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We got a great deal on a flight to Puebla from Guadalajara, Mexico, and since we have never been, we decided to visit this town famous for their food.

The most recognized dish is probably mole poblano, which has two different stories of origin. One story says that this spicy chocolate sauce was reportedly invented here by a woman who was trying to clean out everything in her pantry.

The other story says that some 16th century nuns from the Convent of Santa Rosa were worried because the archbishop was going to visit them and they had nothing to prepare for him except for an old turkey in the yard. Supposedly due to divine inspiration, they began to mix together many of the spices and flavorings they had on hand in the kitchen, including different types of chili peppers, various spices, day-old bread, chocolate and approximately twenty other ingredients.

Letting the sauce simmer for hours, they poured it over the turkey meat and the archbishop loved it.

Voila! The famous black mole sauce was invented!

The Convent Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán behind the fountain

Interestingly, for much of the colonial period, this fountain was the main source of potable water. Bullfights were held in this main square from 1566 to 1722.

And in 1862, during the Battle of Puebla, this whole area was unpaved and the battle took place in the front and on the sides of the church.

Interesting to imagine all of this, isn't it?

Large colorful letters spelling out the name of this city: PUEBLA

It has been a new feature in cities all over Mexico, to have the name of their town spelled out in bright colorful letters. This is commonplace in Comitan, Chapala, Arandas, Mazatlan and other cities.

It turns out that the colors of the letters have something to do with what tourist features the cities offer - archaeological sites, historical tourism, nature tourism, sun, sand and beach and so forth.

Another fountain in the street

From this standpoint, the Church of Santo Domingo is to the right behind us, and the Municipal Palace is the building across the Plaza with the maroon awnings.

Palacio Municipal, Town Hall

The Municipal Palace in Puebla is the seat of the City Council. The current building style of Elizabethan architecture was begun in 1887 and completed in 1906. This location was the seat of civil power since 1536, but there have been 3 different buildings as the city grew and changed.

In 1714, in the second building, the corner of the second floor was reserved for the mayors. There was balcony, a chapter house and chapel. After the main door there was an audience room, a jail and the mayor's home.

Beautiful, but closed, government building

This is a government building - a bit run down (as you can see the windows on the 2nd floor) and had something to do with the mayor. Embarrassingly, I don't know the name of the building, but right next door, the white-and-tiled building is the Casa de los Muñecos.

This Casa is a haute cuisine restaurant which entertains dignitaries and is also an art museum. 

In 1987, the historic centre of Puebla was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The side of the Main Plaza

From this viewpoint, you can see the Portales (painted in pink) on the right. The Pasaje is also to the right outside of the photo, and the church is to the left.

Near here was a women's prison, a chapel for the executed, and there were torture and visiting rooms.

Torture rooms?

Good Lord.

Inside the Pasaje Central

In modern times, this Pasaje (the passage) is filled with stores and businesses. There used to be access to the mayor's residence and the jails, chapel, and visiting rooms mentioned above.

Side of the Plaza

From this view, you are looking to the Municipal Palace (at the end of the street) and the Santo Domingo Church is to the right.

Notice the tiled front of the building on the left. This area of Mexico was famous for the pottery made here called Talavera. Craftsmen from Spain taught the locals how to utilize the clay soil and glaze the pottery and tiles for various uses, including the decorative fronts of buildings.

You will see tiled buildings all throughout Puebla.

Jan Hendrix Sculpture on the Zocalo

I found this white painted aluminum structure to be mesmerizing.

Walking through this over four meter high circular and airy enclosure was mind-bending.

Depending on the time of the day and where the sun was beaming, the art work changed appearance.

This piece is called "Puebla", was produced by Factum Arte and installed in Mexico during the summer of 2009 in this permanent location.

The much-acclaimed Jan Hendrix was born in Holland in 1949.

White aluminum sculpture called "Puebla"

Here is the sculpture again, but earlier in the day.

Apparently there are lights within it that are lit at night, but the whole time we were there, the lights were not working.

Municipal Palace at night

With the awnings rolled up in the evenings and with the lights on, the Municipal Palace takes on a different look.

Santo Domingo Church at night

At night, the city takes a different expression. With the buildings and church lit up, one gets a different feel for this beautiful place.

The Portales at night

Portales originally were constructed to allow vendors to be able to sell their wares in any kind of weather and still be protected. It is a typical Mexican and Spanish style of structure. These were modeled after the ones in Mexico City.

No matter if it is windy, rainy, or too hot, these covered areas allow buying and selling to continue on unabated. It also keeps the hallways and entranceways into the building cleaner.

These portals have had many names and today this area is called "Portal Juarez."

The Santo Domingo Church is to the left outside the photo, and the Pasaje is  on the right, also, just outside the photo.

The Convent and Church of Santo Domingo at night

Apparently, Mexico is one of the world's most seismically active regions, sitting atop several intersecting tectonic plates.

In 2017, Puebla suffered a large earthquake at the magnitude of 7.1.

Co-incidentally - a national earthquake drill is conducted every year by the government through the use of public loudspeakers - and at the time of this drill, the actual earthquake happened!

After the quake some buildings needed restoration, but fortunately, this church didn't require any work.

In its day, this church, with its works of onyx, gilt plaster, and creative tiles of Talavera pottery, was considered to be the eighth wonder of the world.

 

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