Capilla del Calvario (Chapel of the Calvary)

When different Catholic orders divided up the territory of New Spain (now Mexico) for evangelization, most of the territory now occupied by the state of Oaxaca was given to the Dominicans.

The Chapel of the Calvary is small but still impressive. Like the town’s Dominican Convent of Santo Domingo, it’s also built out of cantera, but since it is fairly modern, its facade is more plain than other similar churches. Featuring circular shapes and the eclectic touch of a dome and roof covered entirely in metallic silver paint, it is the chapel rather than the convent that houses the most-venerated religious figure in Yanhuitlán.

El Divino Señor de Ayuxi is a figure of a Crucifixion made out of carved wood and sugarcane. A yearly celebration sees this religious icon paraded in procession from the Chapel of the Calvary to the Convent of Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán in one of the most important religious feasts of the town.

The Divine Lord is believed to be centuries-old, and there is a historic precedent of a Catholic chapel built on the site of the Calvary Chapel. The current building is more recent, however, and probably dates to the 19th century (although the sci-fi looking dome is almost certainly a more recent addition).