Chihuahua's Colonial Missions An Invaluable Patrimony
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Chihuahua’s Colonial Missions An
Invaluable Patrimony
Karla Muñoz Alcocer*
W
hen people talk about Mexico’s take into account, however, the fact that the
colonial, artistic and cultural patri- colonial legacy there was formed under less
mony, states like Puebla, Que- favorable circumstances: a vast stretch of
rétaro, Michoacán, Jalisco or, more to the desert to the north; broad central plains bor-
north, Zacatecas usually come to mind. You dered diagonally on the southwest by the
could mention all the states of the republic Western Sierra Madre, known as the
and the last name might very well be Tarahumara Mountains, that take time and
Chihuahua since it has always been classified patience to reach; an extreme climate with
as poor in historical patrimony. This does not temperatures from minus cero degrees to 46
degrees Centigrade; and little water. It was far
* Coordinator of the Smithsonian Center for from the capital of New Spain, far from artis-
Materials Research and Education project “Imagi-
nería de las Californias” (Sculpture of the Califor-
tic centers and skilled workmen; this meant
nias) and director of the Chihuahua Colonial that master sculptors, painters and architects
Missions Civic Association. living in the beautiful, creative cities of
Central Mexico hesitated to exchange their towns: “We tried to limit them to one site and a
comforts for cold, sober towns where just get- church, although they are disseminated along
ting food took twice the effort. These factors, seven or eight leagues.”1 This description con-
among others, make the Chihuahua colonial tinues to be valid 300 years later. The missions
legacy invaluable and incomparable. were organized into what were called partidos, or
During colonial times, Franciscan, Jesuit, districts, each with a cabecera, or main church,
Dominican and diocesan priests were sent to the and between three and five visitas, or dependent
North —what is now the U.S. Southwest and churches.
northern Mexico— to spread the Gospel to the Chihuahua’s mission system began to be
local population by building churches and creat- built after the discovery of two mines: the
ing societies around them. This was a way to Santa Bárbara Mine, found in 1567 in the
expand Spanish domination, which was devel- southwestern part of the state, from where a
oping as mines and lands conducive to these set- few decades later Juan de Oñate would leave
tlements were discovered. This system of con- to found New Mexico; and the Chínipas
quest —to call it that— was the mission. Mine, whose main vein was discovered in
Although the founding ordinances were the 1589 by explorers crossing the Sinaloa moun-
same throughout New Spain, differences in the tains as they left Culiacán. The first missions
settlement and the development of trades are were established by the followers of Saint
noteworthy, depending on the order the mission- Francis of Assisi in the Santa Bárbara region;
aries belonged to and the specific characteristics they created important settlements of
of the ethnic group converted. For example, colonists in the San Bartolomé Valley (or
Tomás de Guadalajara and José Tardá wrote in Allende Valley) and San José del Parral. The
their 1675 report about how difficult it was for Franciscans founded missions on the plains and
the Raramuri, or Tarahumara, to congregate in inland all along the royal highway that led to
Maribel Portela
reveals to us a world she is a part of,
the world of gatherers of dreams and objects.
103
Santa Fe; the Company of Jesus built others on Zacatecas or the Texas missions, and others were
the Western Sierra Madre, divided into three secularized by the archbishop of Durango.
regions: the Lower or Old Tarahumara, the High Even with all the difficulties that this region
or New Tarahumara and Chínipas, which was presented to the missionaries, 168 missions
actually part of the Sinaloa and Sonora Province. were eventually founded in what is today
The first Jesuit settlement in San Pablo de Chihuahua, the largest number in a single
Tepehuanes (Balleza) dates from 1607. state, be it in Mexico or what is now the United
Although innumerable Tarahumara, Tepehuan, States. Many of these missions are now coun-
Pima and Guarojío rebellions destroyed the ty seats; others remained small towns and
fruits of their labor, sometimes postponing the hamlets inhabited by indigenous or mestizos,
establishment of missions for between 10 and and, in some cases, both together sharing a
20 years after they arrived to a site, it can be said single church. The mission continues to be the
that, starting with San Pablo, they set up mis- main meeting place where religious and social
sions and contacts throughout the mountain traditions are upheld, such as during Easter
foothills, all the way to the well-known Babícora Week, when the matachines dance or when the
and later into the interior. Other “black-robed sirime, or governor, calls the people together,
ones” came through the Sonora mountains to or like on Sunday when, even without a priest,
work in the Chínipas region. the mestizos or Tarahumaras go in and out of
Over a period of 160 years, the Jesuits found- the church, congregating finally in the atrium.
ed more than 100 missions throughout this This means that the missions not only have his-
region, until they were expelled in 1767 after toric and artistic importance, but are also a liv-
becoming a veritable threat for the Spanish ing cultural patrimony.
Crown’s economy and organization given their Their architecture is appropriate to the cli-
effective self-sufficient system and the fact that mate and the materials available in the region;
they obeyed only the Pope and not the king. for example, on the plains and in the foothills,
Most of their missions were taken over by the the constructions are made of adobe; in the
Franciscans from the College of Guadalupe in mountains, they are made of stone with roofs
104
covered in shingles or carved out, canoe-shaped Missions Civic Association to further an integral
tree trunks, now replaced by metal sheeting; and project called “A Mission for Chihuahua: Its
in the canyons, it is common to find walls and Colonial Missions” with the continual, active
vaults made of fired brick because of the abun- collaboration of the state government, the
dance of red clay. In the missions built near National Institute of Anthropology and History,
mines, or those that were designated district the Catholic Church, local communities, educa-
headquarters, the construction system is more tional institutions and national and international
complex, with richly decorated walls, altar associations such as the Smithsonian Institution
pieces, sculptures and paintings. However, all of and the Mexico-North Research and Education
them have works that have been done by either Network.
skilled, guild artisans or workmen that can be The project’s objective is to create security,
classified in different categories according to promote research and disseminate information
their visual characteristics and the techniques about the missions, as well as to restore and pre-
used in their manufacture: from those that imi- serve both the buildings and other patrimony of
tate Spanish art to the simplest work for which these colonial churches. The main interest is to
the artist’s only aim was the creation of an image give the communities the tools and know-how
to worship and not its aesthetic quality. they need through practical workshops. The idea
Unfortunately, for many decades the missions is to reclaim traditional building techniques,
were threatened by the lack of security mea- teach an appreciation and respect for this patri-
sures, which fostered pilfering, the lack of awa- mony and offer a new economic alternative by
reness of the value of the historic, cultural and fostering rural tourism routes.
artistic patrimony, a lack of communication Part of the integral project is made up of two
among government institutions, priests and com- specific research and conservation projects. The
munities. All of this caused inappropriate action first is “Imaginería de Las Californias”
to be taken, even if with the best intentions. For (Sculpture of the Californias), sponsored by the
this reason, in January 2001, Chihuahua busi- Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and
nessmen created the Chihuahua Colonial Education; its aim is to determine the origin of
105the colonial sculptures found in the missions of carried out to determine the painting’s state of
the U.S. Southwest and northern Mexico conservation and analyze the materials it is made
through chemical and technical analysis of the of as well as archaeological samples to establish
materials they are made of, to establish the sim- restoration criteria and processes. This project
ilarities and differences with the visual classifi- also received a grant for preventive work from
cation done of the sculptures in Chihuahua. Mexico’s National Council of the Arts Fund for
This study will contribute valuable information the Restoration of Monuments and Art Works.
about anonymous viceregal sculpture and artis- The establishment of Chihuahua’s mission
tic techniques in the colonial period, as well as system took great effort on the part of mission-
significant data about the development of the aries and indigenous peoples of the region;
mission system in this entire region. undoubtedly, the same effort will be required
The second project is “A Mission for Chihua- to preserve it. For this to happen, we all need
hua: The Santa María de Cuevas Mission.” Two to be aware that our cultural patrimony is not
hours away from the city of Chihuahua, this mis- only a testimony of the past, but also a factor
sion has a beautiful, multicolored tongue and for present and future development.
groove ceiling dating from 1700; unique in nor-
thern Mexico, it has eight Marian symbols in the NOTES
center surrounded by a wealth of mirror-like 1 Luis González Rodríguez, Tarahumara. La sierra y el hom-
sprays of flowers, as well as a figurative mural. bre (Chihuahua, Chihuahua: Editorial Camino, 1994).
Thanks to a grant from the J. Paul Getty Foun-
dation, a year from now another study will be FURTHER READING
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