By Natalie Taylor
What is the oldest piece of art in our city? I am speaking of an individual piece of art, setting aside architecture. It appears that this honor may go to the statue of Señor de la Conquista—the Lord of the Conquest, displayed in its own cubicle in the Parroquia de San Miguel. Toward the front of the church, on the wall of the left apse, hangs a statue of Jesus on the cross. It is artistically done, with well-executed facial features, and realistic proportions. You might assume it is one of many similar statues you find in any church. But there are two distinguishing factors—its age, and the technique used in its execution.
The sculpture is almost life-size, and were it made of wood, plaster, let alone granite, its weight would be considerable. Instead, it only weighs approximately 12 pounds. The material from which it’s made is unique, perhaps one of its kind in the world, and goes back to pre-Hispanic, Aztec culture. Aztecs carried their deities to battle, which meant the images needed to be lightweight. The indigenous people of Michoacán developed a special technique. They gathered dry corn stalks, bound them with a glue from certain orchids from the region, and allowed the mass to solidify over a period of several months. The result is an aggregate that can be sculpted, colored, and polished.
The figures are made of a hollow wire frame, with the sculpted corn mass used for the head, extremities, and visible portion of the body. I visited one such workshop in Patzcuaro, and the master craftsman, Juan Jose Martinez Reyes showed, and explained how he creates the figures. Once the sculpture is completed, organic dye is used to simulate skin color, and finally the entire sculpture is polished. This last part is perhaps the most demanding. The varnish is made of chia oil, and native worms from the mountains in the area. It is applied by rubbing with the soft part of the palm, a process that takes hours, and often results in broken skin, and bleeding of the artist’s hands.
The Lord of the Conquest was most likely created in Patzcuaro, in the workshops of Matías Cerda. Cerda arrived in New Spain around 1538, 17 years after Cortez defeated Montezuma and the evangelization of New Spain began in earnest. The technique used for crafting statues such as the Lord of the Conquest, had been used for a very long time by the Aztecs. Cerda adapted this to European imagery, instructing the Purépecha people of the region to create Christian images that could be placed in churches.
It was just such figure that was commissioned by the parish church of San Miguel el Grande, in 1574. Two Christ figures were sculpted and brought in, one destined for San Felipe and the other for San Miguel. Two Franciscan friars, Pedro Doncel and Diego de Burgos headed the group, accompanied by a small retinue of Spanish soldiers. They were very close to their destination, when they were attacked by a group of Chichimeca warriors who were intent on protecting the independence of their native land. The military escort was insufficient, and the two friars and many soldiers were killed. One wounded soldier reached San Miguel, asked for help, then collapsed and died. .
At this point, the story gets blurred, yet somehow the sculpture eventually ended up in San Miguel. One can only imagine the negotiations that may have taken place for the Chichimecas to release it. The ancient statue remains in the Parroquia to this day. The two friars’ final resting place is in the San Rafael Church, also called la Santa Escuela.
The statue used to be taken out during the Señor de la Conquista annual festival, in early March, but this was stopped several decades ago to protect it from the elements. Currently, the statue is only moved from its place to the church altar during the festivities, and the loin cloth is changed to a purple color.
There is another ancient sculpture in the city, the Ecce Homo figure displayed in the Parroquia. This sculpture is made of wood, and it may be contemporaneous, or may even predate the Señor de la Conquista, but I will presume the latter to be the oldest because it actually has a historical date—1574. In a future article I will relate the story of the Ecce Homo sculpture; it is just as interesting as this. Natalie Taylor: BA in English Lit and Journalism, Loyola University, Chicago, 1995. MFA in Creative Writing, Vermont College, Montpelier, VT, 1999. Published writer, editor, journalist, translator, Spanish teacher in the US, English teacher in Buenos Aires, Argentina. www.natalietaylor.org Contact: tangonata@gmail.com
