Exploring Colonial Mexico©
Exploring Colonial Mexico©
El barroco poblano
While traveling across the state of Puebla, the home of el barroco poblano*, the unsuspecting visitor may suddenly be confronted, even in the smallest village, with some shining jewel of colonial art or architecture. One such place that offers rewarding examples of both is the dusty little town of San Pablo de Las Tunas, aka Felipe Angeles, set among cactus fields in the east central part of the state near Acatzingo.
The Church
Aside from its rustic name and numerous topes, the village of San Pablo (St. Paul of the Cactus Fruits) is mainly remarkable for the picturesque colonial church, situated on its western outskirts. Founded in the 1500s, the church was entirely refaced during the 1700s in a style strikingly similar to the renovated parish church of nearby Acatzingo, possibly by the same artisans.
The ornate "folk baroque" facade is divided into three tiers of carved, molded and colorfully painted stucco. Bold spiral columns, some capped with busts of angels, divide the lower two tiers, whose four large niches, now vacant, are festooned with drapes and putti.
The complex top tier is an elaborately scrolled gable whose sinuous profile is made even more conspicuous with the addition of several ornamental urns or pinnacles. The central niche, framed by flamboyant rocaille decoration, retains its bulto of San Pablo, and is flanked by exuberant folk estípite pilasters, once again entwined with carved foliage, from which emerge numerous winged cherubs and saints' heads.
Filled with other decorative motifs, including rosettes, scrolls, shells and assorted objects - their details freshly picked out in bright reds, blues and earth colors - the church front is beautifully maintained and a feast for the eye. Its symmetry is offset by the mismatched towers and an added belfry, although this merely adds to its offbeat charm.
The Retablo
This extraordinarily ornate altarpiece, designed in full blown Mexican Churrigueresque style, provides yet another surprise in this rural community. Far more sophisticated in its intricate, layered forms and masterful execution than the folk baroque facade, this remarkable retablo indicates the work of an accomplished urban taller, or workshop, probably in Puebla or even Mexico City. (color pictures to follow)
On a side altar there is a statue of the Archangel Michael, skilfully carved and finely worked with estofado detailing, possibly from the same taller as the retablo. A venerable baptismal font from an earlier era, rimmed with rosettes and the Franciscan knotted cord, stands beneath the choir atop a carved archangel.
SOURCES AND LINKS:
