Former convent of San Agustín (“Gertrudis Bocanegra” Public Library)

This building was part of the Augustinian convent, founded in 1576 when Fray Juan Medina Rincón was bishop of Michoacán and Fray Alonzo de la Veracruz was provincial of the order. It had 7 views or chapels which depended on this temple.

The current building was built by the first Prior, Fray Francisco de Villafuerte, in 1630. Only the church remains. Elements from the old cloister were used in its construction, such as the three large arches that adorn its façade and which now form part of the cinema-theatre.

The Church of San Agustín was converted into a library, and it was here that in 1941 the artist Juan O’Gorman painted the emblematic mural that adorns the building. He completed it on February 10, 1942, and it tells the story of Michoacán from pre-Hispanic times to the Mexican Revolution. O’Gorman painted this mural in 1941. Originally, he had a contract to paint murals in the United States, but due to his socialist tendencies, the commission was cancelled. Instead, O’Gorman received compensation to paint the mural wherever he wanted.