King of Colima

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.