completed evangelizing in Mexico. In fact, even as the Spanish were beginning to proselytize in Mexico, religious syncretism was occurring. Analyses of evangelization plays put on by the Spanish, in order to convert the indigenous peoples to Christianity, suggests that the Spanish might have unknowingly created connections between Christianity and indigenous religious figures, such as Tlaloc. Indigenous Mexicans viewing these plays might have made connections between the sacrifice Abraham was willing to make of Isaac, to the sacrifices that were made to Tlaloc and other deities. These connections may have allowed indigenous peoples to retain ideas about sacrifice even as they were being forcibly converted to Christianity. Early syncretism between indigenous religions and Christianity, also included more direct connections to Tlaloc. Some churches built during the sixteenth century, such as the Santiago Tlatelolco church had stones depicting Tlaloc within the interior of the church. Even as the Roman Catholic Church sought to eradicate indigenous religious traditions, depiction of Tlaloc still remained within worship spaces, suggesting that Tlaloc would still have been worshipped after Spanish colonization. It is clear that Tlaloc would have continued to have played a role in Mexican cultures immediately after colonization. Despite the fact that it has been half a millennium since the conquest of Mexico, Tlaloc still plays a role in shaping Mexican culture. At Coatlinchan, a giant statue of Tlaloc continues to play a key role in shaping local culture, even after the statue was relocated to Mexico City. In Coatlinchan, people still celebrate the statue of Tlaloc, so much so that some local residents still seek to worship him, while the local municipality has also erected a reproduction of the original statue. Many residents of Coatlinchan, relate to the statue of Tlaloc in the way that they might associate themselves with a patron saint, linking their identity as a resident of the town with the image of Tlaloc. While Tlaloc plays an especially important role in the lives of the people of Coatlinchan, the god also plays an important role in shaping the Mexican identity. Images of Tlaloc are found throughout Mexico from Tijuana to the Yucatán, and images of the statue of Tlaloc found at Coatlinchan are deployed as a symbol of the Mexican nation. Tlaloc and other pre-Hispanic features are critical to creating a common Mexican identity that unites people throughout Mexico. Accordingly, people throughout Mexico, and especially in Coatlinchan, refer to