"IXTLA"

A small Mexican town with the greatest Spanish religious influence founded in 1551

IXTLA is the first establishment founded by Spaniards, coming from Querétaro.

Its peculiarity is that it currently has about twenty chapels, some better preserved than others, belonging to different families that inhabited the old town. The local people said that there are approximately 96 chapels in total but they are in ruins.

Currently the town has a population of 905 people.

Undoubtedly the culture left by the Spanish heritage is impressive both in their architecture, wood carving  and paint art, which can be admired on the interior walls of many chapels that are still in good state of conservation.

The original population was of otomie Indians. The foundation of this town of Ixtla was due because the Franciscans in search of the diminution of indigenous population in the area. Through the construction of the family chapels as part of the Christianization campaigns and "propaganda fide".

The pictorial representation of  "La Pinta" 

The parietal decoration of the chapel "La Pinta" is more representative since its designs, besides a historical document, reveal a cosmogony, a religious sense and a very particular trait, and it's state of conservation.

The paintings in "La Pinta" consist of 4 scenes of the Calvary of Christ, in the two lateral walls, and with a didactic reading from the first scene to the fourth scene.

1.- Prayer in the Garden.

2. Christ imprisoned being comforted by the angels.

3.- Ecce Homo very strange

4.- Mount Calvary.

 Angels and musical instruments are seen in the first section and cherubs in the second section.

These paintings say that the Ixteños know of the origin of their town from two groups Otomies and Chichimecas. 

Paintings of Otomies and Spaniards are appreciated in similar size, while Chichimecas are smaller.

Other chapels of oratorio exhibit many paintings and symbols that allude to the Otomí cosmogony. The problem is that they lack texts which represents a difficulty to really know the meaning of the representations.

Undoubtedly this small town hides an amazing culture and history that few people know, there is currently a program by the federal government for the conservation of the chapels through the INAH. (national institute of anthropology and history).