The Parroquia is a robust eighteenth-century Churrigueresque parish church facing the Jardín, with two heavily ornamented stone retablos either side of the entrance — they were never gilded, which is part of why they survive so well. Inside, the high altar and side chapels show the same dense baroque carving, blackened in places by centuries of candle smoke. The pulpit from which Hidalgo addressed his congregation is preserved at the front of the nave.
For Mexicans this is one of the most charged sites in the country, comparable to Lexington in the United States. Every 16 September the square fills for the Grito, when the president of Mexico delivers the same words from Mexico City and local officials repeat them here. The rest of the year it is a working parish: open daily, free, and worth a quiet half-hour even if the political weight passes you by.