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El Carmen is a former convent converted to museum in
El Carmen is a former convent converted to museum in San Ángel
San Ángel is a colonia or neighborhood of Mexico City, located in the southwest in Álvaro Obregón borough. Historically, it was a rural community, called Tenanitla in the pre-Hispanic period. Its current name is derived from the El Carmen mon ...
, a southern suburb of Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
.
The convent was founded on 29 June 1615 by the Discalced Carmelites
The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...
in the area of the Aztec village of Tenanitla, which was later renamed San Ángel. The founder was Father Andrés de San Miguel. This convent was built between 1615 and 1626. In the university, there was a college for theology students and a library, which contained more than 12,000 books. In 1858, the college was closed, and the complex was transferred to the local authorities. In 1929, the museum was created, and in 1939, it was transferred to the newly created Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH, ''National Institute of Anthropology and History'') is a Mexican federal government bureau established in 1939 to guarantee the research, preservation, protection, and promotion of the ...
.
The museum contains a large collection of Mexical colonial religious art including paintings of Miguel Cabrera
José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since his debut in 2003 he has been a two-t ...
, as well as original furniture of the monastery, and a collection related to the history of the monastery and relates the life of the Carmelites.
See also
*List of colonial churches in Mexico City
This is a list of the preserved Colonial churches in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico.
Aside from being a notable city in colonial times, the city grew in the 20th century enormously in terms of population, adhering to over a hundred of subur ...
References
{{Authority control Museums in Mexico City Roman Catholic churches in Mexico City San Ángel, Mexico City Baroque church buildings in Mexico 1615 establishments in New Spain Roman Catholic churches completed in 1626 Discalced Carmelite Order 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Mexico