Mexico's population is 90 percent catholic. The religion has been influential since the Spaniards first arrived, and many of the large ornate churches were built in the 16th and 17th centuries under monastic direction. In the state of Oaxaca, the Dominican Order was especially busy.

These pictures are of the cathedral on the north side of the zocalo. The cathedral was begun in the 16th century but wasn't finished until the 18th century.

Santo Domingo has been called one of the most extravagantly gorgeous churches in the world. It is located about halfway between the school and the zocalo and is a popular meeting spot for tourists and local teenagers. The church itself dates from the 16th century, and was built by the Dominican Order. They also built an attached monastary that is now the Museo Cultural de Oaxaca.

La Virgen de Soledad (The Solitary Virgin) is the patron saint of Oaxaca, and the Basilica de la Soledad was built on the spot where she appeared to people in a box on the back of a mule. It was constructed in the late 17th and into the early 18th centuries.

This is a church in the town of Tlacohuaca. It was built in the 16th century and still has quite a bit of the original art and decoration.