Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción Veracruz

Dating from 1688, the pale blue baroque cathedral has an elaborate facade flanked by twin bell towers. The ornate interior has gold-leaf detailing and marble floors. The chapel features candlelit statues with altars, such as a gruesome Jesus on the cross and an eerily despairing Virgen de la Soledad. The mixture1 of glitz and gore is a visual metaphor for a disturbing historical dichotomy: the richness of the conquistadors and the misery that the indigenous people endured.