It's Over

Yesterday marked the end of the Mexican Christmas season.  Mexicans often refer to that time of year as "Guadalupe - Reyes".  For nearly a month, from the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe (December 12th) until the Day of the Magi Kings (January 6th), the calendar is filled with merry-making.  But now life returns to normal.

Pepe says, "I'm exhausted!"

Iztac says, "How come I didn't get any presents from Santa OR the Three Kings?"

The Ring of the Kings

I have written before about the ring-shaped bread, "la Rosca de Reyes", which is traditional for January 6th, the Day of the Magi Kings (known as Epiphany in English).

In the days leading up to January 6th... and even on the day itself... every bakery and supermarket is well-stocked with "roscas", and you will see people heading home with the large boxes.  Alejandro and I planned on buying a "rosca" over the weekend to take back to the family house.  On Saturday we were walking through the "colonia" of San Pedro de los Pinos which is adjacent to the neighborhood where the apartment is.  We passed a very cool store which I have mentioned before.  It sells all sorts of interesting merchandise... mainly organic food, but also embroidered clothing, houseplants, and other things.  It is where I found the beautiful Christmas wreath that I bought for the apartment door.  We saw that they had "roscas" for sale, so we went inside.  The lady was giving out samples to taste, and it was very good... not too sweet, and with a cream filling.  We asked if they would be open on Sunday, and she said "yes".  So, the next day we returned and bought a "rosca".

We took the bread back to the house on Sunday evening,  and we actually cut into the bread and had it for our supper on the eve of Epiphany.

As I have explained before, inside the bread there is a figure of the Baby Jesus.  Whoever gets the figure in his / her slice of "rosca" is supposed to make (or buy) "tamales" on February 2nd, the Feast of Candlemas.  Originally, the bread would have just one figure baked inside, but nowadays there are multiple figures, which I think defeats the tradition behind the bread.  The first person to get the Baby Jesus was Alejandro.

Later, Alejandro's sister and I also found figures in our slices.  But Alejandro's second slice had another "Baby Jesus".  The next day we finished up the "rosca", and Alejandro ended up with a third figure, so I think that he should be the one in charge of "tamales"!  

Toyland

This is the second year that I have been in Mexico for the Christmas season, and it seems that an annual event at the Mexico City World Trade Center is the "Expo tus Juguetes" (Your Toys Expo).

It opened on December 18th, and today is the final day.  There is an enormous variety of toys to purchase for Christmas and for the Day of the Magi Kings.  (Traditionally, children receive their gifts today from the Three Wise Men.)  Alejandro and I went to the expo last year, and on Saturday we went again.

The Rubik's Cube was introduced 50 years ago.  That makes me feel old since I remember buying one when they first came out!

Standing in front of a life-size race car made out of Legos

There was a dance routine performed by "Santa's helpers" and reindeer.

Just as last year, I was annoyed that the vast majority of the toys are made in China.  Toys that I knew as a child, such as Duncan yo-yos and Play Doh, are made in China.  All of the Disney products and most of the Barbie Dolls are from China.  At least most of the Fischer-Price toys that I saw were made in Mexico.

Alejandro's nephew Ezra is now an adolescent and really isn't interested in toys (except for video games), so we didn't buy anything for him.  I did, however, buy a couple of items for adult friends to take with me on my next trip to Ohio.  And they weren't made in China.

More Mexican Art

Here are more of the paintings by Mexican artists that are on display at the "Foro Valparaiso" in the historic center of Mexico City...

Cosmopolitan and vanguardist art from 1900 to 1930

"Still Life with Bananas"

by Rufino Tamayo

1928

"Seascape"

by Joaquín Clausell

no date

"Landscape with a House"

by Manuel Rodríguez Lozano

1928

"Calvary of Oaxaca"

by Rufino Tamayo

1921

"Substation"

by Fermín Revueltas 

1921

In search of a national identity 1930 - 1960

"Tehuana"

by Roberto Montenegro

1950

(A "Tehuana" is a woman from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the state of Oaxaca.)

"Woman in the Market"

by Diego Rivera

1941

"Mountain Pass"

by Carlos Orozco Romero

no date

"Rays of the Sun"

by Geraldo Murillo

no date

(Murillo, a landscape painter famous for his scenes of volcanoes, is better known by his pseudonym of "Dr. Atl".)

"Ravines and Rocks"

by Luis Nishizawa

1950

(As his last name suggests Nishizawa was a Mexican of Japanese ancestry.)

"Landscape with Flowers"

by Jorge González Camarena

1950

"Ivory Towers"

by Juan O'Gorman

1945

(O'Gorman was a Mexican of Irish descent.)

"The White Sheet"

by Jesús Guerrero Galván

1940

Experimental art 1960 - 1982

"Len Tch'e at the Escorial"

by José Alberto Gironella

1967

"History of the Future"

by Julio Prieto

1975

"Toltec"

by José Chávez Morado

1961

"The Puddle"

by Olga Costa

1980

These are just a few of the paintings in this very extensive exhibition.

A Survey of Mexican Art

I visited several museums in the last months of 2024, and I did not have a chance to write about them.

First is the Foro Valparaiso, housed in the former colonial mansion of the Counts of Valparaiso.  The building is owned by Banamex (Bank of Mexico) and, like the Palace of Iturbide which is also owned by Banamex, it is a cultural center for art exhibits.  From June of last year through January of this year there has been an excellent show of Mexican art drawing from the collections of Banamex and the Sura Insurance Company.

The exhibit is divided into numerous galleries with different themes.

The first gallery showcases some of the biggest names in 20th century Mexican art.

"Cupboard with Doves"

by María Izquierdo

1954

Maria Izquierdo was the first woman painter from Mexico to have her work exhibited in the United State.

"Portrait of Isola Pineda"

by Frida Kahlo

1929

One of Kahlo's early works

"Arrest"

by Leonora Carrington

1978

Carrington was a British born surrealist artist who lived most of her life in Mexico City.

José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros are considered the "Big Three" of Mexican mural painting.  However, they also did smaller works.

"War Criminals"

by José Clemente Orozco

1944

"Children Lunching"

by Diego Rivera

1935

"The Handing Out of Toy"

by David Alfaro Siqueiros

1961

Two society matrons are shown handing out Christmas toys to the poor.  But the vast crowd of poor extends to the horizon.

Here we have works by artists who studied at the Academy of San Carlos, Mexico's oldest school of art.

"The Patio of the School of Vizcainas"

by Agustín Ylizaliturri

1874

"The Hacienda of Coapa and the Valley of Mexico"

by José María Velasco

1897

"The Hill of Bells"

by José María Velasco

1868

Velasco is my favorite Mexico landscape painter.

"Self Portrait"

by Saturnino Herrán

1917

Scenes of everyday life

Market scenes

by José Agustín Arrieta

Cosmopolitan and vanguardist art from the early 20th century

"Self Portrait"

by Francisco Goitia

undated

"Women"

by Rufino Tamayo

1930

"Head of a Man"

by Manuel Lozano

1926

"Gushing Springs"

by Joaquín Clausell

1918

Clausell was the leading Mexican impressionist painter.

"Holy Saturday"

by Diego Rivera

1929

Rivera portrays the traditional burning of Judas figures on the day before Easter.

More from this exhibit in the next post.

       

 

Under Renovation

Pisa, Italy, has nothing on Mexico City.  Here there are dozens of colonial buildings tilting at crazy angles as they subside into the spongy soil.  One of the worst is the the Church of Our Lady of Loreto.

The church was begun in 1806 and completed in 1819 just two years before Mexico's War of Independence came to an end.  Thus, it is the last church to be built during the colonial era.  The builders made a serious mistake.  They constructed the church of two different kinds of stone, of two different weights.  By 1832 the church had begun to tilt to the east.

The oversize dome of the church is the largest of any built during the colonial era.

I had previously visited the church a couple of times.  Each time I crossed my fingers that an earthquake did not hit while I was inside.  Church authorities said that the building was in danger of collapsing.  I returned on a recent visit downtown because I had seen a poster touting the government's restoration of buildings in the "Centro Histórico".  One of those listed was the Church of Loreto.

The last time I was in the church there was heavy scaffolding inside the church's nave.  I thought it was to keep the building from caving in, but apparently it was part of the restoration process to stabilize the church.  That is now gone, but there is scaffolding in one of the side chapels.

In spite of its deterioration, the interior, with its massive proportions, has always been impressive.

The dome and the ceiling were once covered with frescos, but most of the paint has flaked off.

I talked with an employee at the stand selling religious items inside the entrance.  He said that the paintings are also going to be restored.  In the dome, the stained glass windows have been replaced.

When restoration work is completed, this could be one of the most impressive churches in a city of innumerable churches.  I look forward to seeing that, although I will probably always feel a bit nervous entering this tilting church.