Puebla Tehuacán

Although the churches of Cholula call a lot of attention, the influence of its pyramid is obviously greater. It is one of the greatest monuments of humanity, consisting of several pyramids that were placed over six centuries until the turn of the fourth century, it has a basement of 450 meters per side with a height of 65: two times higher than the pyramid of Cheops in Egypt.

Dedicated to Chiconahui Quiáhuitl, a rain god, the pyramid was hidden when Cortez arrived in Cholula. It was common for each new generation, perhaps marked by the beginning of a solar cycle, to make a new pyramid on the previous one and cover it with mud. The tradition came to the city in the fifth century B.C. by Olmecas-Xicalancas- his name in primitive being Tlachihualtépetl "Hill handmade". Fleeing the barbarians in Chichimeca, in the twelfth century the Toltec found not only a haven but a flourishing site, whose hegemony conquered peacefully in the late thirteenth century. Cholollan, or "place of those who fled," was the new world with which the city was known as; it quickly ignited the worship of Quetzalcoatl, whose temple was erected near the hill under which lay the pyramid.

Although the Spaniards realized what was in the bowels of that mound, when nearing the end of their work it was revealed to be beyond their strength. The Spanish were contented with building up a church, which in 1594 was already dedicated to the "Virgen de los Remedios". Rebuilt after an earthquake between 1864 and 1874, it is the church that today we see from afar, white and graceful, with its high towers and domes.

In 1931, the pyramid of Cholula began being excavated by architect Ignacio Marquina, who through 25 years drilled eight kilometers of tunnels in seven of which were discovered overlapping pyramids. In the second the Mural of the Butterflies was found, and discovered in an annex building was the Mural of Bebedores (56 x 2 meters), with more than a hundred anthropomorphic figures to stage a ceremony in honor of Octli, the god of Pulque. In the museum you can see replicas of the two murals and a model of the whole pyramid, including the courtyard with three marble altars. One of which is laying horizontal, weighs ten tons, and is all in one piece with a plumed serpent in its bank a Toltec sign meaning the work was devoted to Quetzalcoatl.

The venerable Cholula, whose market is usually held on a Wednesday or Sunday when dealers arrive to offer their seeds and vegetables, is located 13 kilometers from the capital Poblana, by the right path or route known as "Quetzalcoatl".