Tzintzuntzan (Spanish pronunciation: [tsin'tsuntsan]) is a town in Tzintzuntzan Municipality located in the north of Michoacán state, 53 km from the capital of Morelia and 17.5 km from Pátzcuaro, located on the northeast shore of Lake Pátzcuaro. It is best known as the former capital of the Tarascan state until it was conquered by the Spanish in the 1520s. Today, Tzintzuntzan is a small town with two major attractions, the archeological site of Tzintzuntzan and the former monastery complex of San Francisco. The municipality contains another important archeological site called Ihuatzio. It is also notable for its festivals, which include the Festival of Señor del Rescate, Day of the Dead celebrations and a cultural event related to New Year's.
History The name Tzintzuntzan comes from the Purépecha language, meaning "place of the hummingbirds". The Purépecha had a god named Tzintzuuquixu, meaning "hummingbird of the south", which, like the Mexica to Tenochtitlán, was involved in guiding the tribe to the Lake Pátzcuaro area. The municipality has a coat of arms which features images of Tarascan kings Tzintzincha, Chiguacua and Chiguangua. It also contains a section representing the Spanish conquest of the Tarascan state in the form of the last emperor Tzintzincha or Tanganxoán bowing before the Spanish Crown and cross, asking to be baptized. The Purépecha were one of the tribes that arrived to the Pátzcuaro Lake area in the 12th century. From the 12th to the 14th century, the Purépecha came to dominate the region with their capital at Tzintzuntzan. In 1400, emperor Tariácuri divided it among his three descendants, Irepan, Hiquingare and Tanganxoán, with each receiving Pátzcuaro, Ihuatzio and Tzintzuntzan respectively. However, Tanganxoán managed to reunify the three, reabsorbing Ihuatzio and Pátzcuaro, returning Tzintzuntzan as the most powerful city in the lake region. From 1450 to 1521, the Tarascan empire was not only able to hold off invasions by some of the Aztecs' most successful emperors such as Axayacatl, Ahuizotl and Moctezuma II, they inflicted heavy losses on invading Aztec armies and continued extending their dominion. In fact, until the Spanish arrival in the 1520s, the Purépecha had not known military defeat. Tzintzuntzan was a large, prosperous city when the Spanish arrived to conquer the area in the 1520s. At that time, it was governed by Tanganxoán II, who was burned at the stake by Nuño de Guzmán in 1529. It was made the first capital city of Michoacán, until Vasco de Quiroga moved it to Pátzcuaro in 1539,(patz) which at the time was considered to be nothing more than a neighborhood of the powerful Tzintzuntzan. Although Tzintzuntzan was given the title of city in 1523, by 1539 it had lost its former splendor and economic importance. With the rise of neighboring Pátzcuaro, this area was all but abandoned. The land here was under the jurisdiction of Pátzcuaro until after the Mexican War of Independence, when it became part of the jurisdiction of Quiroga in 1831. Later, in honor to what it was, Tzintzuntzan was named a "Ciudad Primitiva" (Primitive City) in 1861. The modern town gained municipal status in 1930.
Archeological site
The pre-Hispanic city of Tzintzuntzan extended from Lake Pátzcuaro to the hills just to the east and had a population of between 25,000 and 30,000 when the Spanish arrived in the 1520s. The city lost most of its population after the Conquest, and what is now called the Tzintzuntzan archeological site is only the ceremonial center and is located one km east of the current center of the town. The site is located on a hill that overlooks the modern town and Lake Pátzcuaro. It is situated on a large artificial platform that was excavated into the side of the hill. The ceremonial center contains a large plaza and several buildings known to house priests and nobility, but the main attraction is the five yácatas or semi-circular pyramids that face out over the lake area. This ceremonial center was called Taríaran or "House of the Wind". On each of the yacatas was a temple made of wood, in which the most important rites of the Purépecha people and government took place, including burials, of which about sixty have been found. These are the best known Purépecha yacatas and are considered to be an icon of the region. The first modern references to the yacatas of Tzintzuntzan date from 1855, when it was first identified as the capital of the ancient Tarascan state, but the ruins were not excavated until the 1930s. The Museo de Sitio de la Zona Arqueológica was inaugurated in 1992, with the aim of displaying artifacts found at the Tzintzuntzan site.
Monastery of San Francisco
The main attraction of the modern town is the former monastery complex of San Francisco, which was founded in the 16th century. The complex was designed and initiated in 1530 by Spanish architect (and Franciscan friar) Fray Pedro de Pila. The complex contains the Church of San Francisco, the Church of La Soledad, two open chapels and a large atrium, with much of the building material obtained from the nearby yacata pyramids that the Spanish destroyed. The Church of San Francisco is the first built and still conserves the arch that separates the presbytery from the nave, which was the original portal of the 16th century. Next to this portal is a small open chapel from the same time period. There is a plaque on this open chapel that states that it stands on the site of the first Mass to be celebrated in Michoacán. Inside the Church of La Soledad is the "Santo Entierro", which is a wax figure of Christ displayed in a glass coffin. It is believed (by Mexican folklore) that the arms and legs of this statue are growing. One end of the coffin has an extension added for the feet, with the toes reaching the glass end. Inside the coffin are U.S. and Mexican currency. The cloister area was built mostly in the 17th century, with the walls painted in murals from different eras, as well as a wood relief carving that represents piety. Next to this cloister is a second, larger open chapel with a presbytery and a transversal gallery. The complex's atrium is a large, park-like setting and is named the Atrium of the Olive Trees. This is due to the large gnarly trees that were planted here by Vasco de Quiroga, and supposedly have never borne fruit.
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