Cortés was the founder of the old town
The small, somnolent town of Cholula, home to the Universidad de las Américas, was once as influential as Teotihuacán. When Cortés arrived, it was a holy centre with some 100,000 inhabitants and 400 teocallis (shrines), grouped round the great pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. After the Cholulans tried (and failed) to ambush Cortés, he slaughtered the population and razed their shrines, vowing to build a chapel for each one destroyed; in fact, there are ‘only’ about 70 churches. Now a virtual suburb of Puebla, the town has quite a lively nightlife thanks to the local student population.
Cholula videos
