San Cristóbal de las Casas

Colonial city located 46 km along the Tuxtla Gutiérrez – San Cristóbal de Las Casas highway
As various visitors have said, San Cristóbal de Las Casas is one of the most romantic cities in the world, recognized as a Magical Town. A city whose wealth lies in its ethnic diversity and colonial tradition, which displays its architectural treasures in various buildings from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

History.
The Jovel Valley offered the ideal situation, the temperate climate and the strategic location, for Diego de Mazariegos to found the Ciudad Real de Chiapa in 1528. In the current historic center of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, roofs, flowery patios, corner balconies, Baroque facades, neoclassical and Mudejar style buildings, colorful crafts, exquisite cuisine, processional ceremonies, popular festivals and ancient legends converge.

Its construction followed a process similar to that of other colonial cities that were created in New Spain. First, the main square was drawn, around which the places that would occupy the main buildings were designated. Around its square are the cathedral with its baroque façade in the Central American style, the neoclassical municipal palace, the portals, the church of San Nicolás, with the style that most identifies the colonial religious architecture of Chiapas and the house of the Mermaid with a façade Plateresque-inspired from the 16th century. Especially interesting is the set formed by the Dominican convent and the temple of La Caridad joined with the Cathedral and the Plaza 31 de Marzo by the north ecclesiastical walkway, the main monumental axis of the city.

The church of Santo Domingo is a masterpiece of the Central American and Mexican Baroque, both for its mortar façade and for the set of altarpieces and golden pulpit inside. La Caridad stands out for its sumptuous Baroque altarpiece. Baroque are also the altarpieces of San Francisco, while El Carmen sports a unique Mudejar tower in Mexico. There are many other buildings of interest in the city that is characterized by having a large inventory of neoclassical-style mansions inspired by the Renaissance treaty of Vignola.

From the foundation, on the periphery of the center, the lots or lands were assigned to the Spaniards and in the end the indigenous were located, among which were those who provided some service to the Hispanics in the conquest of the region. Thus, the neighborhoods of Mexicanos, Tlaxcala and Cerrillo are still scattered throughout the city. The visit to the neighborhoods is a fascinating experience due to the traditional architecture, the festivals, the crafts and the gastronomy. Many doors have red paper lanterns that indicate the sale of delicious tamales.

Today the city of San Cristóbal de Las Casas is one of the most beautiful and original in Mexico and Central America, due to the evocative colonial image that it has preserved in its historic center over the centuries. Because in addition to this, it also has a traditional daily life, with its market and its people, where the Tzeltals and Tzotzils arrive with their colorful clothing, coming from different communities to sell or exchange their products.