In Search of "Ofrendas" (Part One)

On Saturday Alejandro and I went downtown.  In the Historic Center of Mexico City the government had sponsored a contest for the best "ofrenda".  More than fifty businesses, museums, government offices and churches were participating.  We had no intention of trying to see them all, but we hoped to see quite a few... including the large "ofrenda" which is always set up on the Zócalo, the city's main plaza.

We took the Metrobus up Insurgentes Avenue and got off at the Plaza de la República by the Monument to the Mexican Revolution.  There we found more of the large fiberglass skulls that are painted by different artists.  These, however, are apparently not part of the "Mexicráneo" project which is sponsored by the Secretary of Culture of Mexico City, as well as a telecommunications company and a chain of funeral homes.  They were sponsored by Santo Gusano, a mezcal distillery, and the borough of Cuauhtémoc which covers the city center.  The fiberglass molds are also different from the "Mexicráneos"; these are wearing a flower crown.

 

As we headed down Juárez Avenue there were more of the giant "catrina" figures.

We passed the Palace of Fine Arts.  In past years there has been a large "ofrenda" in front of the theater, but there was none this year.

Beyond the Palace of Fine Arts, Juárez Avenue becomes the narrower and pedestrianized Madero Street which goes through the Historic Center of the city all the way to the main plaza.

Upon reaching Madero Street we came upon our first "ofrenda".  In the courtyard next to the colonial Church of San Francisco was an altar in honor of the Mayan King Pakal, the ruler of Palenque in the seventh century.  The "ofrenda" was created by a government sponsored cultural center.

A figure of the king's head sits on the altar.

On a side altar is an image of the mysterious woman known as the "Red Queen".

She was buried in a tomb next to the pyramid where Pakal was buried so it is thought that she may have been the wife of Pakal.

Alejandro posing in front of the flowers planted in the courtyard... marigolds, of course.

Next door in the Church of San Francisco, once the headquarters for the Franciscan Order in Mexico, there was an elaborate display set up in the first chapel as you enter.  It was not exactly an "ofrenda" in the traditional sense, so I do not know if it was a part of the competition.  However, if it was, from what we saw that day, it certainly would have won hands down.  The display represents the "velorio" or funeral wake of a monk.  It was intended to pay homage to all the Franciscan monks who had lived and died in that monastery since its founding in the 1500s.

This sign posted by the display says,

"We don't want any more wakes.

Use a facemask

for the good of all."

We detoured onto Isabel la Católica Street to see we could find on that street.

A burger joint, part of a chain by the name of Pirates Burgers, had this modest display in the window.

Just down the street is the fancy Downtown Hotel which is located in a former colonial mansion.  This "ofrenda" was set up on the staircase.

This "catrina" in the traditional attire of the Tehuantepec region stood at the entrance to Azul Histórico, a ritzy but highly overrated place in the courtyard of the hotel.

Back on Madero Street, we popped into the Hotel Majestic to see their "ofrenda" in the lobby.

There will be still more "ofrendas" from our trip downtown in the next post.