This architectural complex was built between the 16th and 17th centuries in an original area of 24 lots, expanded through acquisitions to more than 40,000 m2. In 1552, construction work began and continued until the middle of the following century. Although it was not finished, it was fitted out by the friars in 1608 after the collapse of the Convent of San Pablo due to an earthquake.
Bro Gonzalo Lucero and Bro Bernardino de Minaya were the first Dominicans to arrive in Oaxaca in 1529. The order grew and in 1543 had its first vicar. St. Dominic was the center of the vast task of Dominican evangelization throughout the state, whose work was carried out in constant conflicts with the diocese and several bishops.
Between 1608 and 1857 the convent functioned as such; it was the seat of the province of San Hipólito Mártir. From Independence onwards, several troops were occasionally stationed there. As a result of the Reform Laws, the Dominicans had to leave the building and occupied it permanently by the armed forces. For this reason, the temple remained closed to worship from 1866 to 1902; it was used as a cavalry, and around 1869 its rich altarpieces were looted and destroyed.
The majestic Ex-convent of Santo Domingo is beautiful and magnificent, even bigger and more sumptuous than the Oaxaca Cathedral, also a Dominican work. To its greatness is added the extraordinary beauty of its altarpieces and decorations. The façade of its temple is a large stone altarpiece, framed by two tall towers, unusual in Oaxaca, because in this seismic zone they used to be built lower. The magnificence of the temple can be admired in the choir, in the main nave, in its chapels and in the High Altar.
Currently the Temple and Ex-convent of Santo Domingo de Guzmán is part of a cultural complex that includes the Museum of Cultures of Oaxaca and the Historic Ethnobotanical Garden, as well as the Fray Francisco de Burgoa library and the Néstor Sánchez Public Newspaper Library of Oaxaca.