The Pueblo You Might Miss

A link to a photo album of the community of San Pedro Martir, has more shots of the church referenced in this post. 

Most of the tourist information you see online about #Tlalpan, a delegation south of the City center, focuses on the historic center, with a lovely plaza and large church. The area has been a crossroads for people and commerce since pre-Hispanic times, and the current #SpanishColonial vibe makes it certainly worth a visit, but the real jewel in the area is the small Church of San Pedro de Verona Martir in the nearby pueblo of San Pedro Martir.

It is one of the prettiest churches I've seen and I've seen many all over the world. It was built by the #Spanish and has been beautifully restored, with gorgeous tile interior.  Sergio talked to a man whose father was the "tesoro", or tithe collector, he said a former cemetery next to the church was moved to make space for a new sanctuary (not at all attractive but yes, more spacious) and large shady plaza walled off from the busy streets beyond. We were in the area to attend a meeting about community agriculture. The meeting was held in the sala of a nearby picturesque old cemetery (panteon) that is its own story to be told soon. 

The area used to be rural and is home to several small old pueblos, including this one, that were swallowed up by Mexico City in the mid 20th century. For a cluster of these communities, the city recognizes a certain degree of autonomy based on a traditional form of self-rule based on indigenous customary law  inherited from their pre-Spanish ancestors.

For centuries the mountains and forests have attracted wealthy people wanting a country hacienda and bandits wanting a hideout. This is still the case, as rising prices, remodels and new construction co-exist alongside drug running and illegal logging violence that occasionally spills down from the mountains, along with water feeding wells supplying 70% of CDMX's fresh water. ​

• source: wiki and me **********************
• Church of San Pedro de Verona Martir
• Enseñanza s/n, San Pedro Mártir,
• Tlalpan, 14656 Ciudad de México, CDMX
• link to google map:
• https://goo.gl/maps/zpokmyjErQK2

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