Cholula

The Place:

Cholula consists of two municipalities in Puebla, San Andrés Cholula and San Pedro Cholula, both located very close to the Popocatépetl volcano. It was designated a Magical Town in 2012, and its main attraction is the Great Pyramid of Cholula with the Church of the Remedies at its summit.

Another major attraction is the former convent of San Gabriel Archangel, one of the oldest in Mexico, dating back to 1552 and built over the ruins of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl in a neoclassical style.

Additionally, the Guerrero Portal, located in the center, features 46 arches, an architectural detail from the colonial era, built in 1573, and is the longest in the country.

My Journey:

I traveled to Cholula in 2018 with the intention of studying for my master's degree in electronics at INAOE, which is just a 20-minute walk from the center of San Andrés Cholula. I didn't have much money, and I had never traveled or lived alone before, so I had no idea what to do or what to bring.

Before I left, I researched a lot on how to get there, rented a small, budget-friendly room near the center, and prepared a huge suitcase with absolutely all my belongings, because there’s nothing more inexperienced than bringing a bunch of things you don’t need...

A little before my departure date, I checked the bus schedules and discovered that there were no direct departures to Puebla, forcing me to make a stop in Pachuca, Hidalgo, which wasn’t too serious. The day before, I bought my ticket to Pachuca, scheduled for 4:00 A.M, packed my giant suitcase, loaded what I could of non-perishable food that I snatched from my house into another backpack, had a light dinner, and nervously waited for the time to leave because I could barely sleep due to my nerves.

When the time came, my dad offered to take me to the bus station. We went and waited for an elegant delay of almost 40 minutes for the bus; upon arrival, I said goodbye, loaded my 20 tons of luggage, and departed. After many hours of traveling and without food, I arrived at the Pachuca bus station, which was quite small, and hurried to buy my next ticket to Puebla, which was about an hour later. I was hungry, sleepy, and had a cumbersome suitcase that made it difficult to move around in search of something to eat within my budget ($0).

Once again, it was time to leave; I boarded my bus, and after more long hours of travel and hunger, I arrived at the 'CAPU', a monstrous place with a thousand departures and a sea of people (for me at that moment). I had read which exit to use and that from there, some red buses headed to Cholula. After 20 minutes navigating the CAPU, I finally found the unfortunate buses, which I must mention fill up quickly, and with my massive suitcase taking up half the aisle, the journey was quite complicated, circling around the center of Cholula, but I finally managed to get off where I needed to, and now had to walk another 5 blocks to the room I rented online, which I didn’t even have photos of.

Upon arriving, the landlady told me she was busy with an event and that I should wait another half hour... at that moment it was already around 5:00 P.M., but having no other options, I waited. Around 6:00 P.M., my landlady finally appeared, we entered the house, and it turned out that was where she also lived, but she had adapted the first floor to create two rooms separated only by 'walls' of macopan. Access to the kitchen was restricted, and there wasn’t even hot water, but well, it was the cheapest I could find...

Hungry, tired, and it was getting dark, the only thing I could do at that moment was sleep until the next day. In the morning, a bit disoriented from not having eaten yet and with a truly limited budget, I decided to go out in search of a supermarket to buy things that didn’t require refrigeration or cooking. This took me to the outskirts of Puebla, walking 30 minutes one way and another 30 to return, now carrying a bunch of low-quality and low-nutritional value food. I ended up eating something around noon, my palate hurt a lot from the lack of food, and I felt weak—it was nothing like a weekend of fasting to kickstart the preparatory course on Monday!

I started the preparatory course, walking back and forth to save on transportation, having very sparse meals, and poorly studying with the energy I had left.

Thus, 3 weeks and 10 kilos lighter later, I decided to move to another room with better conditions where I could cook, take a hot shower, and have more privacy. I stayed there for another month and a half, and after being rejected from the program and nearly out of money, I had to return.

Although it may seem like a story full of failure and setbacks, honestly, that experience made me appreciate many things I had before leaving. I truly learned the value of money, the effort required to achieve what we want, like living alone and being self-sufficient.

History:

The first traces of settlement in the area date back over 500 years before our era, but it was not until the 2nd century B.C. that the first great pyramid was built, simultaneously with the Sun Pyramid in Teotihuacan, approximately 120 meters on each side at its base.

As it became an increasingly important sanctuary and economic center, a second great pyramid was built measuring 170 meters on each side and nearly 45 meters in height. Years later, an additional structure was attached to the west side of the pyramid along with a staircase over 15 meters high.

Subsequently, an even larger pyramid was constructed over the second great pyramid and all its surroundings, measuring 400 meters on each side and 65 meters tall, making the great teocalli, dedicated to the god of water or rain, the largest in the pre-Hispanic world.

At the end of the 8th century, many of the great cities of Mesoamerica suffered wars and calamities, and the crisis accelerated due to an eruption of the Popocatépetl volcano, which caused looting and destruction in the city, leading to its subsequent abandonment [1].

The Sinister Side:

Shortly after, survivors and invaders built a new ceremonial center where the main square of San Pedro Cholula now stands, regaining all the lost splendor. It was here in 1519, where Hernán Cortez and his army, upon receiving a supposed report of treachery from the Cholultecas ordered by Moctezuma, ordered a military attack against the rulers, priests, and the unarmed civilian population that lasted between 3 and 4 days, and according to Cortez's official historian, left 6,000 dead; however, the magnitude of the massacre seems to exceed the thousands. This event is known as 'The Cholula Massacre' [2].

References:

[1] https://mediateca.inah.gob.mx/repositorio/islandora/object/guia%3A258

[2] https://www.noticonquista.unam.mx/portada/semanal/1764