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Huejutla in Huejutla de Reyes, Hidalgo, Mexico — The Central Highlands (North America)
 

San Agustín Cathedral and Convent

 
 
Cathedral and Convent of San Agustín Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, March 12, 2020
1. Cathedral and Convent of San Agustín Marker
Inscription.  

Catedral y Convento San Agustín
Huejutla de Reyes


La antigua iglesia y convento de San Agustin, Huejutla, se sitúa en un terreno compuesto por una serie de terrazas elevadas; en la más alta, se levanta el convento. Las otras terrazas van descendiendo de norte a sur hasta confundirse con el nivel de la calle y de la plaza principal. El terreno total, el que ocupan las construcciones y el que estuvo destinado a la huerta, es de forma longitudinal en el sentido norte-sur. La extensión total de la iglesia es de 13,177.23 m.

En cuanto a su ubicación, la construcción colinda al oriente con un elevado cantil que da al rio; al poniente, con la plaza principal, al sur, con una serie de cantiles cortados artificialmente; al sureste, es contigua a otras propiedades; del lado norte, que es el mas bajo, da a pequeños terrenos; y al noroeste, linda con una calle que desemboca en la plaza principal.

Son dos las masas principales de construcción del predio: la iglesia y el convento. La iglesia tiene un eje mayor de norte a sur; sus muros exteriores arrancan en apariencia desde el nivel de la plaza, pero su suelo
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corresponde al nivel más alto del atrio. Consta de una sola y elevada nave que termina en un abside por el sur y de una puerta principal por el norte La iglesia es abovedada, con cañón seguido de muros gruesos con robustos contrafuertes por el lado poniente, donde se ubica la fachada lateral que da a la plaza. Dos puertas en el muro oriental comunican su interior con un bautisterio y una sacristía; una tercera en el muro poniente da acceso a una capilla en forma de un gran balcón cubierto, situado entre los dos primeros contrafuertes de la fachada lateral que tiene un vano con arco apuntado o en ojiva y abarca toda la extensión de dicha capilla. Desde el balcón, se vislumbra toda la plaza; así sus ocupantes podían contemplar las ceremonias. La única puerta de esa fachada principal que da al norte, completamente lisa, tiene la forma de arco de medio punto, lo mismo que los muros restantes. Sobre dicha puerta hay una ventana de ajimez muy sencilla; corona el muro una espadaña con tres arcadas para campanas, rematada por pequeños muros en piñón con una almena cada uno. Los escalonados contrafuertes de la fachada lateral, rematados por merlones pequeños, limitan los paños del muro de las ventanas altas de las ventanas altas en medio punto.

El convento tiene acceso por una puerta más o menos situada a centro del muro de cerca que limita con el atrio por el oriente. Tras ella,
San Agustín Cathedral and Convent Marker second panel image. Click for full size.
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, March 12, 2020
2. San Agustín Cathedral and Convent Marker second panel
una rampa interior conduce al nivel de la terraza sobre la que está edificado dicho convento. Dicha rampa conduce a un amplio patio donde desembocan las puertas y ventanas de la fachada principal del convento, constituida por crujías que rodean a un patio formado de arcadas lisas sobre pilares de sección cuadrada también lisos con pórticos o claustros al norte, oriente y poniente. En el lado oriente, después del pórtico hay una gran sala de dos naves separadas por arcadas lisas. El lado sur, formado por una sola sala alargada comunica con otra crujía compuesta de dos piezas al mismo nivel del resto del convento y con la sacristía de la iglesia, más abajo y al nivel del presbiterio de la iglesia con el cual se comunica.

Del lado norte, después del portico, hay una sola sala casi idéntica en dimensiones a opuesta, y en su extremo poniente una pieza que comunica con otra que debió de funcionar como mirador; con un eje mayor en la dirección norte-sur, todo el lado oriente lo ocupan tres arcadas separadas por robustos contrafuertes con balcones amplios entre ellos que dan al atrio de la Iglesia. Por una puerta situada al norte, esta pieza se comunica con una terraza descubierta contigua a dicho atrio.

En la gran sala de dos naves, situada al poniente del patio, la fachada oriental - reforzada con grandes contrafuertes, entre los que se abren las ventanas que iluminan
San Agustín Cathedral and Convent Marker third panel image. Click for full size.
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, March 12, 2020
3. San Agustín Cathedral and Convent Marker third panel
principalmente - da a un patio o terraza limitada por el oriente con una barda que corona el elevado cantil al lado del río.

En el extremo norte de la misma sala - ángulo sureste del convento, hay tres piezas más, relativamente pequeñas. Por último, el ángulo noreste es una porción de la loma o limitada con las bardas del convento por los lados oriente y sur; por el resto, con los cantiles que dan al río y a otras propiedades.

Las demás terrazas, desarrolladas hacia el norte de la iglesia y convento, están limitadas por bardas que hacia el oriente coronan el cantil que da al río, en gran parte destruidas; por el poniente constituyen la fachada; y por el norte y sur, más o menos destruidas, la subdividen en tres partes a distintas alturas, indudablemente destinadas a huerta en el convento primitivo.

En la terraza central, de varios niveles escalonados, ocupa el centro una construcción compuesta de dos piezas - actualmente destechadas - limitadas por muros de mampostería, pero con una pequeña escalera adosada al muro norte que permite el acceso a esas piezas situadas en la parte más alta de las terrazas.

Cubre todo el edificio del convento una bóveda de cañón seguido sólidamente edificada que arranca a la altura del techo alto de las claves en las arcadas de los pórticos o bien de las situadas en el interior y que separan las dos naves de la gran
San Agustín Cathedral and Convent Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, March 12, 2020
4. San Agustín Cathedral and Convent Marker
sala principal.

El convento, como ya se dijo, tiene su suelo al mismo nivel que el del otro coro de la Iglesia, con el que se comunica por una puerta situada en el pórtico del lado poniente del patio. Oculta en el muro oriental de la Iglesia, hay una escalerilla muy estrecha que comunica el bautisterio con el referido pórtico.

En el año 2018, se llevó a cabo el primer estudio a nivel mundial sobre el uso del Modelado de Información de Edificios (BIM, por sus siglas en inglés) y su vínculo con la valuación de bienes históricos. Este estudio permitió conocer y calcular los materiales con los que está edificada la catedral de Cristo Rey y conocer así su valor histórico. La antigua iglesia y convento de San Agustin, fundado en el año 1545, se constituyó como catedral el 24 de noviembre de 1922. Los materiales utilizados para construir la envolvente de la catedral de Cristo Rey fueron argamasa y otras sustancias orgánicas.

La argamasa usada en la construccion estuvo formada por cal, arena y agua que al secarse, adquiría una gran consistencia. Por su parte, las sustancias orgánicas empleadas fueron la cerveza, baba de nopal, cera de abejas, huevos y su clara, jugos de frutas, gluten, malta, goma arábiga, leche, arroz y azúcar.

La fachada de la catedral de Cristo Rey es predominantemente lisa, con puerta en medio punto, una ventana en ajimez y una espadaña
San Agustín Cathedral and Convent Markers image. Click for full size.
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, March 12, 2020
5. San Agustín Cathedral and Convent Markers
de tres arcos; hacia el poniente lleva contrafuertes escalonados. La catedral cuenta con cerca de cuarenta tipos de muros de piedra, cuyas dimensiones van desde los diez centímetros hasta los tres metros de espesor. La cantidad de material con la que está edificada, de acuerdo con el escaneo, es de 5,985.41 m² de piedra, 338 m² de madera, 3,867 m² de barro, 1,978 m² de impermeabilizante, 2,728 m² de piso, 31 m² de vitral, 76 m² de vidrio y 94 m² de hierro.

El valor histórico de la catedral de Cristo Rey es de $1,079, 466,606.798.

México necesita saber cuáles son sus bienes nacionales porque la cultura es la identidad de todos, puesto que la identidad cultural es un conjunto de valores, tradiciones, símbolos, creencias y modos de comportamiento que fundamentan el sentimiento de pertenencia a un grupo social.
Dra. María Guadalupe Mandujano Rodríguez

English translation:
San Agustín Cathedral and Convent
Huejutla de Reyes


The old church and convent of San Agustin, Huejutla, is situated on land consisting of a series of elevated terraces; on the highest, the convent was built. The other terraces descend from north to south until they are combined with the level of the street and the main square. The overall space occupied by the buildings and that destined for the vegetable garden is longitudinal in the north-south direction.
San Agustín Cathedral and Convent image. Click for full size.
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, March 12, 2020
6. San Agustín Cathedral and Convent
The total extension of the church is 13,177.23 m.

As for its location, the construction adjoins to the east with a high vaulted building that overlooks the river; to the west, with the main square; to the south, with a series of artificially cut ledges or shelves; to the southeast, it is contiguous with other properties; on the north side, which is the lowest, it overlooks a few small properties; and to the northwest, it borders a street that ends in the main square.

There are two main areas of construction to the property: the church and the convent. The church has a major axis from north to south; its outer walls appear to rise from the level of the plaza, but its floor corresponds to the highest level of the atrium. It consists of a single and elevated nave that ends in an apse on the south and a main door on the north. The church is vaulted, with a cannon followed by thick walls with robust buttresses on the west side, where the lateral façade gives out to the square. Two doors on the eastern wall connect its interior with a baptistery and a sacristy; a third on the west wall gives access to a chapel in the form of a large covered balcony, located between the first two buttresses of the lateral façade that has a span with a pointed arch and covers the entire extension of that chapel. From the balcony, you can see the whole square; thus its occupants could
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contemplate the ceremonies. The only door on that main facade facing north, completely smooth, has the shape of a semicircular arch, as well as the remaining walls. Above that door there is a very simple mullioned window. The wall is crowned by a belfry with three arches for bells, topped by small pinion walls with a battlement each. The staggered buttresses of the lateral façade, topped by small merlons, limit the wall panels of the high windows of the high windows in half a point.

The convent has access through a door more or less located in the center of the wall that forms the limit with the court to the east. Behind it, an internal ramp leads to the level of the terrace on which the convent is built. This ramp leads to a large patio where the doors and windows of the main facade of the convent open, consisting of bays that surround a courtyard formed by smooth arcades on square section pillars. There are also smooth porticos or cloisters to the north, east and west. On the east side, after the portico, there is a large room with two naves separated by smooth arches. The south side, formed by a single elongated room, communicates with another bay composed of two pieces at the same level as the rest of the convent and with the sacristy of the church, below and at the level of the presbytery, with which it communicates.

On the north side, after the portico, there is a single room almost identical in dimensions to the opposite, and at its western end a piece that communicates with another that must have functioned as a viewpoint; with a major axis in the north-south direction, the entire eastern side is occupied by three arcades separated by robust buttresses with wide balconies between them that overlook the atrium of the church. Through a door located to the north, this piece communicates with an open terrace adjacent to said atrium.

In the large hall with two naves, located to the west of the patio, the eastern façade - reinforced with large buttresses, between which are the windows that serve to let in light - opens onto a patio or terrace bounded to the east with a wall that crowns the high vault next to the river.

At the north end of the same room – the southeast corner of the convent, there are three more relatively small rooms. Finally, on the northeast corner is a portion of the knoll bounded by the fences of the convent on the east and south sides; for the rest, the cliffs overlook the river and other properties.

The other terraces, developed to the north of the church and convent, are limited by fences that although largely destroyed, to the east crowned the ledge facing the river; on the west they constitute the facade; and to the north and south, more or less destroyed, they subdivide it into three parts at different heights, undoubtedly destined for an orchard in the primitive convent.

In the central terrace, with several tiered levels, the center occupies a construction consisting of two pieces - currently unroofed - limited by masonry walls, but with a small staircase attached to the wall. A small staircase attached to the north wall allows access to those pieces located at the highest part of the terraces.

The entire building of the convent is covered by a solidly built barrel vault that starts at the height of the high ceiling from the keys in the arcades of the porticos or from those located in the interior and that separate the two naves from the main great room.

The convent, as already mentioned, has its floor at the same level as that of the other choir of the church, with which it communicates through a door located in the portico on the west side of the courtyard. Hidden in the eastern wall of the church, there is a very narrow staircase that connects the baptistery with the aforementioned portico.

In 2018, the first worldwide study was carried out on the use of Modeling Building Information (MBI) and its link to the valuation of historical assets. This study allowed knowledge of and the calculation of the materials with which the Cathedral of Christ the King was built and thus information about its true historical value. The old church and convent of San Agustin, founded in 1545, was established as a cathedral on November 24, 1922. Mortar and other organic substances were used to construct the Cathedral of Christ the King.

The mortar used in the construction consisted of lime, sand and water that, when dried, acquired a great consistency. For its part, organic substances employed were beer, prickly pear juice, beeswax, eggs and their whites, fruit juices, gluten, malt, gum arabic, milk, rice and sugar.

The facade of the Cathedral of Christ the King is predominantly smooth, with a semi-circular door, a mullioned window and a steeple with three arches; towards the west it has staggered buttresses. The cathedral has about forty types of stone walls, whose dimensions range from ten centimeters to three meters thick. The amount of material with which it is built, according to the analysis, is 5,985.41 m² of stone, 338 m² of wood, 3,867 m² of clay, 1,978 m² of waterproofing, 2,728 m² of floor, 31 m² of stained glass, 76 m² of glass and 94 m² of iron.

The historical value of the Cathedral of Christ the King is $1,079,466,606,798 (Mexican pesos).

Mexico needs to know what its national assets are because culture is everyone's identity, since cultural identity is a set of values, traditions, symbols, beliefs and modes of behavior that underlie the feeling of belonging to a social group.
Dr. María Guadalupe Mandujano Rodríguez
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: ArchitectureChurches & ReligionColonial Era. A significant historical date for this entry is November 24, 1922.
 
Location. 21° 8.432′ N, 98° 25.181′ W. Marker is in Huejutla, Hidalgo, in Huejutla de Reyes. Marker is on Calle Hidalgo just north of Generales Azuara, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Huejutla HGO 43000, Mexico. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 5 other markers are within 5 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Cathedral and Convent San Agustin (here, next to this marker); Huejutla Monument to the Mexican Revolution (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Captain Antonio Reyes Cabrera (about 120 meters away); Benito Juárez (about 150 meters away); Tribute to Mexican Independence and Revolution (approx. 4.3 kilometers away).
 
More about this marker. Note that the marker uses many specialized architectural terms in Spanish, which the translator has humbly attempted to research and explain in the English translation where possible.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on March 24, 2020. It was originally submitted on March 24, 2020, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. This page has been viewed 148 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on March 24, 2020, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana.

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Mar. 29, 2024