Adventures |
Legends of Old Convents and Tunnels In Colonial Veracruz |
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A Modern Film and Some Old Maps
Awhile back, I saw the Nicolas Cage movie, "National Treasure" and it made me think about what Veracruz must have been like back in 1776. By that time, Veracruz was a well established bustling port city. Veracruz is a very old city and much of the history has been lost or converted to legends. Legends many times become history, and the history of Mexico is military, political, and religious. Many of these legends have been adorned over the years and are not entirely true. But, some are partially true, and it´s interesting to try to document these legends. |
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Veracruz is a Very Old City
Veracruz is the oldest city in America. Well, at least on the American Continent. When you walk the streets in the downtown area, you can feel it. It is like walking through a vast outdoor museum. On days when there is nothing to do, I like to go visit one of the museums here, and learn more about the past. I especially enjoy looking at the old photographs in the City Museum. |
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Little Windows to the Past
They are like little windows where you can see what the buildings you walk by today, looked like so very long ago. Maybe these are the street scenes my grandfather would have seen when he was a little boy if he had come to Veracruz. I look at the little details captured in the background and realize many of them are still there today. |
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At the Museum
When I am inside the museum, time seems to fade away. Most days there are no other visitors, so I have the museum to myself. As I walk through the museum alone, I look around inside the old building which feels like it must have been an old convent. I wonder what like must have been like in this same room before photography, in the days that Veracruz was part of a province in Spain, one of the major powers of the day. |
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Coffee at Midmorning
Much of the charm of Veracruz is to have your morning coffee in front of a landmark that was started in 1683. It´s where I go each morning to be with friends and talk. Sometimes we talk about life in old Veracruz and what it must have looked like a long time ago. The other morning we were talking about the Nicolas Cage movie, "National Treasure." |
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"National Treasure" It is about the treasure sacked by the Knights Templar when they found King Solomon´s treasure during the Crusades of the 11th Century. Over the centuries, the treasure had been hidden by a select group. Some say, eventually became one of the secret orders of the Masons. Later the treasure was smuggled to New York and hidden from the English. |
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Clues were left as to where it was located, and the film is about Nicolas Cage´s search for
the treasure.
It´s a good film.
The Old Map
The next day, we continued talking about the Nicolas Cage film. One of the guys, said, "Take a look at what I found among some old papers at home." He had an old map of the streetcar system in Veracruz dated 1875 when the protective wall still surrounded the city. |
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The map was a copy and we passed it around the table fascinated by how
the names of the streets had changed.
The Tunnels of Old Veracruz
Another remarked that there were also some very old tunnels in Veracruz that connected all the early churches and convents. However, the city had covered them up because they were considered dangerous and might cave in. Nowdays most people don´t think much about these old tunnels. Many towns in Mexico have tunnels, like the famous ones of Guanajuato where they have real mummies on display. |
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Old Rumors
For years, I had heard legends that Veracruz also had tunnels, Even in the small towns and ranchos around Veracruz, I had heard the same stories. In the old days, Veracruz was still a walled in city, and Fort Santiago was the only fort left in the downtown area. Where we were sitting having our morning coffee used to be the beach in front of the old fort. |
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Something Strange
Then I noticed something strange. It was the large number of churches and convents for a city of 10,000 people. The people of the tropical coasts typically are not overly religious. I asked the owner of the copy of the map for permission to mark the churches and Convents. There seemed to be too many churches sprinkled all over the little town. |
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To the Archives
It was a rainy day, and a good day to spend at the library. So I went around the corner to the State Archives to talk to some old friends. I wanted to find the names of each of the churches and convents, and look for information about how they might be connected. By 1776, Veracruz was a bustling city and the richest treasure in the history of mankind had passed through the port on its way to Spain, the richest empire in the world at that time. My friends pointed me in the right direction and I sat down at one of the tables with several of the many books about the history of Veracruz. |
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A State of Mind
I knew what I was looking for. First of all, I needed to find out more about the churches and convents in Veracruz. Although I didn´t tell anybody, I felt like Indiana Jones doing research for a big project. Later the rain stopped, and I went up the street to the City Museum where they had some more information about the old days when Veracruz was a Spanish colony. |
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1. Two Local Parishes |
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Two Local Parishes
On the old map, as I filled in the names, the old city of Veracruz came to life. There were only two local churches: the Iglesia de la Parroquía (now the Cathedral of Veracruz), and La Pastora, which served the north side of town. This sounded about right for the size of the population of those days. Curiously La Pastora was located at the Gate to the Camino Real to Mexico City. |
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Final Prayers for the Trip
I guess it was for people who wanted to say some final prayers for safety on the long gruelling trip on horseback, on foot. If you were wealthy, you could go in a sedan chair. Still, it must have been a rough trip in those days. Just outside the South Gate to the Wall, is the small Iglesia del Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje. It dates from the 16th Century, and is the second oldest church on the American Continent. (It´s not on my map.) |
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The Rest of the Churches
The rest of the church buildings and convents for these religious orders in Veracruz in those days are now used for other activities, such as local businesses, government offices or museums. This is because all church property was taken over by the Mexican government in 1857, by presidential decree of Benito Juarez. Later in 1867, these properties were given to people as payment of debts to the government. These were mostly generals in his army that helped him defeat the French armies under Maxmiliano the Hapsburg Archduke. Next was the mystery of the rest of the churches and convents. |
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2. The Bethlemites |
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Bedlam in New Spain
Each religious order was distinguished by the service it provided. The Bethlemite Order was founded as a hospital order for the poor in New Spain in the 1600´s in present day Guatemala City by the brother don Pedro de San José Betancur, affectionately called, "Hermano Pedro". In 2002, he was proclaimed a saint by Pope John Paul II. There were 11 of these hospitals in different parts of the province of New Spain. |
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"Bethlemite" somehow sounds like the word "Bedlam", a hospital for the mentally ill in London founded in 1247. In London, it was finally closed in 1997. I wondered if the Betlemitas had any connection with Bedlam in London. |
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Built in 1748
It all began on January 1, 1738, with the founding of a religious order in Veracruz called "the Cofradía de Lacayos y Esclavos Españoles del Santísimo Sacramento" by Don Gaspar Saénz Rico, a wealthy local merchant and businessman who was designated as its "protector". The order consisted of 31 of the main citizens of Veracruz who owned coaches. |
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One day per month they would serve as coachmen to take the Holy Sacrament to the ill or homebound. Don Gaspar served on each 6th day of the month. At the same time he founded the order, Don Gaspar dedicated the proceeds from his three haciendas, Joluca, Novillero, and Paso de Toro whose administration he left to the city council of Veracruz. Later in 1748, the Bethlemite Hospital in Veracruz was built. |
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Later in 1844, it became the Hospital de San Sebastian, and in 1915 its name changed to the Hospital Aquiles Serdan. It was also a maternity hospital for some time. Today it is occupied by the Instituto Veracruzano de Educación y Cultura (IVEC) for cultural and art exhibits. It´s one of my favorite places to go in downtown Veracruz to relax. |
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3. The Mercedarios |
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Convento de la Merced
Built in 1608 near the South Gate. Many of the "mercedarios" operated schools and orphanages. The convent no longer exists and about all that is left in the middle of the block is the Café de la Merced. I was told that by the 19th century the old church has been abandoned for a long time, and was in bad condition. An office supply store now occupies the spot where the Convento de la Merced used to be. |
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4. La Compañía de Jesús |
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La Compañía de Jesús
These are the Jesuits. Their service was teaching and schools. It is now owned by a brewery, and is used as their downtown warehouse. |
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5. The Dominicans |
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The Dominican Convent
Most people never pay attention to it but, nestled among the parked cars downtown is the Convento de Santo Domingo. I guess it´s because it´s always been there. They were also known as the Dominicanos. Santo Domingo is credited as having written the Rosary. |
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The Eighth Wonder of the World
The Eighth Wonder of the World is the church of Santo Domingo in Puebla, and the Chapel of the Rosary. The interior of the church is elaborately covered with gold leaf, and the chapel of the Rosary is covered with silver. To attend mass on Sunday nights at this church in Puebla and listen to the rosary is a magnificent experience even if you aren´t too religious. The Dominican Order must have been very wealthy. |
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La Plazuela de la Campana
Behind the Dominican Convent is a small plaza called La Plazuela de la Campana. It is said that the bell ordered for the church was too heavy to be lifted with the technology of the day, so it was placed in a small plaza behind the church. The present bell is dated 1895, and the original bell is no longer there. On Thursdays, people come here to dance El Danzón. |
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6. The Order of Loreto |
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El Hospital de Loreto
On my map, dated 1875, the Hospital de Loreto is listed as the Military Hospital. Today it is empty and abandoned, except for Army guards who still watch over the place. On other maps of Veracruz, I found that it was a hospital founded by the Order of Loreto. I wondered about the Order of Loreto which was better known for their missions in early California, and wrote to my friend Carmen Boone who knows a lot about Jesuit history in colonial Mexico. |
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Carmen Boone´s Reply
As such, there never was an "Order of Loreto", and the capital of Jesuit California was called (in full extent), Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto-Conchó; the Presidio de Loreto (in short), was the garrison of Las Californias, commanded by a Captain who answered directly to the Father Superior of the Missions (1697-1767). He and his troops were paid by the Jesuit Procurator at Loreto, from proceeds of the Pious Fund, the Fondo Piadoso de las Californias. |
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After the Expulsion
Naturally, things changed after the expulsion (of the Jesuits from Mexico in 1767), when the Crown confiscated the haciendas of the Pious Fund, took full control of the military in the peninsula and ordered the march to Alta California (1769). Our Lady of Loreto, whose main sanctuary, magnificent basilica enclosing the "Santa Casa de Nazareth", is in the Marches of Ancona, central Italy, overlooking the Adriatic Sea. |
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The Jesuits and Loreto
Jesuits, an order in its beginnings, were given charge of the sanctuary in 1554, to establish a College for Croatian students, and thus Jesuits held Virgin of Loreto as one of their special Marian devotions. To to this date, it is the destination of thousands of pilgrims, round the world, seeking restoration of their health. |
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The Hospital in Veracruz was founded in 1616
In view of this, it is not surprising that surgeon Pedro Ronson, a Croatian surgeon living in Veracruz, in his will, 1616, left a good part of his fortune for the founding of Hospital de Loreto. In the photos where you wrote "Convento de Loreto", you should change to "Hospital de Loreto" (for needy women), as it was not a convent but hospital funded by a private donor, was administered by a civilian board, and medically attended by friars of San Hipólito, who also gave religious service at the annex church of Loreto. Obviously, the Brothers had a separate section of the building complex for their private living quarters. Yet, we must think of it as an active hospital, not as conventual seclusion. |
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7. The Franciscans |
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Convento de los Franciscanos
One of the first orders in Mexico were the Franciscans. It was founded by the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross. They began their work when they arrived in Antigua in 1522, when this was the location of Veracruz. This order worked with converting the Indians of Mexico to Christianity. Eventually they became a very large order. Around 1600, the official port of Veracruz was changed from Antigua to its present day location. |
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Good Location
It covered the whole block from Zaragoza to Independencia. It is said, the first buildings were made of wood, and burned to the ground 3 different times between 1606 and 1618. The Chapel of the Third Order The convent was located about one block from the location the only wharf in town until 1902 when the new port area was innaguarated by Don Porfirio Díaz. Up the street from the lighthouse on the corner is a beautiful chapel that is the present day location the first Masonic Lodge in Mexico. It was originally founded by the Universidad de Mareantes de Sevilla, which means the University of Seafarers. In 1871, a lighthouse was built, and during the first part of the 20th century, it became the public library. |
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The Old Franciscan Convent
Each time I go downtown to check the mail in the old post office, I drive by the "Old Franciscan Convent". In my mind, it is still the old convent. One day, I am going to have to stop and take a look inside to see if the old fountain is still there. |
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The Masons in Mexico
Over the centuries, the Masons have been a source of controversy. Perhaps it was because at one time they were a secret society because of the politics of those days. Many times I had passed the Masonic Lodge in Veracruz and didn´t think much about it. It was just another old building. In September, the patriotic month in Mexico, it is festooned with the national colors. The Masonic Lodge in Veracruz is the first Masonic Lodge in Mexico, organized by Don Benito Juarez himself. |
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The Different Rites
In reading a lot of the old history, it seemed like everyone was a Mason in those days. In the early years, there were many different rites. The Lancasterian, Yorkian, Londonian, and Scottish Rites are among the names I´ve seen. Over time, the Scottish Rite prevailed. |
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An Interesting Possibility
Although in the early years, the Masons were secret societies, and the first formal Masonic Lodge in Mexico was organized was founded by Don Benito Juarez in Veracruz in 1857. Later, this side chapel of the old Franciscan convent was purchased by the Masons when it was private property after the nationalization of church properties in the times of Benito Juarez. It was then that I thought about the Nicolas Cage movie, and how in the film the treasure of the Knights Templar was stored in the basement of an old church. None of this is probably true, but sometimes I still wonder. |
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The Tunnels of Veracruz |
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How They Were Connected
Once again, I looked at the old map, and got out a blue pencil and tried to find a link to all the convents and churches in early Veracruz. It was like connecting the dots, with some odd sized blocks where it looked like a fountain might have been. What they had in common was the religious nature of their organizations. They also looked for security and safety in an unstable province of Spain that was plagued with fear of bandits and pirates. |
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The Franciscan Convent was closest to the only wharf in town where it would have been
easy to unload merchandise for their needs. And maybe there was contraband.
During 300 years of existence, anything is possible.
The Truth about the Tunnels
Next, I went back to the Archivo Historico to talk to my friend about the evidence I had compiled. "Your theories sound quite possible, and the truth is yes, there are probably some old tunnels under the city of Veracruz, but I think they were part of an old aqueduct system built in 1723 to bring safe water to the town." He brought out an old book about the water supply system in Veracruz. |
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An Old Aqueduct System
It said that by the 1720´s, the water supply in Veracruz had become unsafe. At that time, the Viceroy brought in Friar Pedro de Buzeta to build an aqueduct system to bring fresh water from the Laguna Vergara to convenient places within the city. Fr. Buzeta proposed and built a system of 12 fountains connected by a buried aqueduct. To finance the project, the article said he collected contributions of 2 pesos for each person living at the convents and monasteries in Veracruz. At that point, I redrew my map with the blue pencil. The need for a good water system where people could come from their homes with jugs to fill with water was only logical. I realized this was another legend that had been adorned with mystery over the years. |
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An Anonymous Plaque
Many times you can walk past a place and never notice something. That was the case with a certain plaque that I´d never paid much attention to. One day I was talking to a friend about the tunnels of Veracruz. She said, "You know there is a plaque near the Zocalo that mentions Fr. Buzeta and the fountain system he designed and built." "I think it´s near the corner of la Calle Mario Molina and the Callejón del Portal de Miranda. The next time you are down that way, you might take a look." A couple of days later, I was down on the Zócalo and decided to see if I could find it, and take a closer look. This is what I found. The plaque confirms Fr. Buzeta´s design and construction of the aqueduct system in Veracruz in 1723-25. |
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"Esta fuente y cañería la hizo Fray Pedro Buzeta del Or- den de N(uestro) P(adre) S(an) Francisco llevando por Maestro Patrón y Protector al glorioso S(an) Antonio de Padua a expensas Solicitud y Cuidado de esta Mui Noble y Leal Ciu- dad Vecinadario y de sus Governadores Coronel Don Antonio de Peralta y Córdoba. Se empesó año de 1723 y se acavó el de 1725." |
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The Charm of Veracruz is its Colonial History |
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From the Gran Hotel Diligencias
Awhile back I was doing research for a magazine article about the Hotel Diligencias and was taken on a tour. From the 4th floor on a clear day, the view of the skyline of the downtown area and the port of Veracruz in the distance is spectacular. As I gazed out across the Zócalo towards the Fort of San Juan de Ulua, I tried to imagine what the view must have been like 400 years ago. The Blazing Red Cross The sailing ships at anchor at the fort, and some with the blazing red cross of the Knights Templar came back into my mind. The first convents and monasteries in Veracruz began around 1600 and independence was in 1810. |
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Many Ships
200 years is a long time, and many ships have been anchored at the anchor rings of Ulua. Then I reasoned, that the ships that came to Veracruz, weren´t empty. They carried products such as wine, olive oil, and cattle from Spain to trade. They also carried stones and other heavy things to use as ballast for the stability of the galleon. |
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Lenient Security
Over the years, probably security wasn´t very tight. It was reasonable that contraband could have been carried in small amounts as ballast Later it could have been taken bit by bit in a small rowboat the short distance across the bay to the small wharf at the village of Veracruz to be hidden away in one of the convents. At the same time, religious articles packed in boxes were probably duty free and weren´t inspected too closely. Plus the Santa Inquisición was powerful in those days. A customs inspector would want to risk excommunication, or worse. There will still too many clues left to unravel about the final destination of the treasure of the Knights Templar. Then maybe again, the tunnels of Veracruz were part of an old aqueduct built by Friar Pedro de Buzeta in the 1720´s. |
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But, maybe that came later after the original tunnels were built.
La Isla de los Sacrificios
The Island of Sacrifices was discovered on the first Grijalva expedition in 1518 or 1519. Although it was uninhabited at the time, the name was given because of the human bones found there. It was thought to be an ancient Indian ceremonial place. Several new 5 star hotels have been built along the beach in front of the island. |
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Back to Work
The fountain at the Hotel Fiesta Americana is beautiful on a sunny day. The other day, while waiting for some business associates to arrive, I looked at the fountain in front of the hotel and remembered Friar Pedro de Buzeta and his water system project. For a moment, I realized he didn´t have electric pumps to help him. At this point, I realized all this was a daydream, I need to go back to work and leave this project for another day. There are so many unproductive projects to do when you live in Veracruz. |
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The Real Treasure
Now when I walk the streets of downtown Veracruz, and see one of the old convents, I remember the treasure of the Knights Templar and the Nicolas Cage film. Then I realize the real treasures of Veracruz are in the legends and stories of the old people told to their children. The Nicolas Cage´s story is not true, but it´s still fun to talk about and dream about a centuries old lost treasure story. These are some of the stories we talk about each morning over coffee in front of the Baluarte Santiago. |