I’ve just woken and decided to make coffee in the room but the coffee maker just makes a strange noise and then a small trickle of hot water escapes and then it  stops.

I will attempt to add the photos of the Churches we visited yesterday.

San Francisco Acatepec

This Church  may be one of the most beautiful churches in Puebla. This XVII century church used to be considered, next to Tonanztintla, the most beautiful church in America, but in 1939 a midnight fire destroyed all the inside.

The Church was built by indigenous hands who carved outstanding wooden altarpieces and ornaments that covered the interior without leaving a empty space. Many artists came to San Francisco Acatepec to try to capture de magic once created by the natives of what now is the city of Cholula. Being made of wood, the fire consumed the church in no time; only the facade survived. But it was because of the attraction this place provoke in artists, that a reconstruction was possible.Around 1920 an Engineer called Alberto Pani thought it would be a good idea to create a book with photographs and paintings of the most beautiful churches in the country. In 1926 a collection of six books called “Churches of Mexico” was published so the people could admire the places they may never even heard of. The pictures an experienced photographer took of San Francisco Acatepec were the one used for the 1941 reconstruction after the fire. The photographer’s name was Gullermo Kahlo, and though he was an acknowledge artist of his time, and still is one of the best photographers Mexico has ever had, he now is more famous for being the father of another important artist. Does the last name rings any bell? Yes, he was the father of Frida Kahlo. Kahlo’s photographs were the key piece for what we can see now. The inside is nowhere near the beauty it once was, but it’s still breathtaking (imagine then how the original was).

The outside however survived the fire and it stands as a sample of the amazing work of art the indigenous were capable of. The facade is totally covered by talavera tiles. It’s an exciting explosion of colors, patterns and shapes. The details are so many is almost impossible to pay attention to them all. One can spend hours admiring this church, and you’ll always perceive it differently. When the sun is up and shining the blue on the talavera is so blue, it almost matches the sky. When is cloudy the red sets on fire. It’s an amazing spectacle.

The next Church was

Santa Maria Tonantzintla

We stopped to talk with the Chocolate drink maker and bought cookies from another stall and then it was on the next amazing Church. There was a service in progress so we only took images of the outside.

San Bernadino Tlaxcalanzingo

Dome at rear, with glazed tiles on the roof

This church has a facade covered with plain ladrillo (brick) and talavera tile in blue, white, yellow, and green.lantern here is classical like much of the church facade. While many of the churches in the Puebla area are Baroque, the architecture here is more restrained. See above the engaged pilasters with simple capitals and bases. However, the three-tier central bay with rectilinear emphasis seems a bit unbalanced, with the top element very small and constricted by the topmost window. But the top gable has an elegant curve framed by a border of decorative talavera and stucco.

I have more to add, maybe tonight.