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For
the Spaniards, conquering the Aztec capital,
Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was only the first of many
battles waged to finally impose their culture on the
inhabitants of those rich lands, which for many years
remained true to their beliefs and traditions.
It took the friars of various orders that
arrived soon after the conquest several centuries’ worth
of blood and patience before evangelizing "almost" the
entire territory now occupied by Mexico.
Even
today, there are several indigenous strongholds
faithfully preserving their traditions just as they
existed in ancient times.
The Colonial period of Mexico is full of
stories that reflect this battle between evangelists and
the conquered: the former, to impose a new faith and the
latter to maintain the worship of the ancient gods;
whether Maya, Mexica or
Purepecha... It's
known that the Indians hid figures of their ancient
deities behind both figures of Christ and images of
saints, in order to thus keep worshiping them, even in
the very presence of the priests.
To evangelize the natives, the
missionaries made use of every possible resource. Take
the case of Fray Diego de Landa, who, in
an auto-de-fé, act-of- faith, burned all
the idols, sacred objects and Mayan
codices in a bonfire that remained lit for three days. This
was undoubtedly
a terrible loss, not only for Mexico but for the whole
world.
But this is not to say that there was
only destruction on the part of the evangelizers. Take
the case of Fray Pieter van der Moere, also known as
Fray Pedro de Gante, who at the Convent of
Acolman called on all the Indians to join a great
play representing the birth of Christ so that they could
all understand the Catholic faith, thus giving rise to
one of the most cherished traditions of Mexico: the
theatrical productions known as Las
Pastorelas.
Over the first decades as a Spanish
colony, New Spain became an example for the rest of the
Spanish cities, due to the devotion with which it
guarded the values of the Catholic faith, but above
all, thanks to the profusion of churches, chapels,
convents and religious hospitals that were built one
after another, all with a dazzling beauty that left
nothing wanting in artistic detail: gold-covered
altarpieces, oil paintings by renowned artists, fine
wood and fabrics, delicately worked figures...
By the 17th century, New Spain was a city whose beauty
rivaled that of any major European city. Cultural
syncretism and wealth gave a unique personality to this
city of wide streets whose layout had still traces of
the former Tenochtitlan, but which
displayed beautiful baroque facades...
It is in this context that one of the most popular
legends of the colonial era in Mexico was born.
Our Lord of the
Poison
The Mexican historian Artemio Del
Valle Arizpe collected in his book, 'Traditions
and Legends of the Streets of Mexico', the
story of two neighbors in New Spain: Don Fermin
Andueza and Don Ismael Treviño,
who were involved in an event that many consider a
miracle and others a legend.
Don Fermin
was a gentleman whose wealth could well have saved him
the trouble of getting up early every day. However,
his devotion got him up every morning before sunrise. Discreetly
garbed in his black cloak, he left his home and headed
to mass. At
the end of the mass he headed back home again, but not
before stopping at a figure of Christ of great stature
bearing a sorrowful expression.
Every day, Don Fermin
deposited a gold coin in the offering plate at the foot
of the image, who’s bloodied feet he humbly kissed. Don
Fermin never missed his morning
appointment. The
neighbors said that this was one of many examples of the
nobility that ruled the gentleman's soul. It
was said that help came generously from his wealth to
aid the poor that sought him out.
Don Ismael Trevino
was equally rich, but his soul was dark and envious. The
good of others weighed heavily upon him, especially that
of Don Fermin Azueta, of whom he felt
deeply jealous. He
took every opportunity to speak ill of him and bitterly
cringed when anyone said something in praise of the
noble lord.
This envy, of unknown cause, moved
Don Ismael to interfere in all of Don
Fermin’s business dealings.
But everything would backfire on him:
Don Fermin overcame every obstacle and was a
successful businessman.
Hatred for the man entered into the heart
of Don Ismael and the day came when he
longed to see him dead. Subjugated
to this evil feeling, he began planning how he could
murder his enemy without arousing suspicion.
After much thought, he concluded that the
best way to get rid of Don Fermin was to
poison him. He
found a man who had the perfect poison: a blue-colored
liquid that did not kill immediately, but rather, after
ingested it would spread throughout the body and after a
few days caused the desired effect. It was painless and
didn’t leave any trace.
Don Ismael
laced a delicious cake with the deadly liquid and sent
it to Don Fermin in the name of a good
friend, the Town Hall alderman.
Don Fermin was very pleased,
and far from imagining the danger he was in, he
immediately enjoyed a piece of cake with his steaming
cup of chocolate...
Eager to know the results of his crime,
Don Ismael followed every step his victim
took. He
waited for Don Fermin every morning in
church and from a distance watched his every move.
Don Fermin
entered the church with the slow majesty which
characterized him. He
greeted everyone as he did every morning and listened
attentively to the priest at mass.
When mass was over, he went to the
worshiped Christ figure and prayed.
Then he knelt to kiss the figure’s feet. He had barely
touched them with his lips when a stain – black as ebony
– spread over the pale figure.
A look of fear and amazement crossed
Don Fermin’s face and that of all who were
near the figure of Christ.
But the one who uncontrollably trembled
with fear and dread was Don Ismael, who
immediately ran to kneel before Don Fermín
and loudly confessed his envy and how he'd planned to
assassinate him.
It was clear that the Christ, in order to
protect Don Fermin, had absorbed the
poison and as evidence, had changed color.
The noble gentleman looked at Don
Ismael and felt compassion. He
softly offered him words of forgiveness and embraced him
like a long lost brother.
Some of the men who had witnessed
everything, wanted to lay hold of Don Ismael,
but Don Fermin stopped them saying he had
already forgotten the offense. Instead, he asked them to
pray with him and thank Christ for saving his life.
Don Ismael
left the church pale and crestfallen. That
same day he left the city and was never seen again.
News of the miracle ignited the fervor of
the inhabitants of New Spain. Since that extraordinary
moment people have flocked to the church to offer
candles and prayers.
One afternoon, some of the candles fell and ignited the
Christ figure. It
was soon replaced by another beautiful figure, black as
well, and was taken to the altar of the Metropolitan
Cathedral in Mexico City's Historic Center, where it
is visited by many faithful to this date.
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