Tlayacapan

Tlayacapan (Spanish pronunciation: [tlaʝaˈkapan]) is the name of a town and a municipality located in the northeast part of Morelos state in central Mexico. It is located 60 km east from the state capital of Cuernavaca and about 1.5 hours south of Mexico City. It is a rural area, whose way of life has not changed much over the 20th century, with 90% of its population still partially or fully dependent on agriculture. The town has old mansions, houses with red tile roofs and streets paved with stones. Many ravines crisscross the area and are crossed by numerous stone bridges. The main landmark is the former monastery of San Juan Bautista, which towers over all the other structures. It was built beginning the 1530s, along with 26 chapels scattered around the original town as part of the "spiritual conquest" of the area. Today, this monastery is part of the Monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl, which was made a World Heritage Site in 1994. Culturally, the town is famous for two things: being the origin of the Chinelos dance and the home of the Banda de Tlayacapan band, the most important culturally in the state and nationally recognized. Tlayacapan was also a popular filming location for many Mexican and American films such as La Valentina, starring María Félix and Eulalio González, and Two Mules for Sister Sara, starring Shirley MacLaine and Clint Eastwood. American rock band The Killers, filmed the music video of their hit song When You Were Young, in 2006.