Imagine visiting a medieval convent, with big quarry structures, beautiful paintings and decorations. And now imagine it with pre-hispanic treasures of one of the greatest and least known cultures of Latin America. You probably know the Inca culture of Peru, the Mayans and Aztecs of Mexico, and Egyptians from Egypt. Well, all these have built huge cities, and had a lot of power. Another culture that achieved this was the Zapotecs. They didn’t get to the level of greatness of the Egyptians, but consider that the Egyptians got a lot of more time before the Zapotecs arose. And Zapotecs are not the only culture of Oaxaca. Know more about the Museum of Oaxacan Cultures and the treasures that this museum keeps.
The UNESCO names World Cultural Heritage places and one of them is the Santo Domingo Church, this church with the inside full of gold showcases the greatness of the oaxacan cultures labor, combined with european design. The Museum of the Cultures of Oaxaca is next to this church in the historical center of Oaxaca. It now occupies the ex-convent of the church to show the history of Oaxaca and important archaeological vestiges of the cultures that inhabit here.
CONSTRUCTION of the MUSEUM OF OAXACAN CULTURES
Together with the church, it was built in the 16th century and has been restored due to several earthquakes. To know more about the construction of the complex visit my post about the Santo Domingo church. Click here.
REFORM LAWS
With the arrival of Benito Juárez to power and the imposition of the Reform Laws, this property became federal, that is, government property. And had various uses over time, occupied by the military in different ways.
PORFIRIO DÍAZ
Then, during the government of Porfirio Díaz the temple returned to the Catholics, because it had been closed for worship. The temple is still a catholic church that you can visit.
The other 2 parts of the complex (the convent and garden) were not returned. The garden is currently the ethnobotanical garden of Oaxaca.
CURRENTLY
Currently, the building houses the Santo Domingo cultural center on the first floor. And on the upper floor is the museum of the cultures of Oaxaca, which exhibits different very important pieces of Oaxacan archeology, and shows the changes and history of Oaxaca through the years.
The cultural center of Santo Domingo is used to host events such as expositions, and events like concerts.
ENTRY TICKETS
Tuesday to Saturday: 80 mexican pesos.
If you want to take video it has an extra cost of 45 mexican pesos.
Thanks for visiting, I hope this post was helpful, enjoy your visit in Oaxaca. And keep enjoying it in my social media.