MEXICO - Puebla, Cholula : Santuario de Nuestra Senora de Los Remedios

MEXICO stamp



Location of Mexican state of PUEBLA in MEXICO

Cholula is a city in the Mexican state of Puebla. The official, though little used, full name of the city is Cholula de Rivadavia. The city of Cholula is divided into two municipalities, San Andrés Cholula and San Pedro Cholula, which are considered to be part of the conurbation of the city of Puebla, and a third, more rural municipality called Santa Isabel Cholula.

Cholula is located about 15 km west of the city of Puebla, at an approximate elevation of 2135 meters (about 7000 ft) above sea level.

Cholula is most famous as the site of the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the largest man-made pyramid and monument by volume in the world.

Today the pyramid at first appears to be a natural hill surmounted by a church. This is the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios (Church of Our Lady of the Remedies), also known as the Santuario de la Virgen de los Remedios (Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Remedies), which was built by the Spanish in colonial times on the site of a pre-Hispanic temple. The church is a major Catholic pilgrimage destination, and the site is also used for the celebration of indigenous rites. Many ancient sites in Latin America are found under modern Catholic holy sites, due to the practice of the Catholic Church repurposing local religious sites.

Because of the historic and religious significance of the church, which is a designated colonial monument, the pyramid as a whole has not been excavated and restored, as have the smaller but better-known pyramids at Teotihuacan. Inside the pyramid are some five miles (8 km) of tunnels excavated by archaeologists.

The Basilica was constructed with brada stone and decorated with "laminilla" of gold of 24 kilates. In the inside It has an altar based in the neoclassic style. Its construction began in May, 1574 and ended in August, 1575, being Blessed on March 25, 1629. This archeological structure is shaped by several pyramids superposed for 6 centuries.

No name more graphical than " The Remedies " to explain the history of this Sanctuary. The defeat suffered by Hernán Cortés, in the battle of "the Sad Night", put in hurried escape of the survivors up to the They suffered the loss of notable hostages such as some children of Moctezuma.

The conquerors became strong in the Indian temples until they could go out of Otumba. The legend tells that one of the soldiers of Cortez, Gonzalo Rodriguez de Villafuerte, was bringing one of these little images, also call castrenses, which were jabbering on to the touches of the horse, and he hid it between the aloes in o rden ton produce a vote of gratefulness.

The leyend tells that during the battle, a sweet little girl was throwing dirt to the eyes of the attacking aborigens favoring the Castilian victory.

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Private swap - Reference MX001

Cholula, Puebla :
El santuario de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios

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