Mexico: San Luis Potosi, State of San Luis Potosi
(December 2019)
(This banner is a
juxtaposition of six slices across photos of massive wooden doors of San Luis
Potosi′s churches.)
Return
to main Mexico (2002...) page
The city of
San Luis Potosi (pop. over 1 million, elevation 1864m) is the capital of the Mexican
state carrying the same name. It is located some 360km north of Mexico City,
roughly at the center of the triangle formed by the three largest Mexican
cities: Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. It was founded in 1592 to
exploit silver and gold deposits located in the nearby Cerro de San Pedro. The
first part of its name, San Luis, refers to its patron saint, the French King
Louis IX (also known as Saint Louis and in Mexico as San Luis Rey de Francia).
The second part, Potosi, refers to the rich mines of Potosi in Bolivia
discovered 40 years earlier. Today the city is a sprawling manufacturing base,
but its historic colonial center still boasts a combination of beautiful
churches, stone colonial-style buildings, pleasant small plazas, and good museums.
Catedral Metropolitana and Plaza de
Armas:
At the heart of the city, the Plaza de Armas is dominated on its eastern side by the cathedral (Catedral Metropolitana de San
Luis Rey) built between 1730 and 1854 and dedicated to San Luis Rey de Francia.
The cathedral seen from the southwest
corner of the Plaza de Armas. Originally it had a
single bell tower (the orange one, on the south side). The other tower (with
the same shape, but oddly grey) was added in 1910 to celebrate the centenary of
the independence of Mexico.
Facade of the cathedral.
Inside the
cathedral.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Statues of
San Luis Rey de Francia (on the left and at the
center) and of El Senor de la Humildad (Christ before
his crucifixion, on the right) in the cathedral.
|
|
|
|
East side of Plaza de Armas at night, with decorative Christmas lights. The
building on the left of the photo is the Palacio Municipal.
Musicians on
the Plaza de Armas.
|
|
|
Plaza del Carmen:
Located a short distance east of Plaza
de Armas, Plaza del Carmen is a pleasant square
surrounded by several interesting buildings: the Templo
del Carmen, the Museo del Virreinato
(a former Carmelite convent built in the mid-18th century), the Teatro de la Paz, and the Museo
Nacional de la Mascara (the National Museum of Masks, housed in an opulent
stone building constructed at the end of the 19th century by a rich
landowner).
View of the Plaza del Carmen with its
large central bronze fountain, the Templo del Carmen on the left, and the Museo
del Virreinato on the right.
Templo del Carmen,
built in the mid-18th century and inaugurated in 1764, is arguably the most beautiful
church of San Luis Potosi:
- Highly carved facade of the church
(left and middle photos below) and side entrance (right photo).
|
|
|
|
- Multi-colored tiled domes.
- Bell tower seen from the Teatro de la Paz (left), the plaza del
Carmen (center), and the patio of the Museo del Virreinato (right).
|
|
|
|
-
Inside Templo del Carmen.
- Lower portions of intricate retables
located on the two sides of the nave.
|
|
|
- Left: extravagantly carved retable marking
the entrance of a side chapel, on the left of the main altar. Right: inside the
chapel.
|
|
|
- Zoom on a portion of the retable.
- Zooms on parts of the side chapel.
Teatro de la Paz at the southeast corner of Plaza del
Carmen. Built between 1889 and 1894, it is one of the four main theaters in
Mexico.
Museo Nacional de la Mascara, on the south
side of Plaza del Carmen:
- The
building′s elegant patio.
- Some of the
masks on display, from various regions of Mexico.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Templo San Agustin:
Located south of Plaza del Carmen, this
church built in the 17th century belonged to the Augustinian Order. Its
Baroque-style tower was erected later in the 18th century.
The church seen from the Jardin de San Agustin.
Views of the three-storied bell tower
ornate with complex stone carvings.
|
|
|
|
Interior of the church.
Statue of Saint Charbel
and ribbons with written prayers and wishes addressed to him by worshippers.
|
|
|
Jardin
de San Francisco and Plaza Aranzazu:
The Jardin de
San Francisco (one of the prettiest in the city) and the Plaza Aranzazu are dotted with religious buildings that were
originally part of a large Franciscan monastery, including the Templo San Francisco, the Templo
de Sagrado Corazon, and the Capilla
de Aranzazu.
In the Jardin
de San Francisco. Left: statue of Juan del Jarro, a beloved character of San Luis Potosi, named after
the terracotta jug that he always carried with him. Right fountain in front of Templo de San Francisco.
|
|
|
Templo de San Francisco:
- Facade of the church.
|
|
|
|
- Left: Zoom on a portion of the facade.
Right: Interior of the church.
|
|
|
- Crystal ship hanging
from the church′s main dome.
|
|
|
- Stained glass
windows.
|
|
|
Tiled facade of the Secretaria
de Cultura, next to Templo
de San Francisco.
Inside the Templo
de Sagrado Corazon, at the southeast end of the jardin San Francisco.
|
|
|
Domes of the Templo
de San Francisco seen from the Plaza de Aranzazu.
Another part of the former Franciscan
monastery seen from the Plaza de Aranzazu. It
contains the Museo regional Potosino
(on the first floor) and the Capilla de Aranzazu (second floor).
|
|
|
Inside the lavishly ornamented Capilla de Aranzazu (mid-18th
century).
|
|
|
|
Plaza de Los Fundadores:
West of Plaza de Armas,
this square marks the place where the city was founded in 1592. Despite its
name, the surrounding buildings, mostly large modern shops, are much less
interesting than in the other major squares of the city. The most interesting
one is the Edificio Central de la Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi (UASLP), a former Jesuit
college built in 1653.
Central part of the facade of the Edificio Central de la UASLP seen at night from the Plaza
de Los Fundadores, with some Christmas lights.
View of the
elegant inner courtyard of the Edificio Central de la
UASLP.
Plaza de los Fundadores at night.
Templo San Miguelito:
Originally
named Templo de la Santisima
Trinidad, this church was founded in 1597 on land granted to the Tlaxcaltecab Indians. Its baroque facade was built in 1733.
Shell above
the main altar.
Calazada de Guadalupe:
This large avenue connects the historic downtown
to the Basilica de Guadalupe, located 1.6km south of Plaza de Armas. The avenue also leads to the Centro de las Artes San Luis Potosi ″Centenario″,
which hosts the excellent Museo Leonora Carrington
(since 2018). Shaded tree-lined pedestrian lanes in the wide median strip of
the avenue offer a pleasant walk.
Caja
del Agua and statue of El Aguador. An aqueduct used to bring water from a
spring in the nearby Sierra de San Miguelito to the Caja del Agua. Both the aqueduct and the Caja del Agua were put in service
in 1835. The statue (added in 2009) represents a 19th-century water boy (″aguador″) carrying water in a terracotta jug to
surrounding houses.
|
|
|
Men enjoying the sun along the avenue.
|
|
|
On that day, many street vendors were
active on the avenue near the basilica.
|
Vendor of maguey horneado
(baked magey). Magey is a
type of agave used to make metzcal. |
|
|
|
|
Basilica de Guadalupe:
The construction of the basilica started
in 1772 and was completed in 1800. Its two bell towers are 53m high.
Left: alley leading to the basilica main
entrance, bordered by two lines of street lamps shaped as large church candles.
Right: facade of the basilica.
|
|
|
Inside the basilica. Like in the Templo de San Francisco, a crystal ship is hanging from the
main dome.
|
|
|
Centro de Las Artes San Luis Potosi ″Centenario″:
This art center is housed is a former
prison built in 1890. The prison was moved to another location in 1999 and the
impressive building was progressively converted into an art center, including
education, production, and research in various artistic disciplines. More
important for a mere visitor, since March 2018, the building now also hosts the
Museo Leonora Carrington. Leonora Carrington (1917-2011),
a British-born Mexican artist, was one of the last surviving participants in
the Surrealist movement of the 1930s. The photos posted below are only a small
subset of the works displayed in the museum.
Note: Click here
to see photos that I took at another exposition of works of Leonora Carrington
in Pachuca (State of Hidalgo, Mexico) in March 2019.
Large statue of the ″Inventora del Atole″,
by Leonora Carrington, at the entrance of the center.
|
|
|
|
Most of works in the Museo
Leonora Carrington are presented indoor, but some large bronze statues are
displayed outside. Their appearance among the high walls of the former jail is
particularly stricking.
|
Gato sin botas |
Gallo |
(Head of) A Hug.
Unknown (yes, it is the name of the sculpture)
Some smaller sculptures displayed
indoor.
|
The Ship of Cranes |
Cocodrilo |
|
Ave |
Gallo |
|
La Tamborilera |
La Bandolonista |
Mascara Carnivora |
Aqui Aku |
|
La Cantante Muda |
Inventora del Atole |
Alto Por
Favor |
One of the colorful lithography
displayed in the museum: Animales Fantasticos.
Gripping bronze statue exposed in
another section of the art center (not part of the Museo
Leonora Carrington). Called El Espiritu, this statue was created and donated to
the center by sculptor Ricardo Motilla. Together, the man′s body posture, his
head staring at the sky, and the broken wings on the ground express vividly the
unbearable suffering caused by freedom deprivation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some other sights:
Heavy wooden doors of Templos del Carmen (left), de San
Agustin (center), and de San Jose (right).
|
|
|
|
Massive stone sculpture of Benito Juarez′s
head standing in front of the State Congress on Calle
Vallejo.
|
|
|
Corners of colonial-style buildings at
street intersections.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One of the many ornate wrought iron
benches that dot the historical center of the city.
In the El Pacifico
cafe, a traditional Mexican coffee place, close to Templo
del Carmen.
Teatro-Cineteca
Alameda, southeast of Plaza del Carmen. The building, which mixes Californian
and Spanish architectural styles, was inaugurated in 1941 with the presentation
of the 1940 movie ″Seven Sinners″ starring Marlene Dietrich and
John Wayne.
Street
vendors next to Mercado Hidalgo, north of Plaza de Armas.
Mural and hat shop in Hidalgo Mercado.
|
|
|
