In addition to its impressive natural beauty and its very useful hanging bridges, Oxolotán has the only colonial vestige of Tabasco: the former convent of San José.
It is believed to have been built in the 1550s to 1560s by the Franciscan fathers; later it was abandoned by them and passed into the hands of the Dominicans. At that time Oxolotán was a Zoque population (Mayan group that called itself “o de put” or “men of their word”, or in other terms, “the real ones”, “the authentic ones”) of approximately 2000 inhabitants.
In the middle of the 18th century it was the population with the most inhabitants in the state of Tabasco, but due to unknown diseases in New Spain, such as black pox, and the overexploitation of the indigenous people, the population was declining until the beginning of the 19th century it already had fewer than 500 inhabitants.
To one side of the church is a museum where pieces that belonged to the temple are exhibited. Oxolotán is located 85 km from Villahermosa on highway no. 195.
Source: Aeroméxico Tips No. 11 Tabasco / Spring 1999
