The implications of a botanical and zoological garden within a sacred setting were rich and diverse for both Spanish and Indian cultures. These traditions converged and were fused in the theme of the Malinalco frescoes, combining the concepts of earthly dominance (terrestrial paradise) with the promises inherent in a pleasant afterlife (celestial paradise). The type of garden described in the murals was also adequate for a sixteenth century monastery in Mexico, so central to many aspects of community life. The intention of the Augustinian friars was to paint a garden scene that portrayed not only their concepts of a celestial paradise, but also their intense desire to establish a terrestrial paradise in the New World.
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