The land of the hummingbirds

Sunday, the gang and I went to the pueblo of Tzintzuntzan, which in Purepecha means the "land of the hummingbirds". Although this site is a lot more touristy than the Yacatas (Pyramids) in Ihuatzio, they were still pretty cool. Plus you can see the storage room where they kept the severed heads of their enemies. Fun fact: The Purepecha were never conquered by the Aztecs, like many other indigenous groups in Mexico. This is probably because their ability to craft metal gave them an advantage over their enemies to the east. Tzintzuntzan was the Purepecha capital up until the arrival of the Spanish in Michoacan. Although the Yacatas were blown up by the Spanish in search of gold, they were reconstructed in the 1940s and are still quite a site.

Also, fun fact: Don Vasco de Quiroga, who was a member of the second Spanish Audiencia that was sent to govern new Spain (after the crazy gold-loving conquistadors), was a follower of Thomas Moore. So he tried to create a utopian society with the indigenous people around the lake where each pueblo was not in competition with one another, but instead responsible for a specific craft. For example, Tzintzuntzan is famous for its green pottery. I am not sure how Utopian it was, but the different crafts still remain today.

Another interesting site in Tzintzuntzan is their church. The church and monastary were first built by Don Vasco and are home to the oldest olive trees in the new world! The church is also home to a growing Jesus! Yep, that's right, a figure of Jesus that is supposedly growing (See top picture). the Jesus is made out of a paste mixture of corn cobs and water and then is painted. The story goes that ever since he has been in the church he has been growing. He even broke the end of his glass enclosure, so an addition was made to accommodate him. As you can see in the picture, his head has to be elevated and there is an addition onto the case (the side closest to the camera) to make more room for Jesus.