La Merced Church, Antigua Guatemala
Juan de Dios Estrada · Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala · 1767
La Merced presents one of Antigua Guatemala's most recognizable church fronts, with pale ornamental relief set against a strongly coloured façade. Juan de Dios Estrada directed the eighteenth-century campaign that produced the church dedicated in 1767. Its broad proportions and substantial masonry belong to a building culture repeatedly shaped by earthquakes. The working church should be distinguished from the adjoining convent remains, where courtyards and water infrastructure offer a different view of the former religious complex. Visiting: The working church and the adjacent convent ruins have different access arrangements. The fee marker refers to church access.