Belénes (Bethlehems) or Nativity scenes were extremely popular in Spain and her colonies during the 18th and early 19th centuries. These scenes included elaborately decorated figures of angels, wisemen, doctors, saints, shepherds and animals, as well as the Holy Family (G. Palmer, Sculpture in the Kingdom of Quito, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1987, p, 124).