The Church and former monastery of Santo Domingo de Guzmán located on the alcala, the main pedestrian street in Oaxaca. The church and the expansive space in front are the stage for weddings and cultural events of the local schools and community organizations. The grounds contain the church, museum and an ethnobotanical garden.
Interior of Santo Domingo de Guzmán
Courtyard in the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca
The museum occupies the former monastery. It’s collections encompass the Oaxaca region’s broad history from the arts of the Indian pre-hispanic era to the colonization by Spain and the rise of Roman Catholic iconography .
This pendent represents Mictllanteuhtli, the 'Lord of Death', recognizable by his fleshless jaws.
Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca
Saint Lucy. Imagenes, or freestanding images of Christ, saints, and the Holy Family, were believed by European missionaries to facilitate devotion and were closely patterned after Spanish models.*
*Polychrome Sculpture in Spanish America, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Ethnobotanical Gardens, Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca
