Insider Tips to Antigua Sights: La Merced
Posted on August 28, 2009 - Filed Under Guatemala | 3 Comments
If you’re in Antigua for more than half a day, you are probably going to run into La Merced, the big yellow and white church at the end of the Arch street. It’s a pretty funky place, just looking at it from the outside, but when I went there with my Spanish teacher, many, many years ago, I learned something really fascinating.
The interior of La Merced is vast and airy . . . more open than other churches that I’ve seen around Antigua. There are elegant pilars that fill the main hall, set with mosaics. Or are they?
The next time you are in Antigua and have a chance to go into La Merced, take a closer look at the mosaics. You’ll see that they aren’t actually tiles at all, but thousands and thousands of tiny pieces of paper cut out of magazine pages to create a look that fools almost everyone who walks into the church. I don’t have a picture because they don’t allow photos in the church and it’s so dark you’d need a flash, but trust me, they really are paper!
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3 Responses to “Insider Tips to Antigua Sights: La Merced”
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Can you believe it? Me, the mosaic-lover (and maker) walked past by the place – because the coffee-shop was more tempting… Grr… But on the other hand: another good reason to go back to Guate one day. I’ll just call it “research” Ha!
I’ve been there many times but never knew this – I will definitely inspect it carefully next time! There’s also a beautiful courtyard with what I’ve been told is the largest fountain in Guatemala, but you have to pay a small fee to explore that area.
The fee to get into the ruins is Q5, I think, so less than a dollar. Totally worth it, too. There isn’t much left in there, but the views of Antigua are really great from the broken down terraces.