Tlaxcala: One of Mexico’s best-kept secrets
By John Barham, July 7, 2006

Last November, I delivered a series of five lectures in Oaxaca and Tlaxcala. Although my wife and I had led an archaeological tour that had included Oaxaca more than 15 years ago, it was my first time in Tlaxcala, and I was pleasantly surprised.

The city of Tlaxcala, which is the capital of Mexico’s smallest state (also called Tlaxcala), is a short bus trip of an hour and a half from Mexico City. The town itself has a very comfortable ambiance and is a hidden jewel in terms of its colonial beauty.

Centrally located on the town plaza is the Municipal Palace, which contains an outstanding mural by the artist Desiderio Hernández Xochitiotzin. Exquisitely executed, the mural recounts in great detail the arrival of Cortés and the consummation of the alliance with the Tlaxcalans that would eventually topple the Aztecs from power.

The traffic-free plaza makes a beautiful setting for several sidewalk cafés, which capitalize on the colonial setting, and for strolling musicians who further enhance a totally convivial atmosphere.

Directly south of the plaza is located a compact but interesting market that displays many of the handicrafts typical of Tlaxcala. Especially attractive for bargain-seekers are locally woven products and, among these, stylish and well-made rebozos.

Behind the market, at the top of a small hill, is a beautiful example of colonial architecture, the Convento de San Francisco. Passing beneath a tympanum ornamented with Old and New Testament scenes, the visitor is struck by the beauty of a carved wooden ceiling. Near the altar is a baptismal font reputed to have been used to baptize Tlaxcalan chieftains at the time of the coming of the Spaniards. Close to the Convento de San Francisco is the regional Museum of Tlaxcala, a repository of pre-Columbian artifacts from area archaeological sites.

North of the plaza on Tlaxcala’s main thoroughfare is the tourist office, where the obliging staff is eager to regale visitors with information on the cultural, historical and archaeological attractions of the state. Many of the sites are recalled in beautiful complimentary posters offered by the office to visitors, one of which registered with me as a point of familiarity from the past.

Many years ago, while formally studying Mexican history in a university setting, I was impressed by a textbook photograph of a unique church that appeared to be as finely and delicately constructed as a delicious pastry. It was the 18th-century church of San Francisco Acatepec, only a short bus ride, I was to learn, from the town of Tlaxcala to the village of Ocotlán.

After taking a local bus, it was within 30 minutes that I found myself standing before what may be the finest example of churrigueresque architecture in all of Mexico. With a façade characterized by ornate tiles and a bell-tower of frilly yet formidable proportions, the interior presents an apse with some of the most brilliant gilt-work that may be seen throughout all of Latin America. The church is a “must-see” for anyone visiting Tlaxcala.

Major archaeological sites associated with Mexico are, of course, El Tajín, Tulum, Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, Mitla, Monte Alban, Tula, Palenque and others. However, the state of Tlaxcala has a gem of its own in Cacaxtla, which dates from the 7th century.

After a 35-minute bus trip from the town of Tlaxcala, Cacaxtla is found on an impressive promontory overlooking an immense valley with a beautiful view of the volcanic peaks of Popocatepetl and Itzatccihuatl.

At Cacaxtla, the efforts of international archaeological groups have resulted in outstanding pre-Columbian ruins and murals being protected by over-hanging aluminum structures, which underline the importance of the site. Also on-site is a fine museum that allows visitors to trace the history of the Olmeca-Xicalanca people who constructed Cacaxtla. Cacaxtla, owing to its natural beauty and historical significance, is an altogether agreeable place for a sojourn of a half-day, or even a full day.

Also located in the state of Tlaxcala are several outstanding examples of 18th- and 19th-century haciendas that have served as incubators for fighting bulls appearing in many of the bullrings of Mexico. In visiting the hacienda of Tenexac, I felt as though I had passed through a time-warp into another era. 
With a manor house, chapel, stables, bullring and adjoining fields with grazing bulls, Tenexac recalls a past of splendor and grandeur rarely glimpsed in the 21st century. During my visit, I was fortunate to be served an outstanding lunch typical of the area and to tour this ranch, which I learned was the location for the film The King of Texas. Tenexac, as do several of the other haciendas of the region, opens its doors to guests as a bed and breakfast for extended stays. 

Close by is the town of Huamantla, the scene of a Pamplona-style running-of-the-bulls during August each year. Also in Huamantla is the national museum of puppetry, which attracts hundreds of visitors to its displays and demonstrations of the art of puppetry.

Tlaxcala’s environment is overwhelmingly flavored by history. Accordingly, during my visit, I thought of the lectures on the entire scope of Mexican history that I have been giving during the fall and winter months in Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende. During the lectures, I have invariably acknowledged the key role of the Tlaxcalans as the most important Indian allies of Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico. And, certainly, one could not visit Tlaxcala without learning something of its history.

In the late summer of 1519, Cortés, after burning his ships at Veracruz, set out for the high plateau of Mexico. Later, ascending to 10,000 feet through what came to be called the Pass of Cortés, the Spaniards traveled near the peak of Orizaba and eventually entered the fertile valleys of Tlaxcala.

Despite their close proximity to lake Texcoco and Tenochtitlán (the heart of the Aztec confederation), the Tlaxcalans had jealously guarded their independence from the Aztecs.

Having heard of several parleys that had theretofore taken place between Cortés and embassies sent by Montezuma, the Tlaxcalans decided to take no chances and determined to offer resistance to the Spanish interlopers, who from all appearances could have been Aztec allies.

Consequently, there ensued battles during which the Spaniards were hard-pressed and at one point almost concluded that, if they could not defeat the Tlaxcalans, their prospects against the Aztecs could not be good. Finally, the Tlaxcalan war council decided to send emissaries to Cortés, offering hospitality. Gratefully, the Spaniards received gifts from the Tlaxcalans of food, precious artifacts, shelter and numerous concubines.

This was the beginning of the solid alliance that would carry Cortés and his forces through their initial entry into Tenochtitlán, their retreat during La Noche Triste, and finally the eventual total conquest of the Aztecs by August of 1521.

After three days of historical, architectural and aesthetic indulgence, I reluctantly boarded a bus that would transport me from Tlaxcala to the Mexico City airport, where I would board a plane for St. Louis. My overall impression of Tlaxcala was that it was an altogether pleasant and memorable setting for excursions that would delight visitors wishing to experience a compact but historically and culturally important region while traveling to and from the Bajío and the Federal District.

John Barham, who has been visiting San Miguel de Allende for more than 18 years, has served as an associate professor of history, dean and provost in the State University of New York, the University of Texas at Brownsville, Jacksonville State University, King Saud University (Saudi Arabia), and the University of Missouri. He is currently superintendent of the University of Missouri Forest.