Known as Mexico’s Sistine Chapel, the Santuario de Atotonilco is a vitally important church in the nearby hamlet of Atotonilco. Located 11 km north of San Miguel, Atotonilco is known for its role in the struggle for Mexican independence. National hero Ignacio Allende was married here in 1802, and eight years later he returned with Miguel Hidalgo and a band of independence rebels en route from Dolores to San Miguel to take the shrine’s banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe as their flag. A journey to Atotonilco is the goal of pilgrims and penitents from all over Mexico, and the starting point of an important and solemn procession two weekends before Easter, when participants carry the statue of the Señor de la Columna to the church of San Juan de Dios in San Miguel. Inside, the sanctuary has six chapels and is vibrant with statues, murals and paintings. The church was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008. It’s free to visit the main part of the church, with its famous frescos, but a small entrance fee is required to visit the side-chapel with depictions of scenes from the Last Judgment.

We will also visit the widely regarded as the finest exhibition and sale of Mexican folk art in the entire country, Galeria Atotonilco which exhibits high-quality folk art from all over Mexico.