Santa Teresa la Antigua 1.38

Santa Teresa la Antigua is a former convent located in the historic center of Mexico City on Licenciado Primo de Verdad #6 just northeast of the city's main plaza. The complex ceased to be a convent in the latter part of the 19th century and has housed the Santa Teresa la Antigua Alternative Art Center since 1989.History of the conventThe impetus behind the establishment of the convent occurred in 1613 when the ship carrying archbishop Juan Pérez de la Serna ran into a storm that threatened to destroy it. The archbishop promised Saint Teresa of Ávila to establish a Carmelite monastery if she would allow him to reach New Spain safely. Once securely on land, he convinced sisters Inés Castillet and Mariana de la Encarnación, heiresses of the plantations of Juan Luis de Riveral, to finance the project. The convent also had a number of other wealthy contributors, such as the Marquise of Guadalcazar.Much of the convent was built in eight months, and the order was established in 1616; it was first known as the San José de las Carmelitas Descalzas convent. However, popularly the complex became known as “Santa Teresa la Antigua.”Much of the facility was built with the intention of allowing public access, except for certain areas reserved for the nuns. The order was an austere one, as it followed the Spanish Discalced Carmelites tradition of writer and nun Teresa Zepeda y Ahumada. Unlike many other convents of the time, it had no servants or other help other than girls aspiring to be admitted into the order.