Temple of Santo Domingo de Guzmán

In the square outside the Temple of Santo Domingo de Guzmán in Mexico City, this guide follows the Portal de los Evangelistas, the arcade of public scribes who have written letters, petitions and love notes for the illiterate since the eighteen hundreds. It traces their reputation for forged documents too, including a persistent rumor about a young Fidel Castro, alongside the Dominican friars who built the pink-stone temple behind them and once ran the Inquisition next door. Look for the tables still set up under the arcade, where typists work today.