Peter, Paul and puppets

The last image on the previous page showed a small bus station for routes up country. Heading north-west, I take a camioneta, a 15-seater minivan, on a 2-hour ride to San Pedro y San Pablo Teposcolula, which I'll call Tepos for short. It's little more than a village but it hosts an enormous church, one of the "capillas abiertas" of the region. After the Spanish conquest there was a frenzy of conversion of the locals to Catholicism, which was hugely controversial because of the cruelty and coercion involved. What remain however are some extraordinary churches which if history can be put aside, are noteworthy for their architecture. Together with the open space in front (hence the "abierta" part), this example at Tepos---going back to at least the 17th century---could be big enough to accommodate the whole village. There's also a secret garden where one can enjoy shade from the fierce midday sun. The fourth image shows the church at Yanhuitlan, which I visited by taxi and whose vaulted ceiling shows its 16th century origins.

The hotel where I'm staying in Tepos is very nice but not exactly quiet. The staff are putting up paper decorations, for it's not just St. Valentine's Day but the beginning of Carnival. The fireworks are the noisiest I have ever heard but before I get too annoyed, there's a brass band outside the patio and the roof terrace provides the perfect view of the proceedings. The next day they perform it all over again, so I can watch it at street level and admire the beautiful indigenous costumes of the region. How nice to witness some jollifications not listed in any known tourist guides.Les mer