Property names are listed in the language in which they have been submitted by the State Party.
This valuable historic complex includes eight XVI-century churches built under the guidance of Dominican friars, whose goal was to evangelise the Zoque people, a culture which was still very much alive, and was heir to one of the most ancient cultures in Mesoamerica. The building project was originally of European design, but it soon acquired local features, and it is therefore one of a kind in Mexican Colonial art. The presence of these churches triggered the development of a school of gilded and painted sculpture. The Convent of Santo Domingo Tecpatan became the most important centre in the region, and is now the focal point of efforts to recover the use of the Zoque language. All eight churches still preserve their roles as spiritual guides for the local population.
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