Landmark 4 km south of Cholula
A church facade almost entirely sheathed in Talavera tile, once called a porcelain church; a short hop from Tonantzintla.
The village of San Francisco Acatepec, about 5 kilometers south of Cholula, is known for one building: its parish church, whose facade and tower are covered almost entirely in glazed Talavera tile set against red brick. The art historian Manuel Toussaint compared it to a porcelain church, and the description stuck.
The Franciscans had a small convent here in the 16th century, but the present church went up in the late 17th and 18th centuries. The tiles were made by hand specifically for it, in blues, whites, greens and yellows, and they cover estípite pilasters, a star-shaped window and twisted columns on the tower. The interior was badly damaged by a fire on the last day of 1939 and was rebuilt over some 25 years by a Cholula family of plasterers, guided by early 20th-century photographs.
The church also has a film history: Emilio Fernández used it as a location for Enamorada (1946), with María Félix and Pedro Armendáriz. Most visitors pair it with Tonantzintla, a kilometer to the north.
What to see and do
Study the tiled facade in the late-afternoon light, when the colors glow.
Look up at the tower, also covered in tile, with its twisted columns.
Walk the octagonal atrium, which once served as an open-air chapel and cemetery.
Visit Santa María Tonantzintla, a kilometer north, for the contrast with its stucco interior.
Getting there
Acatepec is about 15 minutes south of Cholula by car or taxi, right beside the federal highway between Puebla and Atlixco. Buses on that highway pass the village, and many visitors simply walk or take a short taxi ride between Acatepec and Tonantzintla.
4 km south of Cholula
Directions from Cholula on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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Weather mild
San Francisco Acatepec shares the climate of Cholula, 4 km away. The best months to visit are Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec.
Make Cholula your base
San Francisco Acatepec is an easy trip from Cholula, a Pueblo Mágico with places to stay, food, and more to see.
More around Cholula
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Santa María Tonantzintla
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A village church whose interior is a riot of painted stucco angels, fruit and flowers, the high point of Indigenous Baroque. -
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Twin hilltop sites across the Tlaxcala line, famous for vivid Maya-style murals of a battle, preserved under a huge roof.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.