Ixmiquilpan

Ixmiquilpan lies in the Mezquital Valley, an Otomí region north of the Basin of Mexico. The Tula River runs through the town, which stands on a route toward the drier northern country. Its Augustinian church of San Miguel is especially remarkable for murals that combine European ornament with images of Indigenous warriors and fantastic beings.

Construction of the church and convent began in 1550. In the later sixteenth century Indigenous painters filled the nave with scenes of combat: figures dressed as jaguar and coyote warriors carry pre-Hispanic weapons among creatures derived from several artistic traditions. The murals have been read in connection with the frontier wars of New Spain and the participation of Otomí communities. In 1655 a bridge over the Tula River joined the town to the settlement on the opposite bank.