Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient Churches

A 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 Santiago Tilantongo:

Christ
Christ: Ecce Homo
Christ seated in the pretorium
Crucifix 1
Crucifix 2
Holy Week Group (3 santos)
Our Lady of Sorrows (Soledad)
St. James as Moor-slayer 1
St. James as Moor-slayer 2
St. James as Moor-slayer 3
St. James as pilgrim
St. Sebastian
Virgin Mary 1
Virgin Mary 2

Our Lady of Sorrows (Soledad)

Our Lady of Sorrows (Soledad)

Local Name: Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, La Virgen de la Soledad.

Basis for Identification: Black mantle reaching from top of head to floor to form a triangular shape, praying hands.

Other characteristics: Lily in hands. Eyes face forward, not up.

Site: Church of Santiago Tilantongo.

Location: South end of the transept (see note).

Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla, Santa Ana del Valle, Coixtlahuaca, Cuilapan, Ejutla, Etla, Huitzo, Mitla, Teotitlán, Teposcolula1, Teposcolula2Xoxocotlán, Yanhuitlán, Zimatlán.

External Links:
Wikimedia Commons: Statues of Mater Dolorosa

Next: Also in the south transept, a statue of St. James as Moor-slayer

Previous santo

Introduction to Tilantongo

Santos Home Page

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. The "transept" is the part of the building that crosses the nave so that the whole building has the shape of a 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.