16 MARCH 2019
Proceeded to Puebla…the UNESCO world heritage site
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic church, Basilica and National Shrine of Mexico in the north of Mexico city which houses the cloak containing the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The 1709 shrine was built near the hill of Tepeyac, where the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared to Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. The basilica structure which now contains Diego’s cloak was completed in 1974.
History of Puebla is the Cholula, the most important settlement of ancient Puebla, was established between 800 and 200 B.C. and is considered the oldest continually inhabited city in Mexico. By 100 B.C., the Olmecs had developed Cholula into one of Mexico’s most active cities. During that period they began building the immense monument known as the Great Pyramid of Cholula. One of the largest pyramids in the world, it stands 55 meters (181 feet) tall with a base that measures over 396 meters (1,300 feet) on each side. Similar to the fate of Teotihuacán to the northwest, Cholula was mostly abandoned around 800 A.D. for unknown reasons.
The Puebla tunnels are a system of tunnels under the Mexican city of Puebla. Long considered to be an urban legend, they were rediscovered in 2015. They are believed to be up to 500 years old. The tunnel system is believed to extend for more than 10 km. In the 10th century, Cholula was taken over by the Putún Maya, also known as Olmeca-Xicalanca. During the 12th century, a Toltec-Chichimec tribe settled in the area, and in 1292 Nahuatl-speaking tribes, including remnants of the Toltec nation, successfully invaded Cholula. They, in turn, were conquered by Huexotzingo Indians in 1359. During the 15th century, the Mexicas, or Aztecs, rose to power in central Mexico. The people of Cholula, forced to choose between resisting the Aztecs or joining them, opted for the latter. Thirty kilometers (19 miles) to the north, however, the city of Tlaxcala stood firm against the Aztecs, intensifying its rivalry with neighboring
Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés occupied the Puebla region in 1519, killing most of the natives and precipitating the fall of the Aztec empire. In 1524, the Spanish crown gave the conquistadors grants known as encomiendas, which authorized them to force area natives into servitude. As a result, the indigenous peoples were put to work in agriculture and mining for the benefit of Spain. One requirement of the encomienda system was the propagation of the Roman Catholic faith, so Franciscan priests arrived to convert the native population.