Plazas (Squares) & more

Another mirador located at less height at the “cerro colorado” (red hill). It is accessible by a stone-paved path. There you can see a wonderful view of the lake from a different angle.

This is the name given to the mirador (scenic overlook) located on part of what is now an extinct volcano. It is accessible by a stone-paved path. From this mirador it’s possible to have an impressive panoramic view of the city and Lake Pátzcuaro. There is also a long set of stone stairs to the upper part of the crater.

The Plaza San Francisco market day deserves a special mention. Each Friday the inhabitants of various towns of the region and of the state converge to sell flowers, plants, large baskets, tools, brightly colored ceramics, all of which can be purchased at reasonable prices and all of which can be difficult to find elsewhere.

Market days are the Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. The Thursday market is mayoreo (wholesale) and many of the dealers come to sell their commodities from the region known as “tierra caliente” (warm earth) and from  the center of the republic, and to the Friday is the most important day and the most colorful, because inhabitants of all the mountain villages and of the lacustrine region gather to sell their goods. These include the five species of fish that inhabit the lake, cheeses, a great variety of seasonal fruit, hand-made tortillas, greens and legumes, seeds, candles, flowers, cord wood, large baskets, straw mats, wooden furniture, firewood, molcajetes (mortar and pestle) made of volcanic stone, and much more.

After the plaza of Vasco de Quiroga, this plaza is second in importance and a little smaller. Its present name was granted in honor of the rebellious heroine who was assassinated in the main plaza. A great bronze statue in her likeness is situated in its center. For those who enjoy snacks, around the plaza are stands selling a variety of local dishes. It is possible to find in the streets of Pátzcuaro a good number of fountains and small squares that remind us of distant times full of history. Each corner hides a legend.

This is located to one side of the above-mentioned temple. At one time it was famous and much appreciated for its loveliness and the beautiful maintenance of its gardens and central fountain, however now it is sadly hidden and occupied by market stalls. But it still exists and we hope that someday it will recover its openness and beauty.

Catercorner from the old Franciscan convent is this plaza, one of the most beautiful of Pátzcuaro. In the center is a fountain surrounded by a ornate curbstone. On one side, facing the wall of the convent of San Francisco, is portal known as Salazar, notable for its arches of different colored stones and its quarry stone tiles.

This is one of the grandest colonial plazas in the Americas, surrounded by arched portals and beautiful colonial houses. It is a curious thing that in the plazas of this epoch –and it only happens here in Pátzcuaro that there are no churches on the plaza, only individual homes and buildings around the circumference. This arrangement is due to the fact that the “downtown” (as we’ll call it) in prehispanic times was used for dwellings and shops, leaving the “uphill” areas for ceremonial and ritual sites. As in other cities constructed on top of prehispanic sites, the churches that exist now were built on top of the old ceremonial sites. The main plaza also contains three fountains; the central one includes a statue of the illustrious person for whom the plaza is named.