Cuitzeo del Porvenir
| Cuitzeo del Porvenir | ||
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Coordinates: 19 ° 58 ′ N , 101 ° 8 ′ W Cuitzeo del Porvenir on the map of Michoacan
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| Basic data | ||
| Country | Mexico | |
| State | Michoacan | |
| Municipio | Cuitzeo | |
| City foundation | 1550 | |
| Residents | 28,227 (2010) | |
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| Detailed data | ||
| height | 1850 m | |
| Time zone | UTC −6 | |
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Cuitzeo del Porvenir or Cuitzeo for short ('place of clay jugs') is a city of around 11,000 and the capital of a municipality ( municipio ) with around 30,000 inhabitants in the north of the Mexican state of Michoacán near the border with the state of Guanajuato . Because of its historical center, it is one of the Pueblos Mágicos .
location
Cuitzeo is located about 34 km (driving distance) north of Morelia , the capital of the state, on the drainless and often completely or partially dried out Lago de Cuitzeo at an altitude of about 1850 m above sea level. d. M. Guanajuato , the capital of the neighboring state of Guanajuato , is about 150 km north; to Mexico City it is about 285 km in a southeast direction.
Population and economy
Only a small part of the inhabitants of the Purépecha tribe who used to dominate the region speak the traditional Taraskan language ; Colloquial language is mostly Spanish. Corn, beans, vegetables, agaves and opuntia are grown in the fields; In the city itself there are many small craft businesses and shops as well as various service facilities for banking, school and health care.
history
Since around 2500 BC The area around Cuitzeo is populated by the Purépecha people, which the Aztecs could never subjugate. After the conquest of the Aztec Empire by the Spanish conquistadors under Hernán Cortés , the chief Tangaxuan II surrendered without a fight; however, he was murdered by the Spanish a few years later. In 1550 the first Augustinian brothers came and founded a religious establishment on Lake Cuitzeo; this year is now considered the city's founding date (see coat of arms). After Mexican independence was achieved, Cuitzeo was granted parish status in 1831.
Attractions
- The main attraction of the place is the Augustinian convent of Santa María Magdalena , built in the Plaza Mayor in the years after 1550, with its high single-nave church and an open chapel ( Capilla abierta ), which the Indians, who were not familiar with taking part in religious events within closed rooms , were familiar with , nevertheless made it possible to participate in the Mass and the sermons. The church facade consists of a Renaissance portal with Plateresque elements above it. The structure that stabilizes the left side of the church facade ends upwards with a bell gable ( espadaña ). The two-story cloister ( claustro ) with its central cistern shaft , built in the Renaissance style, attracts the attention of visitors even more than the church itself . The former monastery complex now serves as a museum and cultural meeting place.
- The rather classical -style single-nave parish church of Nuestra Señora de Guadelupe is also on the main square. Its facade, built from precisely hewn natural stone, is stabilized on both sides by towers, of which only the one on the left ends in a bell storey with attached jugs as a corner decoration; the final 'dome' is bell-shaped. The crossing dome , elevated by a lantern, is decorated with glazed tiles and also framed by stone jugs or goblets. The interior of the church also has a certain calm and balance thanks to its classicist flair.
- The Templo de Hospitalito , located just outside the center of the village, was the most important Indian church in Cuitzeo for a long time. The facade design largely corresponds to that of the parish church - here, however, broken stones and house stones mix; for this the church has a two-story bell tower. The small single nave interior is unadorned; However, it houses a remarkable canvas picture with the legends of the apparition of the Virgin of Guadelupe .
Ship of the monastery church
Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de Guadelupe
Nave with altarpiece
Templo de Hospitalito
Nave with reredos
Image with legends of the Virgin of Guadelupe
Web links
- Cuitzeo - Facts + Map (Spanish)
- Cuitzeo - Photos + Info (Spanish)
- Cuitzeo - Photos + Info (Spanish)