Purísima de Bustos

Purísima de Bustos is the seat of the municipality that Jalpa de Cánovas belongs to, a town founded in 1603 and named after its patroness, Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción. Its parish church, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, is the heart of the town and the setting for its main religious festivals.

The second half of the name honors Hermenegildo Bustos, who was born here in 1832 and spent nearly his whole life in the town. Bustos was a largely self-taught painter who made small, intensely detailed portraits of his neighbors, along with still lifes and ex-votos, and he is now regarded as one of the most original Mexican painters of the nineteenth century. His work is held in major museums, and walking around the town where he painted his sitters gives his portraits an extra dimension.

Today Purísima has grown into a busy town of around fifty thousand people that has practically merged with San Francisco del Rincón, with the same mix of footwear and hat workshops. It is an easy stop on the way between Jalpa and León for a look at the parish church, the main square and a meal.