More in the National Palace

As I wrote in my last post, most tourists come to the National Palace to see the impressive mural paintings by Diego Rivera.

If you come to the National Palace you must enter through the side entrance on Moneda Street.  Admission is free. You are required to hand over a valid photo ID to the guard at the gate (a driver's license is satisfactory).  Although I do not particularly care for the idea of giving them my license, I have never had any problem retrieving it when I leave the building.  You are given a visitor's badge to wear around your neck.  If you are wearing a hat or carrying anything larger than a woman's purse, you will have to leave that at the coat check near the entrance.

As I wrote in my last post, there is currently an excellent temporary exhibit on the Mixtec civilization, but even beyond that there is more to see in the National Palace than the Rivera murals.  

I can remember many years ago that I visited the room in the Palace where Mexico's most revered President, Benito Juárez died.  That area has now been expanded into a small museum of seven rooms called the "Recinto de Homenaje a Benito Juárez"... "The Site of Homage to Benito Juárez". 

    

A statue of Juárez in the National Palace

Portraits of Juárez and his wife of 45 years, Margarita Maza

Juárez was a full-blooded Zapotec Indian.  As a child he worked as a shepherd until at the age of twelve he walked to the city of Oaxaca to receive a formal education.  He excelled as a student and graduated with a law degree.  In an era when power was held by those of European ancestry, Juárez rose up the political ladder.  After a civil war between conservatives and liberals, Juárez was elected President in 1861.  However, shortly after the election, the French invaded Mexico.  Juárez fled Mexico City in his carriage, kept one step ahead of the French army, and directed the Mexican resistance against the invaders.  In 1867 he returned in triumph to Mexico City, and continued to serve as President until his death in 1872.  He is remembered for his Reform Laws which expropriated the Church´s land holdings and which established public education.  

The first several rooms of the museum contain documents and memorabilia from the era of Juárez.

The presidential sash of Juárez

Personal belongings of Juárez, including his glasses, several pocket watches, a handkerchief, and a locket with a portrait of his wife

Juárez and his family lived in several rooms in one corner of the National Palace.  Those rooms are now furnished with some of the family´s belongings.

The President´s study

The bedroom where the President died of a heart attack at 11:30 P.M. on July 18th, 1872.

The death mask of Juárez

After exiting the Juárez museum, I came into a courtyard, and on the opposite side was yet another museum I never knew existed.  The Historic Museum of the National Palace is quite a nice museum which tells the history of the building.  I am wondering if it might be brand new since I cannot find anything about it on the internet. 

The National Palace is built on the site of the "new houses" of the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma (Montezuma).  There are a number of Aztec objects on display, including this monolith found on the south side of the Palace.

After the conquest of the Aztecs, the conquistador Hernán Cortés had Moctezuma´s palace torn down, and a new palace built for himself.  The son of Cortés sold the property to the Spanish Crown, and it became the residence of the Viceroys who governed the colony in the name of the King.

An early map of Mexico City shows the main church (later the site of the Cathedral) facing the plaza, and to the right, the "Casa Reales"... the Royal Houses as the today's National Palace was called at that time.

After serving as the home of the Spanish Viceroys for nearly 300 years, the palace became the seat of government for the independent nation of Mexico.  The legislature, the courts, and government departments were all housed in this enormous building at one time or another.  And it served as the home of many of Mexico's Presidents.  (Currently the Presidential residence is a secluded, off-limits mansion in Chapultepec Park called Los Pinos. However, the President-elect, López Obrador, has announced that he will turn Los Pinos into a cultural center open to the public.)

The U.S. Army occupied Mexico City at the end of the Mexican-American War.  This painting shows the Star and Stripes flying over the National Palace.  (By the way, the "Halls of Montezuma" mentioned in the U.S. Marines' Hymn is a reference to the National Palace.)

This Presidential Chair was created during the administration of Benito Juárez.  However Juárez,  who abhorred ostentation, never sat in it.

During the Mexican Revolution, when the armies of Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa marched into the capital, the later famously had himself photographed sitting in the chair.

From a window of the museum there is a view of the hall which once housed the headquarters of the Mexican Treasury.

Although the museum might be of limited interest to the average tourist who does not speak Spanish and who knows little about Mexican history, I found it to be an unexpected treat during my visit to the National Palace.