Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient ChurchesA study of santos in 16th-century and other churches in Oaxaca, Mexico
By Claire and Richard Stracke Funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. In San Juan Teitipac: Christ
carrying the Cross |
Resurrected Christ |
Resurrected Christ:
Sr. Lopez said that the santo is carried out of the church on Easter and used in a ceremony where the priest blesses butchers and their meat so that the village can eat flesh again after Lent. The whole body seems to be painted. The face is elongated and has small features. The muscles are not detailed. Local Name: El Cristo de la
Resurrección de la Carne. Basis for Identification: Right
hand raised, fingers positioned for the sign of the
cross, left hand away from the body. Other characteristics: No halo, white robe and red cape. Site: Church of San
Juan Teitipac. Location: East wall of the north transept (see note). Media and construction: Wood, gesso, paint, fabric garments. Eyes: glass. Hair: sculpted. Size: About 4 feet (120cm.) Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla, Santa Ana del Valle, Cuilapan, Mitla, Teotitlán, Teposcolula, Yanhuitlán, Zaachila. External Links: Next: Also
in the north transept, a statue
of the Trinity Introduction to San Juan Teitipac Note: On this site, references to the cardinal directions always assume that the main altar is at the east end of the church, the narthex or entry area at the west end, and the two walls of the nave on the north and south. (The nave is the long central section.) Actual orientations may differ. Many churches are built in the shape of a cross; the transept is the area corresponding to the horizontal arms of an actual cross. The photo shown here is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
license. You are free to share or remix it on two
conditions: first, that you attribute it to the
photographers, Claire and Richard Stracke, without
implying any approval of your work on their part;
second, that if you alter, transform, or build upon
this photo, you may distribute the resulting work only
under the same or similar license to this one.
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