Puebla

Puebla

Today's Puebla, with or without angels, remains the same all time Puebla: a colonial city that dazzles visitors for the monumentality of its temples and residences, ever more centenarian,that pack its wonderful Historic Centre, a bastion of yesterday with close to two thousand buildings of incalculable architectonic value, which take pride on their old elegance. Ample windows andimposing balconies are part of these civil and religious pearls, which although show many differences regarding their architectonic styles (they range from the renaissance up to the neoclassical baroque),they are similar in their use of the ever present tiles of Talavera, a Mexican version - rather from Puebla - of a tile introduced by the Dominicans by the late XVI century.For these and many otherreasons, the Historic Centre is considered as Cultural Patrimony of Humanity since 1987, a fair acknowledge to the old though vigorous heart of Puebla de Los Angeles (also called Angelopolis), a cityfounded in 1531. What came next is easy to explain; the city began to grow little by little and its wealthiest settlers, maybe moved by faith, perhaps just to ensure a place for themselves in heaven,promoted the construction of convents, churches and religious schools. It did not matter how much money was needed or when the works would be concluded; one could not be mean with God. And the thrivingcity began to be populated by imposing temples such as the Cathedral, a flashy "house of God" whose belfries seem to pinch the sky (could it be to have the angels coming down again?) while gracefulcherubs "play" flying in its façade; or the Chapel of the Rosary, known in its time as the eighth wonder of the world... Later, Puebla would reveal itself as an important agricultural and industrialcentre, being the fabrication of tiles of Talavera one of its main activities.Now turned into a symbol of Puebla, the colourful tiles original from the Town of Talavera, in Spain, were introduced by...