Day 7      1/17/2024

Campeche, MX

Frank's Trip

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'Green Gold' and more of Campeche...

Agave sisalana is cultivated in this area and Yucatan in general. This particular variety of agave is used for its sisal fibers which are, in turn, used to make cord and rope. In the past colonization era when the only ships were sailing ships and used lots of rope, this area got wealthy on the agave plant and the manufacture of sisal rope. This 'Green Gold' was exported to the world. Today there is some revival of the industry as alternative to plastics are sought. The influence is seen especially in Merida with the many luxurious mansions built there with agave money - many of which have been restored or maintained.

Parroquia San Francisco de Asís / Iglesia San Francisco

The Church of San Francisco, is the oldest monument in the city of San Francisco de Campeche, founded in 1546. In this enclosure, in the part that now corresponds to the atrium, the friar Alonso González officiated, on March 22, 1517, the first mass on dry land in America. Likewise, Jerónimo Cortés was born in the convent of this church, grandson of the conquistador Hernán Cortés and son of the second Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca, Martín Cortés. Likewise, the temple and convent of San Francisco has played a transcendental role in the historical life of Campeche. In its beginnings it was a Franciscan main seat, the starting point of the first evangelizing missions of the 16th century in the peninsula.

The convent, apart from being a spiritual fortress for the militant church, was also a defensive fortress against pirate attacks. The main facade consists of a door with a semicircular arch and a roofed gate; It has a choir window with a wooden railing and a belfry with two ogee bodies. Its interior has a single nave roofed with a continuous barrel vault with logs and supported by four arches. The main altar was built in the 40s of the last century.