorite part of the tour was when the guide shared some “leyendas” or folk tales about the city of Puebla with us.  One story was about “La casa de el que mato el animal” or the house of the one that killed the animal.  He told us a story about an anaconda that was living in the tunnels of Puebla that ate a baby among other victims.  The father of the baby put a bounty on the animal and there is a house with a façade of stone hunters dedicated to the man who killed the snake.  He also told us the leyenda of “La Purisima” or the woman in white.  The legend has it that this woman’s loved one died and that she waits at the roadside asking for a ride to the graveyard to visit his grave.  If you stop to give her a ride, you’ll surely die!  Stories such as these play a large role in popular culture in Mexico.  

The photo directly above is from a church that had at one point in its history burned and was reconstructed.   For more on the history of Cholula you can visit:  www.vivecholula.com  

After lunch where we tried chiles en nomads a typical dish served in Puebla we headed out to the markets to look at the artesanias and beautiful sights of the city.