Towering proudly above the center of our pueblo is
the stately and distinctive pink lady, the Parroquia de San Miguel de Allende
Arcangel. She is a bit of an anomaly in the sense that her showy towers remind some visitors of a pretty wedding cake that strayed a bit from
architectural traditions while others appreciate the way the late afternoon sun
illuminates her unique details, creating quite an extraordinary experience. She has become a destination where Sanmiguelenses and tourists
alike make lasting memories. Selfie sticks abound, suggesting people just love
this place. With that in mind, I thought it might be nice to delve into the
history of the Parroquia, an eternal symbol of San Miguel de Allende.
In 1542, the Franciscan
priest, Fray Juan de San Miguel built the Chapel of San Miguel Arcángel on the site now referred to as San Miguel el Viejo, approximately
a mile from the center of the existing
city of San Miguel de Allende.
The actual history of San Miguel de Allende is usually dated from that event.
Fray Juan established a mission on that site, and
soon moved on to found other projects in other locales. He left San Miguel to
be managed by the very capable, Fray Bernardo Cossín, who supervised the
conversion of the Chichemeca Indians to Catholicism. Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of
Mexico commonly applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were
established in the bajio region of west-central Mexico. Chichimeca carried the same
inference as the Roman term "barbarian" used to define Germanic
tribes.
At this time in history, enormous veins of
silver were discovered in Zacatecas, and mule caravans were soon flowing southward
through central Mexico, carrying the silver to the capital. In 1550, a group of
Chichimecas took issue with this invasion of their territory and attacked the
village of San Miguel el Viejo. Fifteen people were murdered and the village
was burned to the ground. Fray Bernardo decided to seek safer ground and moved
his converts to another location nearby.
Fray Bernardo
re-established the group at the site of the Chorro spring (now located in the
center of town near Parque Juarez) and began the process of rebuilding. Shortly
after the founding of the town of San Miguel el Grande (now referred to as San
Miguel de Allende,) in 1555, the original parroquia or parish church was constructed
in 1578 at its present location. The church has a long and interesting history well worth investigating.
In 1649, it was recorded that the Church of San
Miguel el Grande collapsed after a period of decline. Around 1680 or 1690,
thirty years later, the building had deteriorated a second time. As a result, a
commission for a grand architectural project to replace it was begun. This
version was completed in 1709. The work was directed by the architect Marco
Antonio Sobrarías. The church was described by some experts to be in the Baroque
style and by other accounts, in the Plateresque style common almost exclusively
to Spain during the late Baroque or early Renaissance. Plateresque means “in
the manner of the silversmiths.” The style was characterized by elaborate
ornamentation suggestive of silver plate. An example of the style can be found
in the façade of the University of Salamanca in Spain.
The style of the church in 1709 was totally different from the current facade of the Parroquia in the Neo-Gothic style that we know and appreciate today.
Celebrated architect, Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras
from nearby Celeya, was involved in the restoration of the Parroguia in the
beginning of the 19th century.
Image of Tresguerras courtesy of es.wikipedia.com
Tresguerras is also credited with the design of the Templo de
San Francisco in San Miguel in 1799.
Templo de San Francisco designed by Tresguerra in 1799
photo courtesy of art.com
He remodeled the interior of the Parroquia
and created the crypt that contains the remains of priests and prominent local
citizens.
Interior of the current Parroquia photo courtesy of Travel and Leisure
Out of respect for the deceased, public access to the crypt is restricted to once a
year during the celebration of el Dia de los Muertos. In 1864, the crypt was
visited by Maxmillian Habsburg who described it as “a tomb worthy of kings.” Maximilian I was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire. Eventually, the Parroquia began to show signs of
wear once again. Cracks and fissures appeared in the elaborate façade and a
renewed fear developed regarding its imminent collapse provoking the First Bishop
of the Diocese, Don Jose de Jesus Diez de Sollano and Davalos to commission a change
in the façade. Shortly thereafter, the Parroquia acquired its current appearance.
The construction of the new facade was started in
1880 and completed in 1890 by the master stonemason, Don Zeferino Gutiérrez Muñoz. To add a bit of local color, Zeferino has been described as a short, chubby fellow with a great deal of ambition who grew up under the poorest of circumstances.
The new facade was inspired by the great architectural works of Gothic style common
in Medieval Europe. Many intriguing tales exist regarding what inspired the
simple stonemason (albañil in Spanish) to create the Gothic inspired structure.
We may never know exactly what happened. Some say Zeferino fashioned the design
after an image of the great Gothic Cathedral of Cologne in Germany that he had
seen on a postcard.
The Cathdral of Cologne
Others suggest that he possessed engravings of the Cathedral at Cologne and relied on them for reference. Some people recount the oft-repeated story that Zeferino was seen tracing the plan for the Parroquia with a stick in the red clay soil as a means of instructing the builders. This primitive methodology does not seem plausible to me, but who am I to judge. The towers, portal, niches, coral window, atrium, bell tower with clock and the altars of the interior were transformed by this renovation.
The Clock Tower
Others suggest that he possessed engravings of the Cathedral at Cologne and relied on them for reference. Some people recount the oft-repeated story that Zeferino was seen tracing the plan for the Parroquia with a stick in the red clay soil as a means of instructing the builders. This primitive methodology does not seem plausible to me, but who am I to judge. The towers, portal, niches, coral window, atrium, bell tower with clock and the altars of the interior were transformed by this renovation.
The selection
of an albañil
rather than an architect for the building project seems odd at first. After a
bit of research, I discovered that Zeferino Gutiérrez Muñoz had been
commissioned to renovate or build a couple of churches in nearby Dolores
Hidalgo in the state of Guanajuato.
Zeferino Gutiérrez Muñoz
He was called to Dolores Hidalgo to replace
the wooden altarpiece for the Parroquia de Nuestra Senora de los Dolores with
one of cantera in a Neo-Classical style.
The Parroquia de Nuestra Senora de los Dolores
The Parroquia de Nuestra Senora de los
Dolores is historically important as the place where the shout for Mexican Independence
took place. He also designed and constructed El Templo de Nuestra Senora de la
Saleta in the Neo-Gothic style that was crowned with a splendid dome.
El Templo de Nuestra Senora de la Saleta in Dolores Hidalgo
Here in
San Miguel, he designed the main altar of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe in el
Templo de Oratorio and then dared to sign it at its base. This altar has since
been replaced by another. Concurrent with his work on el Templo de Oratorio, he
designed and built the main altar of el Templo de San Juan de Dios, where I
happen to attend mass on Sundays.
The altar of Templo San Juan de Dios
Zeferino also worked on the interior of Las
Monjas on Calle Canal. One of the first works he completed in the city of San
Miguel was the portico, stairway, and atrium of La Ermita on Salida de Queretaro back in 1876.
Despite his lack of formal training, he
had already established himself as a force to be reckoned with by the time he
was approached to design the now famous façade of the Parroquia.
Zeferino Gutiérrez Muñoz constructed the façade with
cantera rosa, a volcanic rock that had been quarried locally at the base of an extinct volcano,
Palo Huerfano. The volcano is located between San Miguel de Allende and
Comonfort in Los Picachos Mountains.
Initially, many critics found fault with the design,
suggesting that the dramatic Neo-Gothic style of the Parroquia did not integrate
well with the colonial square surrounding it, that the vertical lines broke with the
horizontal lines that characterized the surrounding Colonial architecture.
It should
be acknowledged that this uniquely flamboyant structure has no equal and has become
an indestructible icon, an enduring symbol of the inherent charm of Central
Mexico. This striking edifice may be one of the reasons that our fair city
figures so prominently in Mexico’s current tourism boom. It features importantly
in the advertising designed to encourage tourists to visit San Miguel de Allende.
