Ocotlán — Virgin's Lost Lordships Code

Your quest begins at the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, the First Cathedral of America, built between 1521 and 1540 as a Franciscan conventual church. It was the first bishopric of Tlaxcala in 1526, and houses the first image of the Virgin in Mexico. The baroque facade, completed in 1688, with its 40m high bell towers, whispers the first secrets of Christian faith in central Mexico. This is where the spiritual heritage of the city, a central element of Mexico's Intangible Cultural Heritage, takes root.

Next, head to the Palacio de Cultura, the former Government Palace. Built in 1522 by Maxixcatzin, Tlaxcaltec governor, as a stately home, it was occupied by Hernán Cortés in 1521. Its 50m long facade, adorned with arcades and balconies in typical Puebla talavera, bears witness to the alliances and conflicts that forged the city of Tlaxcala, cradle of nationality. Since 1980, it has been a contemporary art museum, but the mural frescoes by Desiderio Hernández Xochitiotzin from 1970 still tell the epic story of the region.

Your journey leads you to the Parroquia de San José, a jewel built in 1692 in the Churrigueresque Mudéjar style. Its 35m high bell tower is a unique Tlaxcaltec example of this style imported from Spain. The side altar dedicated to Saint Joseph, with its 17th-century polychrome sculpture, was restored after the 1912 earthquake. This church, located in the heart of Tlaxcala's Ruta de los Barrios Mágicos, reveals the artistic influences that shaped the identity of this central city.

Continue to the Mirador de la Basílica de Ocotlán, then to the Pozo de la Aparición. The basilica, a sanctuary built between 1690 and 1767, houses the miraculous image of the Virgin of Ocotlán, which appeared to Juan Bernardino Nuño in 1541 during a drought. Its 30m Churrigueresque facade, with Francisco Martínez's sculptures from 1730, and its 25m diameter main dome, the seventh largest in Mexico, are architectural feats. The Pozo, a miraculous spring where the apparition occurred, developed in 1690, is the site of an annual pilgrimage on October 23. Its waters, considered therapeutic, flowed at 5000L per day in the 18th century.

Finally, your exploration takes you to the Ex Convento Franciscano de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, founded in 1522 as the first convent in the Americas. Its 40x40m cloister, with 16th-century Franciscan frescoes restored in 1998, served as a school for Tlaxcaltec nobles from 1530, hosting 200 students by 1550. It is now the Tlaxcaltec art museum since 1985. Along the way, the Mercado de Artesanías, with its metal structure imported from France in 1889, and the Ermita de San Miguel del Milagro, a 1631 chapel linked to the angel that appeared to Diego de Lázaro, complete this picture of Tlaxcala, Pueblo Mágico 2012, offering you a complete immersion in the history of this unique heritage in central Mexico.