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Like the other Sierra Gorda missions, the riot of vegetation nearly defies
description as it fills every space between various saints. Tancoyol,
as well as the mission at Tilaco, retains its atrium walls with a chapel
structure in each corner, where outdoor services were once held in a
procession throughout the quadrant.
LEGACY FOR THE FUTURE
Like most early mission churches, those of the Sierra Gorda
suffered extensive neglect and disrepair. The interiors of the churches are
much altered from their original designs, but are preserved in their last
incarnation. The twentieth century saw a few restoration efforts in fits and
starts, but the real preservation of these treasures began in earnest in
the 1980s. The original colors of the painted façades were scientifically
determined and reapplied in 1993. Since being named
Patrimonio de
la Humanidad
by UNESCO, the Sierra Gorda missions have attained
international stature, and are painstakingly repainted every ten years to
keep the colors fresh and bright.
Although they are now covered with netting to protect them from
birds, the sermons in stone still speak to modern pilgrims who make
the effort to follow the footsteps of Junipero Serra to México’s remote
Sierra Gorda.
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ART&ARCHITECTURE
(left) Detail of the ornate
façade at Santiago de
Jalpan.
(above) Interior view of
the cupola at Tancoyol.
(bottom) A lion and
puppy grasp paws on an
exterior finial at Tilaco.