We attended our lessons this morning
and realised after lunch how tired we were, just two days at school and our
brains are fried. How pleased are we that Friday afternoons are a planned field
trip, each student bimbles along with their teacher and chatters in Spanish or
not........ We walked past the tourists favourite photo
op and through Central Park to an area of town
we haven’t explored yet.
Union Water Tank: We stopped at one of the cities
‘laundries’. Only
the very rich had maids and the facilities for their washing to be done.
Ordinary folk used the public laundries, not only to wash their clothes; but to
socialise and keep up with all the local gossip. Technically, this facility can
still be used, was inaugurated
in 1853 by the chief magistrate José María Palomo and was renovated in 1979. The
arches are of Neoclassic style. The original name of the area was Plaza de la
Union, but in 1925 the Unionist Congress of Central America changed the name to
Union Park and Tank.
There are many ruins in this area of the city, we entered an impressive archway
San Francsico el
Grande is one of the most frequented sanctuaries by the local population
because of the shrine of Peter of Saint Joseph
Betancur (Santo Hermano
Pedro).
The
monastery ruins next to the church were once a massive
structure
History: When Franciscan
missionaries arrived in Guatemala from Spain in 1530 they were
assigned 120 villages by the civil authorities. They were the first to move to
the Panchoy Valley in 1541 where they built a church at the site of today's
School of Christ (Escuela de Cristo). This chapel was severely damaged in 1565
and during the next ten years donations were collected to build a new sanctuary
two blocks away in 1579. Parts of this construction, maybe the only ones in
Antigua which date back to the 16th century. San Francisco el Grande became a
significant religious and cultural centre for the whole region. Theology, law,
philosophy, physics and mathematics were taught at San Buenaventury College, in
today's monastery ruins. The college also favoured painters of the colonial era
such as Cristóbal de Villalpando, Thomas de Merbo and Abonzo de la
Paz.
The chapel and cloister were expanded during the 17th
century. In 1684 the structure was reinforced and withstood the earthquake of
1691. The church itself was built by Diego de
Porres and inaugurated in 1702.
The 1717 earthquake damaged the structure severely. So did the earthquake of
1751. The site was partly destroyed during the 1773
earthquake and has been
reconstructed in parts but areas of ruin still remain. The fountain of the main
corridor was taken to La
Merced's atrium in 1944. The colonial
image of the Virgin that stood behind the main altar fell down during the 1976
earthquake.
Architecture:
Its facade, with
twisted salomonic columns, is typical of the Spanish-American baroque era and is
similar to that of San José
Cathedral. It has sixteen vaulted niches,
each but the lowest two contain a saint or a friar. These include the Virgin
Mary, San Diego de Alcalá, San Antonio de Padua, San Juan Capistrano, Santa
Clara, Santiago and Santa Isabel from Hungary. At the entrance of the
monastery there are murals featuring images of Franciscans friars with a
skeleton. The bell and clock towers from the 17th and 19th centuries remain
in ruins.
The altarpieces inside the church were richly decorated with
painting and sculptures of famous contemporary
artists.The church marks the beginning of the Calle los
Pasos (Steps Street) which holds the Stations of
the Cross (see below).
We bimbled
around the ruins in the hot sun (sorry to mention the heat and lack of
rain)
Bear even did his ‘trouser ceremony’ for the
class.
Evidence of restoration as we walked over this enormous site
The huge
kitchen, a little worrying to see an active termite nest above a wooden cross-beam support. We
saw the ‘secret tunnel’. This was used to slip wine
in to the monastery and for the monks to ‘slope off in to town to visit the
ladies of the night.......
‘Evidence’ of San Pedro’s favours and cures. We visited
the museum dedicated to
him.
Peter of
Saint Joseph Betancur – San Pedro, was
beatified
1980, canonised in
2002 (by Pope John Paul II), and enshrined in a tomb off the main chapel here in
the church, San
Francsico el Grande. His tomb is visited by thousands of
pilgrims each year to beg for favours and miracles. All the evidence and the
process to his sainthood is laid out in the museum. Critics have questioned the
depth of research that went in to his two assigned miracles. Some say Pope John
Paul II wanted to create the first saint in Guatemala as well as the unpopular
creation of many saints he canonised in China.
Whatever, San Pedro did much for
the people.
San Pedro’s memorial
garden, statue and close
up.
On our way back to school we walked past
the life-size Stations of the Cross used in the
Easter Parade the city is famous for. Sad that these amazing ‘floats’ are
exposed to the elements, they are all incredibly detailed and a sight to
behold.
How chuffed was I when we saw a ‘bug’. Time for our daily ice
cream.
ALL IN ALL A GEM OF A
CITY
.
