Buildings

La ruta Don Vasco El misionero Vasco de Quiroga, conocido en nuestra región como “tata (papá) Vasco” es el eje de una ruta turística por demás bella e lustrativa. En este recorrido se transita por la tierra que tanto amó don Vasco de Quiroga, es posible comprender la magnitud de su obra, el por qué de su relevancia y convivir con el patrimonio tangible e intangible que él construyó y sembró en toda la zona habitada por la etnia purépecha. En su concepto, la ruta de don Vasco sigue los pasos de este ilustre misionero y abarca la zona lacustre de Pátzcuaro, la meseta purépecha y Cañada de los once pueblos, lo que resulta sumamente atractivo, pues es posible disfrutar de este patrimonio de sus atractivos su arquitectura, sus curiosas leyendas, el arte , fiestas, tradiciones, la creatividad de nuestros artesanos y su deliciosa cocina tradicional con raíces prehispánicas además de enamorarse de la belleza de una región rica en bosques, lagos y montañas. Morelia, la actual capital de Michoacán, Pátzcuaro, la capital de don Vasco de Quiroga y Uruapan, son la columna vertebral de la ruta que abarca más de 120 pueblos, entre ellos cuatro de los ocho pueblos […]

This chapel was built by Brother Marcos Ramírez de Prado, Bishop of Michoacán, towards the end of 1666, as indicated by an inscription found in the shaft of the tower. According to an old tradition, the chapel is built upon the pyramid containing the remains of Tariácuri, the distinguished Purhépecha chief.

According to  historians, it was in this place that Tanganxhúan Tzintzincha surrendered himself to the Spanish crown, represented by the Maestre de Campo Cristobal de Olid, after whom it is named. True or not, there exists on the site a stone crucifix atop a quarried stone monolith, forming what is known in Spain as a “humilladero” (the humiliation place), a roadside or public crucifix. This crucifix has an effigy of Christ and the pedestal has inscriptions of great interest, such as the year 1553, which is when don Vasco de Quiroga ordered the project built. On another side appears the coat of arms of the city and on yet another is a beautiful Renaissance-style relief. In the 18th century, the roadside crucifix was covered with the chapel which still houses it and which adopted its name. On the severe facade of the chapel can be seen on both sides of a sculpted quarry-stone crown, the images of the sun and the moon– a manifestation of the old religion of the Purhépechas. In addition, the interior houses a  collection of rare and interesting oil paintings.

It is said that this building was founded by Brother Alfonso de la Veracruz in 1576 and that the current construction was done by the first Prior Brother Francisco de Villafuerte in 1630. Only the church remains. Elements of the old cloister were used in its construction, as were the three large arches which adorned the cloister’s facade and now form part of a movie theater. The church of saint Agustín was converted into the library and on the wall at the back can be seen an interesting mural painted by Juan O’Gorman. The mural describes the history of the Purhépechas until the Mexican revolution in 1910.

Although the Emperor Caltzontzin Theater was built in the first half of the twentieth century, the history of its origins is closely linked to two important colonial institutions: the convent of the order of St. Augustine, built in the first half of the seventeenth century, and the Dr. Gabriel García Civil Hospital (originally called the Hospital de Indios), founded in 1672 by the Hospital order of San Juan de Dios. The Emperor Caltzontzin Theater was built on land belonging to the former former convent of the Augustinian order, which was built under the mandate of Prior Fray Francisco de Villafuerte in the seventeenth century (Source: Roberto Jaramillo Escutia, Los agustinos de Michoacán 1602-1652 : the difficult affirmation of a province, Mexico, 1991). The convent was confiscated by the federal government along with all ecclesiastical goods in 1832 as a result of the application of the Reform Laws. In 1882 the Government of Michoacán ceded the former convent to the Pátzcuaro City Council to establish the municipal house, but the work was not carried out. Subsequently, the former convent was divided into 5 parts that were sold, as municipal property only the temple and an annexed land were left where the […]

In a direct line and several blocks down from the front of the Basílica, is found the sanctuary of Guadalupe, whose construction corresponds to the unique architectural style of the19th  century. It was completed in 1832 and built by Sr. Feliciano Ramos, who came to México from Havana, Cuba. He was the slave of a Spanish family, and obtained his liberty due to good conduct. He devoted himself to commerce and mule driving, by which he amassed a sizable fortune. To comply with a promise he’d made to the Virgin of Guadalupe, he ordered construction of a sanctuary in Pátzcuaro -where he eventually  lived- in the place of a previously existing 17th century chapel. Don Feliciano Ramos died May 22, 1830 and was buried in this sanctuary in 1842, after having first been interred in the Basílica.

This building now serves as a hotel. It is an edifice of grand proportions which demonstrate that its former dwellers were very upper class. Its facade is simple, adorned only with the coats of arms of the family, interlaced with mortar sashes in relief. These seem to give importance to the noble heraldries of Villa Hermosa de Alfaro and of Ortega, who, in addition, was a viscount.

The oldest civilian construction in Pátzcuaro, built in 1711, is known as the Palace of Huitziméngari. Its facade gives no hint of the magnificence of its interior, but on first entry to the interior court we see the importance of the edifice. In the construction we notice a certain archaic rusticity. Its enormous arches with rectangular pillars support the upper level with rubble-work masonry parapets, and recall poblana architecture while preserving its own personality. This house belonged to don Antonio de Huitziméngari, noble descendant of Caltzontzin, the last Purhépecha Emperor, whose culture and wisdom ennobled forever his race.