Amid the wealth of religious art and architecture that is Mexico's heritage, the Church of San Francisco Javier in Tepotzotlan is outstanding, a masterpiece of ultrabaroque magnificence. Drive 25 miles north on the highway to Queretaro; the church tower is visible on your left. The National Museum of Colonial Arts and Handicrafts was installed in the monastery after renovation and restoration in 1959. Church and museum are open from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M.
Every year, in a patio to the left of the church, the pastorela is presented nightly from December 16 23. It is an ingenuous version of events surrounding the birth of Christ, conceived by Spanish nuns during the Middle Ages. Tickets can be secured from travel agencies, and the cost includes dinner, pinatas, village bands, and a posada or reenactment of the Holy Family's search for shelter. Dress warmly! A restaurant, Hosteria del Convento, in the same patio is open every day for lunch and dinner, serving favorite Mexican dishes.
En route to Tepotzotlan you'll pass several bustling industrial suburbs, one of which houses the Mexican plants of such well known American
firms as Ford, Goodyear, and Monsanto. (When the factories in this area end their day shifts, this highway is crowded with workers returning to the city; time your return to avoid this rush hour.)
Amid the wealth of religious art and architecture that is Mexico's heritage, the Church of San Francisco Javier in Tepotzotlan is outstanding, a masterpiece of ultrabaroque magnificence. Drive 25 miles north on the highway to Queretaro; the church tower is visible on your left. The National Museum of Colonial Arts and Handicrafts was installed in the monastery after renovation and restoration in 1959. Church and museum are open from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M.
