La Crucecita, is the heart of the small city of Huatulco. It is also the Cruise Ship Port, where one gets a taxi, shops for local crafts, as well as a place to have a drink and “surf the net” before returning to sea.
La Crucecita means “The small Cross”. Before the tourist complex, which began in 1983, the place where La Crucecita is now established was primarily an agriculture place with few inhabitants. Most of the inhabitants used to live in Santa Cruz bay.
A MUST SEE for EVERYONE, when visiting La Crucecita Huatulco, is the Church of La Crucecita. This is especially true for those who adore the Virgin Of Guadalupe, the patron virgin of Mexico. The Church contains the largest painting in the world dedicated to this virgin, and it decorates the entire ceiling of this small church. It was painted by the Mexican artist Jose del Signo.
AND, do not miss a visit to the open air chapel The Capilla de Santa Cruz on your visit to La Crucecita Huatulco.
According to local legend:
A little more than 2000 years have passed since the indigenous people in the area of Huatulco (our adopted village) saw coming from the sea an old man with long hair and a beard and a large cape carrying a magnificent timber-like cross. According to legend he is recognized as Saint Thomas the Apostle and “Quetzalcoatl”. Many amazed people came to the beach (at what is now known as Santa Cruz) to meet him. The man greeted them in their own language and taught them many things, including prayer. His stay was short, and as he departed he instructed them that the holy timber must remain on the beach, and despite its huge mass he erected it in the sand by himself. Through the eons since, pilgrimages of Native Americans have come here to pray at the holy timber. The name, Quauhtlelco, a Nahuatl word means Cuauhtli “timber”, Telosa “to bow”; and Co “place”. The words together mean Huatulco “the place where the timber is adored”. In 1587, Thomas Cavendish (a pirate!) arrived by sea to rob the rich port of Huatulco and tried to demolish the holy cross but his axes and saws failed. Then he tried to pull the cross down with ropes tied to his ship. He failed again. He then burned the cross but it remained intact. The Capilla de Santa Cruz contains an altar with a small cross and legend has it that it is a fragment of the Holy Cross of Quetzalcoatl. Other fragments of the Holy Cross are in Oaxaca, Puebla, and the Vatican.
We always enjoy the people that surround the Architecture we visit. La Crucecita Huatulco, was no exception.
We decided to make a business out of our favorite past-time! We are the people at Belles Firm of Architecture – who love to Cruise in the Winter! Call us at 607-Get-Away to book a cruise and follow our Lynn and Rob Belles Cruise One Blog at www.book-a-cruise.info to learn how to “Travel Like an Architect”