Baroque Churches: Ocotlan, Tlaxcala, Mexico

Monday, 15 April 2019

Ocotlan, Tlaxcala, Mexico

A short video introduction from Youtube to the Basilica

This building "is the most delicious church in the world", declared McKinley Helm, the literary expert of the early 20th century on Mexico.
Sacheverell Sitwell the great expert on Baroque said "it is an unique specimen with a semi-exoticx beauty and poetry that is all its own". It is Sitwell who sought to see Baroque and Rococo in all countries. He is like my mentor! I have not yet set eyes on Ocotlan, alas, and feel moved to write about it because of the sheer beauty of the west front. (The photos this time are not mine but from the flickr Catedrales e Iglesias collection.) Then there are are the amazing internal decorations culminating in the octagonal camarin behind the high altar.
The building is a masterpiece of the Churriguesque style which is a Spanish Baroque featuring elaborate sculptural ornamentation. It emerged in the late 17th century in Spain and is common in Mexico and other parts of Spouth America. The name comes from the architect and sculptor, Jose Benito de Churriguera(1665–1725), who was born in Madrid from a Catalan fmaily. It was continued by several of his family, rather like a dynasty. The strange thing is that despite its popularity in Mexico none of the family ever came there.

Ocotlan comes from two Aztec words : Ocote (pine) and tlan (place). There were once lots of pine trees here surrounding the palace of an Indian ruler. In 1641 the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego Bernardino. It was a time of drought and plague and the Virgin guided him to find a spring with healing waters.The spring therefore ridded the population of water famine and ridding them of the smallpox plague. The circumstances were similar to her appearance at Guadalupe. Ocotlan became a place of pilgrimage. This was started by the Franciscans who were at Ocotlan from the 1670s for at least a hundred years and a church was started around 1687. This was developed throughout the 18th century into the church we know today.

Coming now to the extraordinary exterior facade : Sitwell thinks this is like a Spanish retable which has been placed outside, translated into native Mexican and adapted into snow white stucco. Two very white lacy sculptured belfries rise on curved bases covered with red orange tiles. In between them is ;large shell shaped arch with a fascinating collection of sculptured decoarion of angels and saints. There is a statue of the BVM set on a terrestrila globe carried by St Francis.

I long to see this facade for myself. Yet I have known something similar since my childhood in my second home : Colchester in Essex. The Town Hall on the hill in the centre was designed by John Belcher 1898-1902. Its 162 foot tower was presented by industrialist James Paxman with a statue on top of St Helena . I cannot authenticate any influenec from Ocotlan but the colouring of the tower and building is so reminiscent of it.

Town Hall Colcjhester, Essex (Flickr : Trevor Coultart)

Town Hall Colcester Essex (Flickr :Marc Pether-Longman)

Father Manuel Loiazaga came to Ocotlan in 1716 and constructed the camarin. Pentecost was chosen as the theme for the dome, modeled on the Rosary Chapel in San Domingo in Puebla. The camarin has survived as originally conceived with stalachtite effects from polychrome stucco. The rich furnishings of cabinets, benches and tables of carved wood are original. The sculptures in the camarin were the work of Aztec sculptor, Francisco Miguel and it is claimed he worked on it 25 years. The dome epitomises heaven : Pentecost is portayed as an apparition of the Holy Spirit to the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM)and the Apostles. She is surrounded by saints connected to her by their writings and devotions, The lower part of the camarin is like earth with scenes of the life of the BVM painted by Juan de Villalobos, an artist from Puebla.

Elsewhere in the interior the retables are original 18th century work.