Tonanzintla and San Francisco Acatepec are 2 populations within the municipality of San Andres Cholula . A day trip to Cholula will not be perfect unless the 2 churches, one in Tonanzintla and the other in San Francisco Ecatepec are included.   

Santa María Tonanzintla

 The moment you step inside this church – you are bound to remain speechless. This church is one of its kind and there is nothing like it in Mexico .

To understand this unique place it is necessary to have some background: 

Before the arrival of the Spaniards – the people in the area worshiped Tonantzin -  "little mother" a goddess linked with their source of life - the corn  . After the conquest that brought the Christianity to Mexico it was only logical for the natives to adopt the Virgin Marry as the continuity of their "little Mother". The Spaniards ordered the construction of the church to honor Virgin Mary but the indigenous that performed the work did not forget Tonatzin and their own culture and origin so the church is a kind of Mexican iconography.

The pink angels and children with their curly blond hair which can be seen in European churches have here brawny faces,  with Indian features bearing a feathered decoration on the head. The Church is marvelously decorated with gold and bright yellow, red white and blue ornaments with emphasis on the corn. The feathered snake known as "Quetzalcoatl" one of the main gods of many Mexican and northern Central American civilizations is also to be found among the features.

The exterior of this church is also unique with the red colour of the bricks combining with the tiles.    

Iglesia de San Francisco Ecatepec

This church built in the 17 century is known as one of the finest Mexican Baroque buildings. The name of the church – Ecatepec -  comes from the Nahuatl and literally means "on the hill of the wind" but is interpreted as the God of the wind. 

The design of the church and the beautiful work of til and ceramic for which Puebla is famous created a unique building that looks like a porcelain box. The Church was built and decorated between 1650 and 1750 which were the golden days of Puebla's Baroque and Talavera.