• INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
    INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
  • Mauricio Marat
    Mauricio Marat
  • Mauricio Marat
    Mauricio Marat
  • INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
    INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
  • INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
    INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
  • INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
    INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
  • INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
    INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
This sixteenth-century Augustinian monastery built in the Renaissance style boasts remarkable frescos, a collection of pre-Hispanic, viceregal, religious and everyday objects, as well as the remains of Latin America’s first paper mill.

Community center
About the museum

Set in the heart of the Iztapalapa district, this Renaissance-style monastery is a veritable architectural jewel. The magnificent, two-story construction was built out of volcanic rock in 1562 as a the center for the Augustinian friars to carry out their evangelical work. It occupied a prime location on the western slopes of the Cerro de la Estrella (“Huizachtepetl” or “hill of the star”) and on the north shore of the Chalco-Xochimilco lake, on the site of Culhuacan, a pre-Hispanic settlement inhabited, according to archeological studies, between 600 and 800 AD.

The historic monument covers a total area of 2.6 acres and has corridors with frescos that reflect the skill of Culhuacan’s “tlacuilos” or painters; the images are largely well preserved and show scenes from the life of Christ, figures from the Augustinian and other religious orders, as well as episodes from the lives of some saints. The building continued to be used as a monastery until 1756, when the Spanish crown divested power from the religious orders. It was subsequently occupied as a parish church, as barracks for Emiliano Zapata’s troops, and as a local administrative center, among other uses. Later abandoned, it became seriously dilapidated until, in 1944, it was declared a historic monument and the National Institute of History and Anthropology (INAH) set about restoring it. A decision was taken in 1985 to turn it into a museum, with a collection including original objects from the pre-Hispanic and colonial periods.

The first four permanent exhibition galleries were opened to the public a decade later and focused on the former lake region of Culhuacan, its Toltec heritage, Mexica rule, the building’s importance as a religious center, and the early stages of the viceregal period.

Two cells on the upper cloisters (north corridor) were refurbished in 2003 in order to recreate how they looked when occupied by the Augustinians and to install a photographic exhibit documenting the different stages of the building’s restoration. The remains of Latin America’s first paper mill are located a short walk from the monument; this factory was built in order to remedy the paper shortages that delayed the printing of religious publications for the evangelization of the indigenous population.

May 1995
An expert point of view
Hvergelmir Adriana Castor Álvarez
Hvergelmir Adriana Castor Álvarez
Centro Comunitario Culhuacán, Ex Convento de San Juan Evangelista
Practical information
Tuesday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00 hrs

Free entry

  • No Smoking
  • No entry with food
  • Pets not allowed
  • No Flash
Morelos No. 10, Colonia Culhuacán,
Delegación Iztapalapa, C.P. 09800,
Ciudad de México, México.

Nearest metro station: Atlalilco


Services
  • Accesibilidad
  • Biblioteca
  • Estacionamiento
  • Visitas guiadas
GUIDE
Guía
  • +52 (55) 41 66 07 80 al 84
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Directory
Directora
María del Carmen Mendoza Aburto
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+52 (55) 41 66 07 70, ext. 413501
Administradora
Juana Inés de la Fuente Godínez
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+52 (55) 4166 0770 ext. 413506
Comunicación educativa
Adriana Castor Álvarez
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+52 (55) 41 66 07 80 ext. 413505
Vigilancia
+52 (55) 41 66 07 80 ext. 413512
Bola
Colección prehispánica
Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
6812
Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
2267
Huellas del culto a las deidades del agua
Exposición Temporal
2023
2023
26261
Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
2019
17259
Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
2017
14713
Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
158_Ex_Convento_de_Culhuacan.pdf
Ex_Convento_de_Culhuacan_Foto_Mauricio_Marat_INAH
IMG_5856
Mauricio Marat
Ex_Convento_de_Culhuacan_Foto_Mauricio_Marat_INAH_2
Mauricio Marat
IMG_5913
INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
IMG_5963
INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
IMG_6008
INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
176_A_001
INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán
19.3395306,-99.1080136
Texto © CONACULTA.INAH.Centro Comunitario Culhuacán CNME Imágenes © CONACULTA.INAH.Dirección de Medios.Mauricio Marat © CONACULTA.INAH.Fototeca CNME.Gliserio Castañeda
Coordinación Nacional de Museos y Exposiciones
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COM_CCK_Gratuito
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INAH-Archivo interno Centro Comunitario Culhuacán

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