page_title: Encarnación de Díaz
section_title: The town
hierarchical_section_title: Encarnación de Díaz / The town
caption_attribution_description: English: Main hall of the Centro de Estudios Cristeros, Encarnación de Díaz
context_page_description: Encarnación de Díaz is a town and municipality located in the far northeast of the state of Jalisco in north-central Mexico. It is located in a natural pass that connects the Los Altos region of Jalisco to points north, and from pre-Hispanic times until the 20th century, it was a major thoroughfare for north-south travel. The town began as a way station along a road built through this pass in the 17th century, formally becoming a town in 1760. It began to function as a municipality in the latter 19th century, but this status was not confirmed until the early 20th. Transport, along with numerous prosperous haciendas supported the economy of the area until the early 20th century, when travel patterns and the Mexican Revolution spurred its decline. In the 1920s, it was a centre of rebellion during the Cristero War, and the town contains Mexico's only museum exclusively dedicated to this episode in history. It also contains a museum dedicated to various naturally occurring mummies which have been found in the municipal cemetery.
context_section_description: Because of the area's prosperity from colonial times to the Porfirio Díaz period, the town has about 180 constructions with historical value. The main landmarks are the Encarnación parish, the Señor de Misericordia Cemetery, the Municipal Palace, the Jesús, María y José Sanctuary, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe church and the Dr. Pedro de Alba and the Astrónomo Angel Anguiano Limón Library.
  One local custom which is still observed is the closing of businesses on Thursday afternoons. This is done because many businesses are open half day on Sunday. The most important celebration for the year is Candlemas in honor of the image of Our Lady of Incarnation. This extends from 25 January to 9 February with the peak on 2 February. The image is honored with masses, processions, bullfights, cockfights, horse races, parades, cultural events and general fair rides and games. In the homes and restaurants of the area, typical dishes include corn ball soup, tamales, puchero, mole ranchero, pozole, birria, menudo and meat with a chile Colorado sauce. Traditional drinks include pulque, tepache, tejuino, atole and a drink made with cactus fruit. It is said that both John Paul II and the King of Spain have tried the town's sweet bread.
  The center of the town is the main square called the Plaza de Armas. Originally, this spot had a fountain that provided the community's potable water needs. This plaza contains a kiosk in the center, walking paths, benches and trees which have been cut into the shapes of animals.
  Towering over the plaza is the Parish of Encarnación, built-in Neoclassical style in 1791 from rubblework masonry and sandstone. The facade has two bell towers of three levels that contain Tuscan columns and entablatures with decorative scales and vegetative reliefs. These towers are topped by small cupolas. The main portal has two levels with vegetative reliefs topped by crest. This lower level has the main entrance whose keystone contains a cherub. The second level has a choral window and a central niche which contains an image of Our Lady of the Incarnation. There is also a large globe sculpted from sandstone. The interior has a Latin cross layout topped by Gothic vaults and the transept has an octagonal cupola. The main altar is Neoclassical made of marble and contains a replica of the namesake Virgin image. This virgin image is said to the "cousin" of the image in San Juan de Los Lagos. The sacristy has a number of oil paintings and other religious art.
  On the opposite side of the plaza is the municipal palace. This building was constructed in 1759 originally as a royal treasury (casa real). Later it became a municipal jail. After Independence, it was renovated to become the main governmental building. It is Neoclassical in design and it has unique arches in the front, which were roofed in 1834. There is also a mural dedicated to the Cristero War.
  The area was a centre of rebellion during the Cristero War and is home to the Museo Nacional Cristero, dedicated to Captain Efrén Quesada Ibarra. The museum was founded by Alfredo Hernandez Quezada to promote the memory of the conflict. Although born in 1939, ten years after the end of the rebellion, his uncle Efren Quezada was an important leader of the movement. Hernandez dedicated thirty years of his life to the project, recording many of the interviews himself.  It was reorganized and reopened in 2006 with the new official name of Centro de Estudios de Encarnación de Díaz, This museum is the only one of its kind in Mexico. It contains four halls, a projection room and a reading room. It contains over 200 books about this period in Mexico's history, newspapers and magazines from the time, a collection of 2,000 photographs, and over 200 hours of recorded testimony from eyewitnesses.   Other items in its collection include the flag of the first regiment of rebels to take up arms in Huejuquilla El Alto in 1926 and the vest of Anacleto González Flores, a moral leader of the movement from Tepatitlán (since beatified by the Church). The Center has been involved in a number of research proje
caption: Hall inside the Cristero Museum
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