Casa Prisión de Morelos

The Casa Prisión de Morelos is not open to the public. It’s a small private residence that used to be known as the Tower of Santa Inés. It was actually built as a small police precinct and presumably had something of a tower in its earliest version. On a prominent avenue in Tlalpan’s Centro area, it’s a curious site with more to it than meets a first glance. The building was declared a national historical monument in 1932.

The building is famous, as the name indicates, for having held the the Independence War hero, José María Morelos y Pavón. He was briefly imprisoned here in 1815. Immediately after he was captured in Tezmalaca, Guerrero, he was transferred to Tepecuacuilco, also in Guerrero and held for several days there. He was later transferred, at night, due to his stature to San Antonio de las Cuevas. Because he was a priest he was transferred to the Palace of the Inquisition, in Mexico City. He was then permitted to pray at the Pocito Chapel at the Basilica before his transfer to Ecatepec. There, a firing squad ended his brief insurgent career. It was a major victory for the Spanish Royalists.

Today, it’s little more than a plaque on the wall. It serves as a reminder as to just how important Morelos’ sacrifice was to the Independence cause. The Casa Prisión de Morelos is still a curious, and possibly even heavy reminder of how far the Mexican public has come in the 200 ensuing years since these events transpired.