No visitor to Mexico can fail to notice the predominance of churches. In fact, it is difficult to find a spot in the entire country out of either sight or sound of a place of worship. Soaring cathedral spires dominate city skylines, and it is a poor village indeed that cannot boast at least one handsome chapel with a bell tower to mark the hours and call the faithful to prayer. Larger cities have many churches, of course, but none can boast the variety of Cholula where, it is said, one can attend service in a different church every day of the year.
     In a sense, this is not so different from pre-Columbian times. MesoAmerican culture has always centered around the pomp and pageantry of religious ceremony; quite often not even the locale has changed. Now, priestly processions, surrounded by clouds of incense and escorting holy images, lead the faithful to churches instead of pyramids and altars glitter with gold and precious stones instead of the blood of human sacrifice. All too frequently, those buildings cover the ruins of pagan temples and were actually built by the same stonemasons and sculptors who had labored to raise the pyramids.....

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