CHIAPA DE CORZO

Historical city situated on the right banks of the Grijalva or Rio Grande, 14 kilometers from Tuxtla Gutiérrez. The stratigic position at the river’s crossing and the meeting point of the central depression of the highlands, favored an early settlement which goes back to 1400 B.C. An Otomangue filiation group, the Chiapanecans, arrived at the place around the year 1000, conquering their neighbors. The Spaniards had a lot of contact with them, first in 1524 when Luis Marin’s expedition arrived and later in 1528 with the entrance of the conqueror Diego de Mazarriegos. After the conquest, Chiapa became a commendatorship and later a direct dependency of the Spanish Crown, for which it received the name of Chiapa of the Royal Crown. In 1821, it joined the independence movement initiated in Comitan and was the site during the XIX century of the great battles between liberals and conservatives. The battle of October 21, 1863, was decisive for the triumph of the Chiapas reform. It was during the governing time of Angel Albino Corzo, in whose honor Chiapa carries its last name.
The first element of the cultural patrimony of Chiapa is its regular trace of geometric configuration, resulting issue of the plans that merged the regenerating urban ideals with the traces of the prehispanic city. The outline of the city generated from the main square, and surrounded by the most excelling urban elements (fountain, chapter of the collegiate church, stores, and temples), converting it into a clear reflection of the social economic system that gave it origin and of the importance of the population, since its was during the first two centuries of the colonization, the most important settlement of the province. Surrounding the plaza are the portals, possibly constructed in the XVIII century, the city hall building and the house of Don Angel Albino Corzo at the northwest angle. Within its perimeter we can find the secular pochota, a sacred tree, which according to tradition, is related to the founding of this city; and the clock tower constructed in the fifties and which tried to imitate the architecture of the fountain.

The Fountain:

This is a building without comparison in the Hispanic American colonial art and a gold brooch of Hispanic Arabian art. Its unique design is not related in any direct form with any Spanish prototype. In accord with the annalist Antonio de Remesal, this fountain "drawn and began by Father Rodrigo de Leon and in his absence was continued by a Spaniard until the year 1562 when water was placed in it…". The fountain not only complied with the function of providing water, but also was a reunion place of the inhabitants of the town, for which it served a double social purpose. Over an octagonal base, a structure rises, forming a central archway over pillars that are sustained by stone arches which repeat the number eight. Octagonal, is as well, the curb-stone situated under the central archway, segmented by nervations. All of the fountain is brick, some of these, cut into a diamond point. The utilization of this material is what gives it a peculiar texture. Constructed in the best of Mohammedan tradition, it unites in a great architectural harmony, derived elements of the Moslem art (octagonal base and brick work), a dome of renaissance inspiration and derived structural elements of Gothic, yet, it is an original building that did not copy or imitate any structures. There is no base for fact, of the version that, it was inspired by the crown of the Kings of Spain. The signs placed on the buttresses do not really inform confidentially, The art critic, Francisco de la Maza, commented that "The great fountain of Chiapa de Corzo, alone, merits a trip to Chiapas".

The Districts:

The same as the tracing of the city, which reused the prehispanic urban experience, the present districts are heirs of the Chiapanecan na’ngotá who were at least eight and whose gentlemen formed the privileged class. Six names of these districts are known with certainty: Cacú, Nbñamoy, Candili, monyholá, Napiniaca, and Shanguti. They coincide in great measure with the present ones. One of the most traditional ones is San Jacinto, where the masks of the Parachicos and Jicalpextles are made. The church of Our Lord of the Miracles, next to a five leaved silk cotton tree, presides the square of the district. Santa Elena is a district that has greatly conserved its traditional architecture.

San Sebastián Ruins:

On the hill of San Gregorio, are the ruins of San Sebastián, XVII century construction, whose existence denotes the economic and demographic importance of the city in the colonial era, since, in other towns, there was only one church. It has a base of three naves separated by archways which were recently collapsed. There still remains standing, its central arch and facade that belong to the mode of painting-facade, with niches between the pillars. In San Sebastian you can perceive Mohammedan, renaissance, and baroque elements. It was the Independence Fort during the battle of October 21, 1863, and from here you can appreciate an exceptional panoramic view of the urban development over the landscape of the Rio Grande.