Friar Martin de Jesus accepted Don
Alonso's invitation to dine at his casa which is called the "Amatitlan
Hacienda" in the town of Usmajac just 4 kilometers from Sayula, which is
near Colima. The Ceballos Hotel in
Colima has a lot of history. It
sits in front of one of the many churches that
Friar Martin de Jesus built and it is close to Comala, a Pueblo Magico city
that has ancient ruins to view. The province of Avalos was a royal grant
by the King of Spain to Alonso de Avalos. The land grant extended from Lake
Chapala up to Tapalpa and included the two wealthiest towns of Atoyac and
Sayula. The Friars who came to
Mexico in 1530 were selfless and truly charitable. They did not come to
acquire
riches, they came to save souls. They built
churches, convents, hospitals, and water ways via new aqueducts and schools. They taught the
indigenous Indians farming, building techniques as they defended the Indians
from the abuses of the owners of the land grants. They lived simply and
walked everywhere they went. Imagine walking from Lake Chapala to
Tapalpa? Friar Martin de Jesus walked to the Kingdom of Michoacan and
founded a convent by the shore of Lake Patzcuaro and evangelized the kingdoms
west of Michoacan. The Friar founded the church in Ajijic and the building was
completed in 1539. There is so much rich history about our lakeside
villages. A book entitled "Ajijic, 500 Years of Adventures" was compiled
by A. Bateman and N. Bollenbach.
