Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico, is located in the mountains 200 miles west of Mexico City at an elevation of 7200 feet. Michoacan is part of what is referred to as the Colonial Circle of Mexico, the area of greatest concentrated colonial settlement and development during the Spanish Colonial Period.
Most of what is now the state of Michoacan was controlled by the Purhepecha Indian Empire which numbered an estimated 3,000,000 members at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Even today there are still 130,000 Purhepecha Indian people that still speak the Purhepecha language.
The Purhepecha language and cultural traditions are strongly represented in the festivals of Michoacan and daily life of current day.
On the left are some examples of Purhepecha ceremonial masks.
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