The Museum of Anthropology... again

It is said that Mexico City has more museums than any other city in the world.  (Paris ranks second.)  The crown jewel of Mexico City's museums is the world-class National Museum of Anthropology.  I have lost track of how many times I have been there.  It is so impressive that it is always worth another visit, and it is so huge that there is always something that you didn't notice before.

The museum was designed by Pedro Ramírez Vásquez, one of the country's leading architects, and opened to the public in 1964.  (I can still remember reading the article in the National Geographic Magazine about the newly-opened museum.)  Even today, the modern architecture of the building is striking.  In the museum courtyard there is an enormous canopy supported by a single column, carved with pre-Hispanic symbols.

Around the column, a cascade of water falls from the canopy, down to the pavement.  (Holes in the pavement allow the water to drain and be recycled.)

The museum contains the world's greatest collection of artifacts from the pre-Hispanic civilizations of Mexico.  Most visitors don't even make it to the upper floor. which is like a separate museum unto itself.  Here there are ethnographic exhibits on the indigenous cultures of Mexico today... their way of life, their traditional attire, and their handicrafts. There are more the sixty indigenous tribes in Mexico, and more than six million Mexicans speak an indigenous tongue as their first language.

On Wednesday I went back to the museum, but this time I concentrated on the upper floor.  I have already written about the Museum of Anthropology a couple times on this blog, but I have not shown you any pictures of the displays on the upper floor.

You are greeted by a vivid mural painting by the noted artist Miguel Covarrubias.  Against a map of Mexico, it portrays the ethnic diversity of the country.

Here is a small sample of some of the items on display in this section of the museum...

Colorful art created from yarn by the Cora tribe of western Mexico

A re-creation of a shrine in a Tarascan home in the state of Michoacán

 A dancer's costume from the Otomí tribe of central Mexico

Gold filigree jewelry typically worn by the native women of Oaxaca

The famous black pottery of Oaxaca

Folk art by the Nahuas of the state of Guerrero, painted on "amate", bark paper

The Sistine Chapel of the Americas

Last Sunday, when Alejandro and I visited Dolores Hidalgo, we also visited a nearby village called Atotonilco.  The village is famous for its Sanctuary which was built between 1749 and 1776.  It has been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

 

The Sanctuary of Atotonilco has a place in Mexico's War for Independence.  After Father Hidalgo and his army left Dolores Hidalgo, their first stop was in Atotonilco.  Father Hidalgo took from the Sanctuary a banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe.  That banner was to be rebels' standard in battle.

 

Although the exterior of the Sanctuary is very simple, the interior is extraordinary.  The walls and ceilings are covered with paintings.

 

The paintings are deemed by many art historians to be the finest Baroque paintings in the Americas, and the Sanctuary has been called "The Sistine Chapel of the Americas".

 

Poor Ol' Peña Nieto (Part 2)

It's not my usual policy to deal with politics or controversial topics on my blog, but...

This has certainly been a bad month for Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.  On top of the crisis with the disappearance of the 43 students, he has been recently blasted by criticism on other fronts.

This month it was announced that the government had signed a $4 billion contract with a Chinese consortium to build a high speed train between Mexico City and Querétaro.  However Peña Nieto was attacked for the deal by legislators because the bid had been uncontested.  Sixteen other companies had dropped out of the bidding because of rushed deadlines.  It was also discovered that one of the companies that is a part of the consortium is owned by the brother-in-law of former President Carlos Salinas, a mentor of Peña Nieto.  The President cancelled the contract and announced that a new bidding process would be opened, and more time would be given to other manufacturers to prepare presentations.

On the heels of that fiasco, came the news that Mexico's First Lady had purchased a $7 million mansion from a construction company that is a part of the Chinese consortium... and that she had received a loan, not from a bank, but from that company.

Peña Nieto's political party, PRI (Revolutionary Institutional Party), had controlled the Mexican presidency from 1929 until 2000, and had a reputation for authoritarianism and corruption.  In 2012 PRI hoped to improve its image and regain the presidency by nominating a pretty face, Peña Nieto.  His wife, former soap opera star, Angélica Rivera, was an even prettier face.  The strategy succeeded.

(images from the web)

Peña Nieto is not perceived as an intellectual giant.  In the 2012 campaign when he was asked "What three books have most influenced you?", he responded "The Bible", but he could not think of two other books.  He did however surround himself with highly educated advisers.

He also fathered two children out of wedlock with two different women while he was married to his first wife. (I can imagine how that would play in the puritanical United States!)

Mexican Presidents serve one six year term.  It will be interesting to see how the rest of his term turns out.

Poor Ol' Peña Nieto

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto would probably love to turn the hands of time back a few months.  Back then he was being praised by international business experts for invigorating the Mexican economy.  Now he is being blasted for his incompetent handling of the search for the 43 students who have been missing since September 26.

I doubt if anyone is holding out much hope that the students are still alive.  One of the arrested cartel members said that the bodies were incinerated in the countryside... some of them were burned alive. (Hmmm... how convenient.  Does that mean that it's no longer necessary to search for the bodies?)  Some have pointed out that on the night of the abduction there was a torrential rain that would have made burning the bodies impossible.  Others say that even after burning, there are still bones left behind. Those remains need to be found and identified if only to give closure to the grieving parents.  

Peña Nieto did not improve his tarnished image any by taking off to China for a business summit in the midst of the crisis.

As much the President wishes that all of this were behind him, the protests continue.  When Alejandro and I were in San Miguel de Allende last weekend, the fence in front of the parish church was covered with protest signs.

      

"They lack the bullets to kill us all."

"Mexico cries."

"Mexico wounded"

Last night there was a call for a candle light protest throughout Mexico City.  I saw some candles lit here on Avenida Amsterdam where I am staying.  Alejandro was able to find some pictures on Facebook which he sent to me.

 The two pictures above are from Parque Mexico, just a short walk from my apartment.

 Protesters in front of the Independence Monument

 Scenes on Mexico City streets last night

 

The Cradle of Independence

After spending Saturday night in San Miguel de Allende, on Sunday we drove north to the town of Dolores Hidalgo.  Dolores Hidalgo has been designated by the Mexican Ministry of Tourism as a "Pueblo Mágico" (Magic Town) because of its historic significance.  It was here that that Mexico's War for Independence from Spain began in 1810.

That struggle was led by the parish priest of the town, Father Miguel Hidalgo.

 

Father Hidalgo was not a typical parish priest.  He was an intellectual who spoke numerous languages and studied and admired the philosophers of the Enlightenment.  He questioned many of the doctrines of the Church including the celibacy of priests. (He fathered five children out of wedlock.) He believed in equality for all... even for the downtrodden mestizo and indigenous people.  When he became the priest of the little town of Dolores, he was dismayed by the poverty of most of its population.  He attempted to improve their economic lot by introducing the cultivation of grapes and olives and the raising of silkworms. This went against Spanish colonial policies which protected imports of Spanish products to the New World.

In the early nineteenth century there was growing resentment of Spanish colonial rule.  This resentment even extended to the creolles, the people of Spanish ancestry who were the most educated and prosperous segment of the population.  They resented the fact that they were excluded from all important government positions... those posts were reserved for native-born Spaniards.  The creolles coveted power for themselves.

When Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808, many creolles considered the possibility of breaking free from colonial rule.  Now they could do so without even appearing disloyal to the Spanish monarchy.  Father Hidalgo, even though he was much more liberal and egalitarian than most creolles, was a member of a group that was conspiring to break away from Spain.

On the night of September 15, 1810, a messenger came to Hidalgo's home and told him that the authorities had learned of the plot and were about to arrest the conspirators.  Hidalgo decided that now was the time to strike.  Early on the morning of September 16th, he rang the church bell.  The parishioners gathered at the church, and Hidalgo, in a speech known as "El Grito de Dolores" (The Cry of Dolores), exhorted the townspeople to bring an end to bad government.

The parish church of Dolores, one of Mexico's most revered historic sites.

 

       

Thus began Mexico's War for Independence.  Hidalgo's ragtag army marched across the countryside.  Their numbers grew to more than 100,000, and at first they were victorious.  However, the undisciplined rabble that made up most of Hidalgo's army, scared the creolles, and support for Hidalgo waned.  Within a year after Hidalgo's "Grito", he was captured by the Spanish army and executed.  The struggle for independence dragged on, and finally in 1821, three hundred years of Spanish rule came to an end.

A couple blocks away from the parish church is the house where Father Hidalgo lived.  The building is now a museum and contains the belongings of the hero of independence.

The town square in front of the church has a monument to Father Hidalgo.

After Mexico had won its independence, the name of the town was changed from Dolores to Dolores Hidalgo.

San Miguel de Allende

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, this past weekend Alejandro and I drove to the city of San Miguel de Allende.

 

San Miguel was founded in the 1500s in what was then the wild, northern frontier of the Spanish colony of New Spain.  By the 1700s it had become a prosperous commercial city along the trade route between the silver mining cities to the north and Mexico City.  It was the birthplace of Ignacio Allende, one of the heroes of Mexico's War for Independence from Spain.  After Mexico had achieved its independence, "de Allende" was added to the name of the city in honor of its native son.   

In the nineteenth century, the city fell into decline, and by the early twentieth century it had nearly become a ghost town.  It's colonial architecture remained as if frozen in time, and the Mexican government declared it an "Historic and Protected Town".  In the 1930s and 1940s, the town's picturesqueness began to attract artists and writers, and a couple of art schools were established here.  Tourism followed, and then American retirees began to settle here for the mild climate and lower cost of living.  Today San Miguel is far from being a ghost town.  It has a population of 140,000.  The sizable ex-pat community and the large number of Mexican and international tourists give the city a cosmopolitan flavor.  Many of the old colonial homes now house hotels, fine restaurants, and art galleries.  Its colonial architecture has won San Miguel the designation as a "World Heritage Site" by UNESCO.

Hotel reservations are often difficult to obtain on weekends, but I managed to book a room at the "Mirador del Frayle", a hotel located on a hill overlooking the city.  I had mixed feelings about the hotel.  The grounds and the view are beautiful, the rooms are spacious and nicely furnished in colonial style.  However, the WiFi did not work, and we were a bit grossed out by the fact the bathtub was the residence of some small black bugs.  (We decided that we could forgo a shower for one day.)

After arriving at the hotel, we set off to explore the city.  The walk downhill is not bad, but it is a rather strenuous climb to return uphill to the hotel.

As we descended the hill, the towers of the city's parish church, the most prominent landmark, came into view.

  
We came into the historic heart of the city, with its streets lined with colonial houses and churches.

In the center of town is "la Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel"... the Parish Church of St. Michael the Archangel... one of the most photographed churches in Mexico.  The church's neo-Gothic facade and tower were added in 1880 by an indigenous, self-taught architect by the name of Zeferino Gutiérrez.  He had seen postcards of Gothic cathedrals of Europe, and they were the inspiration for his design.

 

 

 In front of the parish church is the city's main plaza, a lovely, little park known to the locals as "El Jardín"... the garden.  The benches beneath the trimmed laurel trees are a favorite place for residents to relax and watch the world by go.  

 

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we then had  a very nice lunch with Barbara, an American ex-pat who lives in San Miguel and who writes "Babsblog".  By the time we were finished, it was raining.  Barbara kindly gave us a lift back up the hill to our hotel.  

By late afternoon the skies had cleared, and at dusk we ventured out again...

 

Back down the hill to the center of town...

Although the evening was chilly, the "Jardín" was quite lively.  Several mariachi bands were playing, as well as a couple of "estudiantinas".  "Estudiantinas" (also known as "tunas" in Spain where they originated) are bands of wandering student musiicians.  (I suspect, however that these fellows are long past their students days.)

 

The parish church was beautifully illuminated.

The end of a wonderful day in San Miguel

  

 

Meeting the Author of "Babsblog"

This weekend Alejandro and I took a road trip to the historic, colonial city of San Miguel de Allende, located about three hours to the northwest of the capital.  The purpose of our excursion was not just to see another one of Mexico's many picturesque towns, but to meet another fellow blogger, Barbara, the author of "Babsblog".  Barbara and I have been visiting each others blogs and leaving comments for a number of months.  Barbara is an ex-pat from Texas who traveled frequently to Mexico and chose to settle in San Miguel when she retired.

When Barbara read that I was taking another trip to Mexico this November, she suggested that we get together... that she could come to Mexico City or that I could come to San Miguel.  It had been many, many years (more than forty) since I had been in San Miguel, so I told her that I would come there.  I asked my friend Alejandro if he would like to join me, and he said yes.  So I made reservations at a hotel for us, and bright and early Saturday morning we set out in Alejandro's car for San Miguel de Allende.

We arrived at our hotel around 10:30, called Barbara, and made plans to meet on San Miguel's town square at noon.  That gave us some time to explore the town a bit before meeting up.  Barbara and I recognized each other from photos on our respective blogs.  We went to a nearby restaurant and had a leisurely lunch.  From her blog, I expected Barbara to be a kind, charming, intelligent lady, and I certainly was not disappointed.  It was a delight to chat with her!  I hope that we see each other again soon... either in San Miguel or in Mexico City... or if her travels take her to Cleveland, I would love to be her tour guide in my hometown!

(photo taken by our waiter)