In the last post, I tracked the alignment from Trujillo, in northwestern Peru on the coast, and looked at many different aspects of the history of the region that link it to distant times and places; and into the Pacific Ocean where it comes through the Galapagos Islands.
I am picking up the alignment where it enters Mexico at Colima, the capital city of the Mexican State of Colima.

It is the fourth smallest Mexican state, and though it has the smallest population, it has one of the highest standards of living and lowest unemployment rates in Mexico.
This building has very distinctive arches in the Colima Centro.

The arches are an example of a five-lobed Moorish Arch.

Here is a comparison with another type of Moorish Arch in Alcazar, Seville, Spain.

This is an historic photo of what is described a 6-foot, or 2-meter, high volcanic monolith in Piedra Lisa, or Smooth Stone, Park in Colima.

The legend is that if you climb to the top, you will fall in love with Colima forever.

This bandstand is in the Jardin Libertad in Colima.

It is said to have been imported from Belgium in 1891.

Hmmmm. Check out that stone base!

Compare it with the Moorish Kiosk in Hermosillo, Mexico, only this one is said to have been brought over from Florence, Italy in the early 1900s.

European countries get the credit, with no explanation as to the logistics of how these could have been moved from Europe to the western coast of Mexico in both cases. The Panama Canal we are told wasn’t opened until 1914. The only logical explanation is that these were built by the people who lived here.
This is the Teatro Hidalgo in Colima on the left, with its construction said to have been started in 1871, compared with the Theatro Ribeira dos Icos in Ico, Brazil, said to have been built in the mid-1800s, on the right, seen earlier on this alignment.

Quite similar in style and appearance for two places that are 4,800 miles, or 7,650 kilometers, apart, before modern communication and transportation.

The archeological site of El Chanal is 2.5 miles, or 4 kilometers, north of Colima.

El Chanal has six plazas, or important ceremonial centers.

It is important to note that western archeologists say they are unable to identify who lived here because they find evidence of the influence of several different cultures here, like Aztec, and like Tula, a Toltec site. This is the Temple of the Atlantes in Tula.

Leaving the Colima area, the alignment goes through the Nevado de Colima National Park.

The Nevado de Colima National Park has two volcanos – what is called the extinct volcano Nevado de Colima…

…and one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico, the Volcan de Fuego de Colima.

Lake Chapala is on the alignment, Mexico’s largest freshwater lake.

It is shared between Jalisco and Michoacan State, with its squared off ends…

…compared with Chetumal Bay, located off the Caribbean Sea on Mexico’s eastern coast, with a similar squaring going on.

Next we come to Guadalajara, the capital and largest city of Mexico’s Jalisco State, and the second largest city in Mexico.

This is called the Rotunda of Illustrious Jaliscoans in the Centro Historico of Guadalajara…

…compared with the Tempio della Sibilla in Tivoli, considered one of the oldest sites in Italy.

There is also an ornate bandstand in the Plaza de Armas in the Centro Historico of Guadalajara. This one is said to have been made in France and given to Mexico on the 100th Anniversary of Mexico’s Independence in 1910.

This is the Hospicio Cabanas, one of the oldest and largest hospitals in the Americas, with its chapel in the background. We are told the architect who designed it was engaged in 1796, and it was completed around 1829.

We are told the complex was founded in 1791 by the Bishop of Guadalajara to be a combination workhouse, hospital, almshouse, and orphanage.
This is what it looks like on the inside of the hospital’s chapel.

Pretty fancy for a building designed to house and serve poor people.
And here is the other side of the hospital’s chapel perfectly and proportionally framed through an archway…

…just like what you see in Oxford, England…

…at the Debre Libanos Monastery in Ethiopia…

..at the Sardar Market in Jodhpur, India…

…and the Palace of the Kings of Majorca in Perpignan, France.

This is the old University of Guadalajara, the Santo Tomas de Aquino College, and the current “Octavio Paz” Hispanic Library, another example of classical Greco-Roman architecture in Guadalajara.

It was said to have been founded by the Jesuits in 1591, and then became the University of Guadalajara in 1792.
Next on the alignment is Aguascalientes, the capital of the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes.

It is named for the abundance of hot springs in the area.

This is the Aguascalientes Museum, said to have been built in 1903.

Again, there is so much architecture everywhere, around the world, that looks like what are taught is classical from ancient times, yet no one questions anything because we assume it was built when we are taught, and by the person said to have built it. In this, Refugio Reyes Rivas, a self-taught architect with no formal training.

He is also given credit for the Bank of Mexico…

…the Hotel Paris…

…the Hotel Francia…

…and the Church of the Purismima – all in Aguascalientes.

The San Marco Garden is in the center of Aguascalientes. This is one of the four massive gateways into the park, which was said to have been created in 1842.

There is another ornate, wrought-iron bandstand, or gazebo, in the garden like the ones seen earlier in this post.

There is also a church at the western end of the Garden, the Templo de San Marcos, said to have been completed in 1765 ~ a huge building of heavy masonry.

I am going to end this post here, and pick up the alignment in Victoria, Mexico, in the next post.