Tlayacapan

History

The oldest remains found around Tlayacapan are Olmec clay figures. Later the Xochimilcas dominated the area, and by about 1400 chronicles describe the town as an important trading center on the route between Tenochtitlan and the south. It was laid out in four neighborhoods aligned with the cardinal points, with a ceremonial center where the monastery now stands. The market still occupies its original site.

The Spanish fought the people of Tlayacapan in 1521 on the hill known as El Sombrero, and the town was not fully subdued until 1539. The Augustinians built the monastery of San Juan Bautista between 1534 and 1574, along with 26 chapels placed over older sacred sites. In the early years, locals are said to have hidden images of their own gods inside hollow saints carried in procession.

In the 19th century most land passed to haciendas, and villagers only fully recovered their rights after the Revolution, during which Zapata's army was based here for a time. The monastery joined the World Heritage list in 1994 with the other monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl. The town has also served as a film set, including for Two Mules for Sister Sara.