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Mexico: Universidad de las Americas, Puebla: Spanish Immersion - Partner

Mexico: Universidad de las Americas, Puebla: Spanish Immersion - Partner - Main Page

Experience the vibrant Mexican culture!

This six-week Spanish Immersion Program takes place at the Centro Internacional de Lengua y Cultura (International Center for Language and Culture) of the Universidad de las Americas, Puebla (UDLAP). UDLAP's campus occupies 175 landscaped acres on the site of a former hacienda, with views of snow-capped mountains and the legendary volcano, Popocatepetl. The university's colonial-style buildings create a self-contained campus with classrooms, cafeterias, dormitories, and a small lake. Additional facilities include a medical clinic, computer labs, a gym and swimming pool, and bus service to and from the region's capital city of Puebla.

Cholula is full of history, beauty and mystery. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Americas, and one of the most important centers of ancient Mesoamerica. Since the Spanish conquered the city in 1519, Cholula was known for its magnificent cathedral, perched on a tall hill on the edge of town. A few decades ago, the local people, descendants of the rugged and independent Toltecs, revealed a secret they had kept for hundreds of years. As Cortes carried out his conquest, he destroyed every temple in his path. The Toltecs worried that their Great Pyramid, which was by then 600 years old and had the widest base of any pyramid in the world, would meet the same fate. So just before Cortes arrived, the Toltecs worked day and night to cover their Pyramid with mud. Instead of a temple, Cortes saw just a large hill, and he built his cathedral there. The Toltecs smiled and continued to pray in their Temple by entering through hidden tunnels. Four hundred years later, they revealed their secret and today you can see their art in the tunnels and appreciate the scale of their secret and the magic of their message to the Europeans. The riddle connecting the church to the pyramid is one that defines Mexico.

Summer 2008 Dates: May 16- June 27 (six weeks)