INTERESTING CONFERENCE ON RESTORATION OF SANTA MARIA ACAPULCO

• It is the main ceremonial center of the "Xi` oi "
• The temple was destroyed by fire due to lightning

The area of ​​the Library Arts Center San Luis Potosi Centennial hosted the conference "Santa María Acapulco, emerging architectural restoration," taught by architect Begoña Garay, who is part of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and who has done important work in restoring the church of Our Lady of the Assumption, Santa Maria Acapulco, the municipality of Santa Catarina, San Luis Potosi.

The community, the village inhabited by Pame Xi'oi, worshiped at the temple and imputed almost human personality, as the architect Garay, who gradually was interning in the customs and traditions of the Fames, jealously defending their culture the intrusion of strangers and the model of modern life, typical of some towns and cities.

According to Garay, "we must first understand the magnitude of the loss of tangible item, such as cultural property in general, and as a representative of an entire culture." The main challenge faced by the restoration team was initially tailor solutions to the customs of the people Xi'oi. The next challenge was technical, as they had to resort to traditional technology, which means great difficulty dealing with a project of such magnitude, using the original material.

About life so characteristic of the indigenous group, Garay said: "It is a people who originally was dedicated to hunting and gathering, began to settle until the arrival of the Spanish. The Fames were retreating to inaccessible areas because foreigners occupied the most fertile areas, which made them suspicious, because it showed always hard to defend their beliefs. In fact they are very warm people. Despite following the Catholic rite, it is not a traditional Catholicism, but their rituals retain much of the pre-Hispanic folklore, isolation allowed them to do. "

On the destruction of the temple, the architect says that "the saints and altars were buried and veiled as if they were people," which is explained by their deep religious beliefs. This temple was built in the early seventeenth century and its structural features are unique in the state, as it represents a syncretic product of a culture shock of great magnitude, coupled with the time when this phenomenon occurred.

The restoration and conservation teams were divided tasks always including local people, because, as Garay points out: "it is that they take ownership of new space, they do not want someone to do things. We can not leave them out of a rehabilitation work is just for them, so they can still maintain their traditions, as usual. "