San Miguel del Milagro: Cross-currents of devotion in colonial Tlaxcala

The issue of devotion in New Spain is a complex one and not yet well understood. This project attempts to aid in that understanding through the analysis of a regional cult in Tlaxcala dedicated to the archangel Michael. A study of the history of the area, an iconographical analysis of the art associated with the shrine, and an investigation into other local devotions provides three conclusions: colonial devotions cannot be explained by simple syncretism or substitution of pre-Hispanic deities with Christian saints, there was a remarkable consistency of belief tied to specific locations, and pre-Columbian urban rivalries continued in a new form after the Conquest of the Americas.