Puebla Redux

This morning we had a walking tour with a local city guide. She was quite good, but we have some slow movers in the group, so the pace wasn't very fast.

First stop was the cathedral, but there was a mass going on and we couldn't get beyond the narthex (more on that later).

The walk continued to a small plaza with some old tiles that weren't terribly interesting. But there was also a contemporary mural protesting violence against women in Mexico. That was quite striking.

We then turned down a narrow street called "Frog Alley." The street got its name from the fact that whenever the San Francisco River flooded, the water would come up hill about that far. Flood control measures have stopped that, but it remains a quaint colonial street.

Quaint colonial streets became a theme, and though each had a story, few stand out.

One that did is a street that was lined with doors opening to tiny, one-room studios. This was the artists' street. At 10 a.m., most of the studios were locked up tight. But a few early risers were in their studios painting, and had some of their works displayed for sale.

Another unique street was the market street. In earlier days, this is where Pueblans came for their daily groceries. Now it is full of cheap souvenir shops targeting tourists.

We spent considerably more time than necessary at Talavera pottery studio. It was interesting to see how this pottery is produced, but we've seen similar demonstrations before. The "museum" tracing the history of ceramics around the world became a bit tedious. And of course, some wanted to spend time and money in the shop.

While the shoppers tarried, the rest of the group followed our city guide to the Calle de los Dulces, or "The Sweet Street." This street is lined with dozens of candy stores (though they all seemed to be selling the same stuff).

The patron saint of Sweet Street is Santa Clara -- Saint Clara -- because nuns from a convent on this street are said to be the originators of most of the traditional recipes.

Santa Clara's convent is no longer in business. The nuns are gone. But the confections were tasty!

A house just across the street from the former convent is riddled with unrepaired bullet holes. It is said that the Mexican Revolution of 1910 began here, when assassins sent by dictator Porfirio Díaz opened fire on this house, where supporters of opposition leader Francisco Madero were meeting.

We were supposed to end the tour at the spectacular (so we are told) Rosary Chapel in the Church of Santa Domingo. The entire baroque chapel is adorned in gold, from top to bottom. Unfortunately, a motion picture production company was shooting a period drama that apparently involved a scene of a wedding in the chapel. We got to see many of the very large cast in costume, but the chapel was closed.

The tour completed, the group dispersed for a free afternoon. We did a light lunch and a cold beer by the main plaza, enjoying some leisurely people-watching.

Then we returned to the cathedral on our own to see the interior, now that the morning mass was over. The baroque style is evident here, as well. In some aspects, this cathedral exceeds that of the one in Mexico City.

Puebla's colonial wealth and devotion to the kings and queens of Spain are on display here, as is the devotion to the Virgin Mary and Puebla's fascination with angels.

From the cathedral, we walked to the Casa de Alfeñique museum. This is the home of a 17th century merchant and his family that has been restored and furnished in a manner true to the time period.

The lower floors were for commerce and servants' quarters. The family occupied and entertained on the top floor.

Their wealth was evident throughout, but especially in that they maintained their own private chapel where a priest came regularly to say mass for the household.

After a brief rest at the hotel, we met our tour leader and many group members on an optional walk to the Biblioteca Palafoxiana. Founded in 1646 by Juan de Palafox, bishop of Puebla, it is recognized by UNESCO as the first public library in the Americas, and one of the oldest in the world.

Palafox donated his personal library of some 5,000 books to the seminary he founded, stipulating that they should be made available, not just to seminarians, but to anyone who could read. Today there are more than 45,000 books, including more than a thousand incunabula.

Dinner was included tonight at a local restaurant near the plaza. We had a chicken mole that was quite good.