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Published: February 13th 2007
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From our first impression until our last day, Mexico City exceeded all expectations. We were full-time tourists for the week so this entry is heavy on the pictures with a few highlights described below.
Tuesday:
We visited the Diego Rivera murals in the Palacio National. Recounting hundreds of years of Mexican history from Rivera’s perspective, the murals are mesmerizing. Entitled: “Epica del Pueblo Mexicanco en su Lucha por Libertad y la Independencia,” Rivera’s message is as vivid as the colors he painted in: pre-hispanic times good, colonization bad, Catholic church hypocritical, revolution good, Marxism even better.
Next door to the Palacio National is the main temple of Tenotchitlan, the Aztec capital. Rediscovered in 1973 by construction workers, the Templo Mayor has been unearthed and preserved as a museum. The ruins hint at the grandeur of Tenotchtitlan. Considered one of the three largest cities on Earth at the time of the Spanish conquest, huge temples, markets, stadiums and residential buildings were surrounded by lagoons and canals.
After touring the Templo Mayor, we hopped on the Metro and headed to the Bosque Cepatupec, Mexico City’s Golden Gate Park. Within the park is the Museum of
Anthropology, which had been highly recommended by just about everyone who knew we were visiting the capital. The building itself is impressive and the collections are overwhelming. We wandered through room after room filled with huge stone gods, kings and serpents and bright murals of battle, warfare and harvest. For me, the highlight was the Sun Stone, depicting the Aztec idea of creation.
We ended the day with a long walk through La Condesa, a hip, young neighborhood filled with coffee shops, bars and cafes. We had a delicious dinner at Bistrot Mosaico, a bit of Paris - or at least Belden Lane - in Mexico.
Wednesday:
We started the day with a walk through Alameda park to the Museo Diego Rivera, which houses Rivera’s stunning mural “Sunday Afternoon Dream in the Alameda Park.”
Continuing the theme, we paid a visit to the home of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. The concrete red and blue houses, connected only by a sky bridge, are filled with light and Diego’s studio is set up as if awaiting his arrival. The fact that the house of the Marxist painters is now surrounded by Hugo Boss, Carolina
Herrera and Starbucks (you can see the iconic sign from Frida’s rooftop) is more than ironic. After our tour, we stopped in that Starbucks for lattes and discussed the irony further. The $4 coffee of the people.
Next, we visited the Frida Kahlo Museum in the nearby neighborhood of Coy0acan. In this house, Frida was born in 1907 and died 47 years later. Highlights for me were the retablos (small religious painting on tin) that filled an entire wall and her torso cast painted with vines and flowers. Unfortunately, we could not take any pictures inside this amazing house.
That night we attended the Ballet Folklorico. Held in the beautiful Palacio de Bellas Artes, the Ballet presents traditional dances from across Mexico. While it is heavy on folklorico and light on ballet (there are a few dances best described as jazzercise in costumes), the dances from Veracruz, the Mexican Hat Dance, the Rope Dance and the venue itself make the show worthwhile.
Thursday:
The Aztec capital Tenochtitlan was built on a shallow lake, requiring the construction of small floating islands. Xochimilco, a neighborhood 13 miles south of the City center, is the only
Old and Older
The Aztec Templo Mayor ruins outdates the oldest cathedral in the Americas by about 300 years place in Mexico where these islands and canals still exist. Cruising the ancient canals in a colorful trajinera (Mexico’s version of the gondola), we floated among mariachi bands, flower shops and food vendors.
Since we were in the neighborhood, we stopped at the Museo Dolores Olmeda Patino. Surrounded by congested highways, this museum dedicated to the works of Frida and Diego is an oasis of manicured gardens and fountains. Dozens of peacocks roam the grounds as do a pack of Mexican hairless dogs. Olmeda Patino was Rivera’s model, patron and one-time lover and her collection of paintings reflects this intimacy.
Friday:
Around 600 AD, Teotihuacan was home to more than 200,000 people. When the Aztecs found it hundreds years later, it was deserted. Located about 30 miles north of present day Mexico City, the ruins of this once great City are still a source of mystery and controversy (at least according to the pirated Discovery Channel DVD we bought in the Zocalo).
When we entered Teotihuacan the crowds were so light, at times it felt that we had the ancient city to ourselves. Just us and a couple dozen vendors hawking obsidian sculptures,
Anthropology Museum
Dave frolics in the museum fountain bows and arrows and pyramid necklaces.
Because so little is known about the original inhabitants, the pyramids of Teotihuacan were named by the Aztecs: Piramide del Sol y Piramide de la Luna. Sol is the largest, with a base as broad as the pyramid of Cheops in Egypt. Two cab drivers recommended wearing a white shirt to attract the energy that apparently radiates atop the pyramids. Never one to spurn advice from cab drivers, I complied. After scaling the Sun and the Moon, any energy I had received was spent (upper left should be a link to some breathtaking footage - if you don't get the audio you'll miss the joke but that's not missing much).
For our final night in Mexico City, we treated ourselves to a nice dinner in the swank neighborhood of Polanco. On our way to dinner, while passing through the central square of the biggest city in the world during rush hour, Dave bumped into a former co-worker, Coleman, who was visiting Mexico City with his father. Who knew we could experience all this culture and network at the same time?
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Steve
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Viva la Perro Sin Pelo
I am relieved to hear that the revisionist history murals and Aztec ruins have not hindered your ability to find "fair trade" coffee and rare obsedian arrows. God Bless NAFTA. Emily, I love your detailed descriptions of the colorful gondolas and history - I am really enjoying the posts. And Dave, your patience with the local kids is so great and classicaly you.