Escapadas
Highlights

Santiago Apóstol Parish Church

Approach this church with patience and curiosity. While it was founded in the 16th century, the mortar facade you now see was designed and retouched between 1752 and 1822, and is the best example of the baroque style that the indigenous made their own by hiding their gods among the litany of Christian images. Seek and you shall find. For example, Tlaloc is hidden among fruits and reliefs. The gargoyles are serpents that silently hold prayers to Quetzalcóatl. Above, in the third body, there’s St. James the Apostle in high relief, carrying all the markers of the Middle Ages with him, on his horse with his sword unsheathed.

In the tower on the right-hand side you can see the first clock made by the famous Zacatlán clock company, Centenario. Inside the church, on a neoclassical altar, there’s the Virgin of the Assumption. She’s accompanied by a couple of baroque altarpieces on either side, dedicated to the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Conception.

Cultural

Family

Romance

Location

Parroquia de Santiago Apóstol, Plaza de La Constitución, Centro, Chignahuapan, Puebla, México

See map