Ocotlán de Morelos is a town and municipality in the state of Oaxaca, about 35 km south of the center of the city of Oaxaca along Highway 175. It is part of the Ocotlán District in the south of the Valles Centrales Region. The area was a significant population center at the time of the Spanish Conquest, and for that reason an important Dominican monastery was established here in the 16th century. The complex still exists, with the church still being used for worship and the cloister area used as a museum. While mostly quiet, the city is an important distribution and transportation center for the south of the Central Valleys region of Oaxaca, a function which is expected to be reinforced with the opening of new highway being built to connect the city of Oaxaca with the Pacific coast. The city is known for artist Rodolfo Morales, who painted aspects of his hometown in his works and sponsored projects to save and restore historic monuments here. For generations the municipality has been known for its crafts, with the ceramics making Aguilar family producing some of the best known craftsmen.
Etymology The name Ocotlan is from Nahuatl and means "among the ocote trees" with the appendage "de Morelos" added in honor of José María Morelos y Pavón. During the colonial period the area was known as Santo Domingo Ocotlán due to the Dominican friars who created a monastery here dedicated to Saint Dominic. The Zapotec name for the area is "Lachiroo" which means "large valley" although some Zapotecs in the Tlacolula area called it "Guelache" which means "plaza of the valley".
History
The ethnicity of the first populations of this area is not known, but one of the earliest settlements is a site called Tortolita, located two km from the modern town center. When the Spanish arrived, the settlement had about 2,000 inhabitants, which is why the monastery was eventually founded here. In 1538, the bishopric sent Dominicans to found a parish. The monastery was founded in 1555 and called Santo Domingo de Ocotlán. The official founding of the town by Diego Hernandez Domingo Luis and Juan Vazquez also occurred in 1555. The complex was never finished because the local people also worked in the mines established nearby. By the 18th century, Octolan has eight small neighborhoods including one called Santa María Tocuela (the oldest) and San Juan Chilatece in which the market was founded.
During the Mexican War of Independence, Morelos camped here for three days on his way to Acapulco. Ocotlan was officially declared a town in 1875.
In 1916, forces loyal to Venustiano Carranza successfully defended the town from an attack led by General Macario Hernandez. Ocotlan was officially declared a city in 1926.
Since the Mexican Revolution, the city has been mostly quiet but the current construction of a superhighway linking the city of Oaxaca has been bringing changes to the area. The road called Camino Real a San Juan was recently paved, and event that drew the attendance of the governor of Oaxaca. Other newly paved roads include Calle Industria, Calle Francisco Villa and Calle Ayuntamiento. The new paving is meant to relieve traffic congestion on the roads to Ejutla de Crespo and the city of Oaxaca by providing alternate routes for current and future traffic.
In 2006, the social uprisings that affected much of Oaxaca affected Ocotlán. Much of the social unrest centered around the mines that are located in the municipality and consequences continue to this day. A mining labor leader from the area, Napolean Gomez Urrutia, living in Vancouver, is seeking asylum in Canada after the Mexican government asked for his extradition. He is accused of fraud, criminal associated and other offences associated with the social uprisings. Before he left for Canada, Gomez Urrutia was demanding an investigation into the deaths of 65 workers at a coal mine in the area. In 2009, protesters from several communities in the municipality blocked a highway to demand the cancellation of an arrest warrant against residents who opposed the operation of a mine and demand talks to close the La Trinidad mine. The mine belongs to a Mexican-Canadian company called Cuxcatlan. Protesters claim the mine is polluting their lands. The protesters were supported by Section 22 of the SNTE and APPO.
An unrelated controversy in 2008 involved child pornography charges against the Colegio Guadalupe school. Implicated are several parents and photographer Norberto Dionisio Martinez. The photographs in question involved partially nude women, men and children in a classroom at the school. Angry parents have protested and sued the school although those involved claimed no pornographic acts were involved.
The city
The city can seem like an ordinary and even empty town at first glance. However, because of its geographic location on the south end of the Central Valleys region of Oaxaca, the city is a distribution center for local towns and smaller cities such as Santa Lucía Miahuatlán. It is also a point of transit for those traveling between the state capital and the coast, a role that will be enforced with the completion of the new modern highway. One reason the area is relatively quiet is that for many years, until recently, its churches, monastery, plazas and gardens lay unkempt against the effects of the sun and time, as well as vandalism. Most of the restoration work was sponsored by artist Rodolfo Morales, a native of Ocotlán.
The city's main attraction is the Temple and Ex-convent of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. The complex was constructed in various stages between the 16th and 19th centuries. The construction of the monastery was halted on several occasions due to the lack of manpower, due to the discovery of mines nearby such as Santa Catarina. The main vault, apse, choir and sacristy of the church were not finished until 1669. The pillars of the cloister were begun at this time as well, but were never finished.
From then until the early 19th century, much of the complex was poorly maintained and fell into ruins. Starting in 1804, the Dominicans worked to rehabilitate the building, with attempts continuing until the complex was appropriated by the federal government during the Reform Laws. Ocotlan was one of the last towns in Oaxaca to still have friars in residence in the 19th century but by 1855, the last one had left. By 1885, the monastery area was completely abandoned, but the church was still functioning and remaining in relatively good condition.
After it was no longer used as a monastery, the complex has several uses, including that of a prison, where inmates made crafts. In the latter 20th century, the Rodolfo Morales Foundation restored and converted the monastery space into a museum, which contains one room with works by Morales, one room with Oaxaca crafts and one room with artwork from the colonial period. There are also sound and book libraries. In the courtyard where the old pillory is, are held cultural events and photography shoots. The church was also restored by the foundation, but maintains its religious function.
The church is fronted by a very large atrium fenced by a stone wall. The main facade has two bodies and a crest with both Baroque and Neoclassical elements. The first body contains the door arch and the second is marked by the choir window. Both bodies are flanked by columns with Ionic order capitols. The columns extend up the facade and have profuse vegetative decoration. At the top, there is a shell. In the interior is the Chapel of the Senor de la Sacristia, which is decorated in Neoclassical style. In both the church and the chapel are found a large number of colonial-era santos (statues of saints), many executed in fine polychrome and well preserved.Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient Churches: Santo Domingo Ocotlán . Retrieved 2012-04-13.
The municipal palace has a sober Neoclassic facade built with pink stone, with columns and pediments. The main feature are the arches which rest on columns with rectangular bases, forming portals. It was designed to be a focus point for social interaction. The main feature of the interior is the mural work done in the council chambers by Rodolfo Morales in the 1950s, when he was a young man. The mural work depicts scenes from the history of Ocotlán as well as landscapes and representative scenes such as the municipality markets, mining and agriculture. Unfortunately, this work does not receive the care it deserves as the chambers have been used for storage as well as meetings. This palace was constructed to commemorate the Centennial of Mexican Independence which occurred in 1910, and was completed in 1913.
The Rodolfo Morales house is a mansion from the 18th century which he rescued and lived in. Today, the building is a cultural center with an open-air theatre, which can seat 200 people, galleries of work by local artists and a computer center. All activities and resources here are offered free of charge. The house is located just north of the main square and preserves a number of Morales personal effects, including collages. The building is also home to the Fundación Cultural Rodolfo Morales, A. C (Rodolfo Morales Cultural Foundation), which is a private, nonprofit organization which promotes education and culture in the Ocotlan District of the state of Oaxaca. The Foundation realizes restorations, the maintenance and conservation of architectural monuments, paintings and sculptures and trains young people in restoration work. The foundation was created in 1992 by Rodolfo Morales. The Octolan railroad station was built along the old Ferrocarril San Jerónimo to San Pablo Huixtepec line in 1906. In 1909, a second platform was built.
A number of important traditions are maintained in the community. The feast of the Virgin of Ocotlán is celebrated on 15 May. Most of the festivities take place on the main square of the town with live music and regional food, especially tamales and atole. The feast of the Señor de la Sacristia is celebrated on the third Sunday in May. One old tradition that is still maintained is a dancing procession to bring the bride and groom their wedding gifts to their new home. However, the most important tradition is the weekly Friday market day (tianguis), which is one of the oldest and largest in the Central Valleys region of Oaxaca. Produce and products from surrounding towns are available as well as manufactured products. Market day is not just buying and selling for rural and indigenous communities, it is a festive ritual which has been held regularly for thousands of years, attracting both locals and families from small outlying villages to both buy and sell. It is an opportunity for many to socialize with distant neighbors. Market day begins very early for both residents and those who travel to the town to sell. Many products such as plants, flowers, fruit, lime for tortillas, live animals, fabric, ceramics, baskets, knives, saddles, hats, rope, alebrijes, traditional footwear and drinks such as mezcal and tejate. Many of the products are the crafts produced by other towns in the Central Valleys region of Oaxaca, such as textiles of Jalietza, and San Antonino Castillo Velasco and the alebrijes of San Martín Tilcajete. Prepared regional specialties are also offered here and the adjacent permanent municipal market. Some of the traditional foods here include several types of mole (negro, rojo, Amarillo, coloradito and more), chichilo, tasajo, tamales in banana leaves and tacos with chapulines (fried grasshoppers). Another favorite is ice cream in flavors such as nut, cactus fruit, guanabana, horchata and others. Sweet breads such as "mamones" "rosquitas" "marquezotes" and coconut tortillas are popular as well. Most of the food products are locally made, including chapulines, animal crackers made with piloncillo and ice cream.