Architectural Overload

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Puebla is the fourth largest city in Mexico.  It is a major industrial center (the world's largest Volkswagen factory outside of Germany is here), and it has its share of shiny, high rise buildings.  However the historic center of Puebla is filled with buildings from the 16th century to the early 20th century.  There is the occasional, non-descript modern building, but as you walk along the streets of old Puebla, you are overwhelmed by the quantity and variety of architectural gems around you.  It is no wonder that the city was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. 

The typical colonial building of Puebla has a façade with a pattern of red bricks interspersed with glazed "azulejos" or ceramic tiles, usually with white and blue designs.

One of the outstanding colonial mansions is known as the "Casa de Muñecos" (House of Effigies or Caricatures).  The name refers to the 16 human figures which decorate the façade.  One legend says that the figures were placed there to poke fun of the city councilors who had opposed the building of the house because it was taller than the city hall.

Many of the buildings are painted bright colors or are adorned with plaster "gingerbread".

I haven't even mentioned the myriad of Baroque churches which grace the city.  That will be another post.

Going Baroque

Alejandro and I have already taken a couple of weekend trips to the city of Puebla, but I wanted to return there this holiday weekend to see a new and acclaimed museum which opened in 2016, "El Museo Internacional del Barroco" (the International Museum of the Baroque).

The building itself is a striking piece of architecture designed by award-winning, Japanese architect Toyo Ito.

The city of Puebla, which in colonial times was the second most important city in New Spain, is filled with Baroque buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries.  The museum, however, deals with much more than Baroque art and architecture in Puebla or even Mexico.  It looks at the Baroque era internationally and deals with all of its aspects... painting, sculpture, architecture, decorative arts, clothing, literature, music and science.  Don't expect to see any paintings by artists such as Rembrandt, Rubens or Velázquez.  There are quite a few objects that are well-done replicas.  Nevertheless, this is a very impressive and superbly organized, multi-media museum which presents two-centuries of Western culture. 

Here are a few photos of objects from the museum...

Most of one room is filled with a model of what Puebla looked like in the 1700s.

A carved and painted alabaster figure of St. Michael the Archangel

Carved and gilded wooden pillars from a building in a former Portuguese colony in India

With Alejandro in front of it, you can appreciate the size of this painting which once stood in the stairwell of a religious institution in Puebla.

A monstrance from Mérida, Yucatán

A portrait of Queen Elizabeth I of England by an unknown 16th century painter

Next to her is a portrait of her nemesis, King Phillip II of Spain.

A lacquered sewing case from Michoacán, Mexico

A landscape painting by an unknown European painter

An 18th century carving of St. Dominic from Guatemala

A wooden carving of Mary with the Apostles from 17th century Germany

A lady´s fan from Europe

A chest and armoire from 18th century Germany

A bedroom furnished with Portuguese antiques

All of the information and labels are written in English as well as Spanish.  I recommend this unique museum to anyone with an interest in art or history.

Greetings from Puebla

Downtown Puebla on a Friday night

Alejandro and I arrived in Puebla yesterday afternoon at around 1:30.  Before checking into our hotel, we stopped at one of the city's newest attractions, the International Museum of the Baroque, which is quite impressive, and quite appropriate since the city is known for its Baroque architecture from the 17th and 18th centuries.  I will post more on that museum along with photos in another post.  Right now it is time to head for breakfast and more sightseeing in the city.  Hasta luego! 

Volcanoes Ahead!

Two weekends ago, I was disappointed that the clouds did not allow us to have a good view of the volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl when we took Nancy and Fred to Cholula.  

This morning we took the same highway on our weekend trip to Puebla.  While we were still within the limits of Mexico City, suddenly right in front of us was Iztaccíhuatl!  The cold front that had passed through a couple days before had left the mountain covered in snow.

The road made a slight turn in direction, and there was Popocatépetl!

After leaving the city, at a rest stop along the toll road, I got a good shot of Iztaccíhuatl.

Along the highway I managed to get a shot of the two of them side by side.

Construction was being done along the highway two weeks ago, and traffic was snarled.  The road work is still being done, and the traffic is still crawling along for several miles.  But this time the slow traffic had a benefit.  It gave me a chance to get more shots of the volcanoes.

Looking back toward Mexico City's smoggy valley, you can see the traffic backed far behind us.

Three Day Weekend!

On November 20, 1910,  Francisco Madero, an opponent of the dictator Porfirio Díaz, called upon the Mexican people to rise up against the dictatorship.  Thus, November 20th is commemorated as the beginning of the Mexican Revolution, and it became a legal holiday.  Since 2006, Revolution Day has been observed on the third Monday of November giving people a three day weekend.

(Francisco Madero - image taken from the web)

Alejandro and I are going to take advantage of the long weekend and escape the big city to go to another big city.  This morning we will drive to Puebla which is about two hours away from Mexico City.  Puebla is the capital of the state of Puebla and, with a metropolitan population of over three million people, is the fourth largest city in the country.  It dates back to Spanish colonial times, and its historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It's time for us to go have some breakfast, and then hit the road! 

"Fútbol" on the "Zócalo"

Today I went downtown, and as I headed toward the "Zócalo", Mexico City's main plaza, I could see that something was going on.  I sometimes get upset with the continuous events that are held there, cluttering up the plaza and distracting from the view of the historic buildings surrounding it.  There was a sign that said "Entrada Gratuita" (Free Admission) so I decided to cross the street and see what they were doing this time.

It turns out that Mexico City is hosting the 16th annual Homeless World Cup... something that I had never heard of.  The program helps young homeless people turn their lives around through participation in soccer.  This year more than 450 people from 42 countries are participating.  The competition began on November 13th and will continue until November 18th.  It seems like a good cause, so I guess I can't be too upset over the "clutter" on the Zócalo.

Three "mini-stadiums" have been set up on the plaza.  Games are one period long and last fourteen minutes.  I entered one of the playing areas as a game was about to begin, and I took a seat in the bleachers.  The game was between the women's teams from Mexico and Egypt.

There has been a women's competition for nine of the sixteen years that this event has been held.  The Mexican women have won that championship five of those years.  From the looks of this game it would seem that Mexico has a strong team again.  They defeated Egypt 7 - 2.