The road, imagination and the desire to know a different place led me to San Andrés Chalchicomula, today Ciudad Serdán, a magical town such as those described by Juan Rulfo, because in any of its narrow streets the curious visitor can run into the white shadow-figure , bearded, hieratic, from Quetzalcóatl, to the kindhearted Father Morelos, or to the brave Creole Sesma brothers or the intelligent and lanky of Jesús Arriaga, “Chucho el Roto”, or that of Manuel M. Flores ...
The origin of San Andrés Chalchicomula is hidden in ancient times. Mammoth fossils have been found in its territory, and some historians of the place affirm that its first settlers could be Olmecs, Otomi or Xicalancas. Through that great valley of Chalchicomula that extends to the slopes of Citlaltépetl, the migrations of the main Mesoamerican ethnic groups passed: Chichimecas, Toltecs, Mayans, Popolocas and Mexica.
In one of the narrow streets of Ciudad Serdán I was fortunate to meet a character who fully satisfied my curiosity to learn and understand the teachings of old San Andrés Chalchicomula: Emilio Pérez Arcos, journalist and writer, a true man of the region who lavished his knowledge on this his adopted land. In that imaginary encounter, he was informed me with plain and simple words the history of this region. He told me about the illustrious people, the archaeological, architectural, sculptural monuments, the painters and writers of past and recent times, and so on.
In one of our conversations, the teacher Pérez Arcos told me: “San Andrés Chalchicomula has two sidereal presences, two stars that point out, mark and illuminate the path of improvement and development: Citlaltépetl and Quetzalcóatl, who, united at the top of the mountain, they also show him how to ascend to his own inner mountain ”.
AN ENIGMATIC FACE IN THE CITLALTÉPETL: QUETZALCÓATL
There are beings in the universal history of peoples that if they have not existed in palpable reality, when they become myths it seems that they are more real than the historical ones. Quetzalcóatl is one of them. The legend, the story of this wonderful being, has created a personality carrying a message of eternity. When myth and life merge, the mythical figure of a being enveloped in a dimension without human measure is formed.
The history discovered and undiscovered of Quetzalcóatl is inexhaustible. He lived in the surroundings of a pilgrim town. He spoke, with his example, of truths hidden in mysteries. He was a priest of a region without human sacrifice, with rites and laws, without errors or mistakes.
Here what happened in Chalchicomula, eastern region of the state of Puebla.
Many years ago came to the valleys and mountains of Chalchicomula (the Pouyaltécatl and the Tliltépetl) a bearded human being, white, tall, with a grotesque face, richly dressed, persecuted, who taught the wonders of nature and the spiritual and physical capacities of man.
Quetzalcóatl (name of this wise man, prudent man and unknown guide in those places), spoke of something as strange as understanding, friendship, good and evil. It also announced events that would occur in the past. It said: “many suns, moons, sunrises, afternoons and nights will pass; other people will come and there will be pains, sufferings, sorrows and joys too; because this is the life of man on earth ”.
At first the inhabitants of the place did not understand him, their eyes and ears were open to other voices; however, with the wisdom received from the gods. Quetzalcóatl knew how to transmit his thoughts so that the presence of man in these lands would flourish, starting with the sowing of corn and the development of his faculties.
At the end of his life Quetzalcoatl was cremated; But before, he had arranged for his ashes to be deposited in the Pouyaltécatl, the highest mountain, where the remains of his beloved father also rested, prophesying his return in the form of a star (the planet Venus). The inhabitants of the place, in memory of this memorable man, called this volcano Citlaltépetl, mountain or hill of the star.
In Chalchicomula, as in many other places, they missed Quetzalcóatl, his walk through the cultivated corn fields, his teachings in artisan work and good government, his ascents to the mountains in search of universal knowledge, his appreciation for the movement of the stars reflected in the so-called ball game, his joy at slipping on the hills and the healing sands, known as the marmajas, his cosmic contemplation from the Tliltépetl (Sierra Negra) ...
At the same time, on the top of the sacred mountain of Citlaltépetl, among perpetual snows, towards the sunset, on the west face, the unmistakable face of the mythical Quetzalcóatl appeared, which from there, from time to time, continues saying: “go higher above, much more, here in this star you will find your own truth, your destiny, knowledge, peace and rest for your body and your spirit, here is my grave ”.
In memory of this imperishable mythical character, the remains of the rulers of the Mesoamerican lands were taken to Chalchicomula to be deposited in mounds (called teteles), scattered throughout the region from where the Citlaltépetl volcano can be seen.
This is the story, the life and the legend of a man immortalized in the Citlaltépetl de Chalchicomula, who inherited work, respect, virtues, understanding and good among men.
BUILDINGS AND PLACES OF INTEREST
The culture of a people is reflected in its archaeological and architectural monuments, they are the legacy of our ancestors. We will collect some of them on this tour:
Malpais Pyramids, known to the town as Tres Cerritos because they stand out from the landscape in which they are located.
Teteles and ball game. In the neighborhood of San Francisco Cuauhtlalcingo there is an archaeological zone that testifies to the presence of Quetzalcóatl: buildings, ball court and tetelles; In the latter, as already mentioned, the remains of the main rulers of the Mesoamerican world were deposited as an offering and tribute to the mythical character.
Cerro del Resbaladero It is said that Quetzalcóatl slid down from its summit, in childish entertainment. The children and adults of San Andrés remember it with joy.
Church of San Juan Nepomuceno: This is a temple steeped in tradition and history. Some of the regiments who arrived in the town on March 6, 1862 rested in it, and thanks to that they were saved from the tragic death that many of their companions encountered when they exploited the Tithe Collection, where they had taken refuge.
Iglesia de Jesús: There you can see beautiful paintings on its walls and ceilings with motifs of biblical passages, as well as oil works by the master Isauro González Cervantes.
San Andrés Parish It is one of the most beautiful temples in the region dedicated to the patron saint.
Colonial aqueduct. Maestro Pérez Arcos points out: “in the foothills of Citlaltépetl or Pico de Orizaba, the springs that supply the precious liquid to San Andrés Chalchicomula have their origin, but to cover the distance that separates them from the city, it was necessary to build an extensive aqueduct, which some eight kilometers from the town had to cross a wide hollow through an arcade. This work carried out by the worthy Franciscan friars consists of two orders of superimposed arches of very sturdy masonry (from the work Los Aqueductos de México en la historia y en el arte, by the writer Manuel Romero de Terreros) ”.
THE GREAT MILLIMETRIC TELESCOPE
And when it seems that all is said, the Chalchicomula region wakes up with great news: the installation for the year 2000 of the Large Millimeter Telescope (GTM), the largest, most powerful and most sensitive in the world of its kind, at the top from the Sierra Negra (Tliltépetl), and dreams of an alpine ecotourism corridor, a city of science, investments in agribusiness and the construction of a higher level technological institute.
This joint megaproject between Mexico and the United States constitutes the most important engineering work at the service of scientific advancement and technological development in Mexico. The GTM antenna will be 50 meters in diameter, with 126 hexagonal cells, and will rise 70 meters above the top of the Sierra Negra, visible from the Puebla-Orizaba highway.
Source: Unknown Mexico No. 269 / July 1999
