Day 2 Tuesday 2/4

 Started the day with a lecture about Mexican Muralists – Diego Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros.  It was an interesting overview of the Mexican muralist movement, which started around 1920 and lasted until the 1960s.Lots of pictures illustrated the differences between the styles of the three most famous muralists. Then we walked around the Zocalo and visited the museum/ruins of Templo Mayor, part of the Aztec city of Teochtitlan.  The Spaniards built the colonial center of Mexico City upon this Aztec city.  Wherever you dig for a building foundation you expose ruins.  The archaeological site in the historical district is immense, and it’s probably just a fraction of what’s still uncovered under streets and colonial buildings.  Some colonial buildings had to be destroyed to allow excavation. After the  Templo Mayor museum, we had lunch in a restaurant nearby and then visited Colegio San Ildefonso, which used to be a Jesuit college and is now part of a university system. We saw several murals there by Diego Rivera and Orozco. Next was the cathedral built in the 1600s. Our guide told us about the separation of church and state in Mexico.  In 1917 the Mexican government took possession of all religious buildings (churches, synagogues etc.) The government is now responsible for maintaining all these buildings. The occupants (religious orders) have to pay for their utilities. Also, it is not allowed to teach religion of any kind in Mexican public schools and universities. 











Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 8 Monday 2/10

Image
  We had to leave for the airport around 1 pm so we decided to spend the few hours we had left in the morning on visiting the hip neighborhoods of Roma and Condesa. They border each other and both have whimsical tree-lined streets lead to scenic parks, where you can sit, relax and admire sculptures and fountains. This area was originally home to aristocrats and slowly transitioned to a place where artisans could set up shop, and now it is home to a multitude of quaint boutiques, coffee shops and good restaurants. They both have a bohemian vibe and are very safe and walkable. We had not seen that many American expats anywhere else in Mexico City and we can understand why. Ride to the airport was quick 24 minutes. The airport, however, is a bit of a disaster. We were looking for a Delta lounge because we had time to kill and were told that Delta does not have a lounge, but we should try Aeromexico. Somebody pointed us to the opposite side of the terminal so we started walking. About ...
Read more

Day 6 Saturday 2/8

Image
  In the morning, we went to Coyoacan, a very picturesque part of the city with a lovely park with a statue of coyotes in the center and beautiful, colorful colonial buildings all around. We walked around the town and through a market on the way to Casa Azul, the museum of Frida Kahlo. The property belonged to the Kahlo family since 1904 and four years after the painter’s death, in 1958, it was converted into a museum. The house was Frida's family home throughout her life. She was born here, lived with her husband Diego Rivera, spent her final days, and the place where she died. The rooms are preserved as they were lived in, with the furnishings of the 1950s. Frida's personal collection of pre-Hispanic and Mexican folk art is in it as well as a few of her lesser-known paintings and many photographs, letters, and mementos and also her clothes and jewelry. Several of the rooms are in the classic Mexican style, with bright yellow and blue tiles and walls. T he huge garden courtya...
Read more