An Important Exhibit

What is arguably the most important art exhibit of the year has opened at Mexico City's Museum of Modern Art... works from the Gelman Santander Collection.  Jacques Gelman was a wealthy Russian who fled the country during the October Revolution of 1917.  He worked as a photographer and movie distributor.  He was in Mexico when World War II broke out and found himself stranded there.  He stayed and began a successful career as a producer of Mexican films.  

Gelman and his wife Natasha were avid art collectors, and during their years in Mexico they became friends with many of the most important Mexican painters.  After their deaths their European collection was donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and their Mexican art, one of the most important private collections in the world, ended up with the Santander Foundation in Spain.  Now the artwork has come home for a show which will run until May 26th.

For anyone with an interest in Frida Kahlo, this exhibit is a "must".  Oddly enough, there is very little of Kahlo's work on display in Mexico City.  At this show I saw more of her paintings than I had ever seen before.

"Portrait of Jacques Gelman"

by Angel Zárraga

1946

"Portrait of Natasha Gelman"

by Angel Zarraga

1946

"Portrait of Natasha Gelman"

by Diego Rivera

1943

"Portrait of Natasha Gelman"

by Frida Kahlo

1943

"Portrait of Natasha Gelman"

by David Alfaro Siqueiros

1950

"Self Portrait with Necklace"

by Frida Kahlo

1933

"Portrait of Diego Rivera"

by Frida Kahlo

1937

"Self Portrait"

by José Clemente Orozco

1932

"Vase of Flowers"

by Chucho Reyes

undated

"Dog with Broom"

by Francisco Toledo

1972

"Self Portrait with Monkeys"

by Frida Kahlo

1943

"Bride from Papantla"

by María Izquierdo

1944

¨Diego on my Mind¨

by Frida Kahlo

1943

"The Bride"

by Carlos Orozco Romero

1939

More to come from the exhibit...

A Photographic Journey to Chiapas

 Along the main entrance to Chapultepec Park there is usually a photographic exhibit.  Last week I visited the park, and the walkway was lined with photographs from the tourism department of the Mexican state of Chiapas.  Chiapas, on the border with Guatemala, is Mexico's poorest state, but it is also one of its most beautiful and culturally fascinating states.  I traveled to Chiapas many years ago, and it was interesting to see photographs of places that I had visited.

Chiapas was the location of numerous cities of the Mayan civilization, and I have been to a number of its archaeological sites.

Toniná is a spectacular site whose temples and pyramids are built on terraces climbing a hillside.  The city flourished between the 6th and 9th centuries.

Deep in the Lacandón rainforest along the border with Guatemala is Bonampák.  This small archaeological site is famous for the mural paintings found in one of its temples.  The guide in this picture is dressed in the traditional attire of the Lacondón Maya.

Also in the Lacandón forest are the ruins of Yaxchilán, located on the banks of the Usumacinta River which forms the border between Mexico and Guatemala.  The only way to reach this remote archaeological site is by boat.

One of the most beautiful of all the Mayan ruins is Palenque.  A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it contains some of the finest architecture and carvings from the Mayan world.

Chiapas has a large indigenous population, the descendants of the people who built the great Mayan cities.  Mayan dialects are still widely spoken here.

Beautiful textiles are woven by the Mayan women.

In villages such as San Juan Chamula, worship in the church is a unique blend of ancient Mayan ritual with a thin veneer of Catholicism.

The diverse geography of Chiapas provides natural wonders.

The Sumidero Canyon was carved by the Grijalva River.  The canyon walls rise as high as 3,300 feet.

"Agua Azul" is a series of cascades along the Xanil River.

The photographic display brought back memories of a fascinating journey.

Still More from the "Salsa" Kitchen

 Last week tried another "salsa" recipe from my cookbook.  This one is one of my favorites, although it is not very well-known north of the border... peanut "salsa".  I used to make it occasionally in Ohio (Alejandro had given me an easy recipe), but it decided to make it from scratch according to the instructions in my book.

I bought unsalted peanuts in the shell at the local "tianguis", and I had enough to triple the recipe.  The other ingredients are tomatoes, garlic, and dried chipotle peppers.

I shelled the peanuts (quite time consuming) and lightly fried them in oil.  I removed them from the oil and set them aside to cool.

I cut off the stems of the dried peppers, slit them open and removed the seeds.  I was not meticulous about removing all the veins because I like this "salsa" to be fairly spicy.

I then lightly roasted the peppers on a "comal" (Mexican griddle).

The unpeeled cloves of garlic were also roasted until they were charred. After they cooled I peeled them.

The tomatoes were also roasted until slightly charred.

Everything was then put into the blender, and blended until fairly smooth, but with a bit of texture.

Using the oil in which the peanuts were fried, I cooked the "salsa" in a saucepan.  Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and cook for a about 15 minutes.  Salt to taste, and be sure to stir the sauce so that it doesn't stick to the pan.

The "salsa" was very good, but, frankly, no better than the easier version I used to make in Ohio.  I would buy a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, and use a couple peppers from a can of chipotles.  I would roast some garlic and put everything all in the blender.  I would buy a large jar of Planters unsalted roasted peanuts (no shelling of nuts!) and add them to the blender until I had achieved the right consistency.  I haven't seen canned, fire-roasted tomatoes here in the supermarket, but I have seen bags of unsalted, roasted peanuts.  Of course, there are cans of chipotles.  The next time I make this, I will skip the shelling and frying of peanuts and perhaps use canned peppers. 

Mountain View

 When we got off the train at Zinacantepec, we stopped at a nearby restaurant and had something to drink and a bite to eat, and, most importantly, use the facilities.  (One major flaw to "El Insurgente" is that neither the train cars nor the terminal has restrooms.)

Alejandro was looking at Google Maps while we ate, and he saw that there was a large park just a couple blocks away from the station.  So after was finished our light meal, we headed there to take a walk.

The Zinacantepec terminal in the background

The park was a natural area with unpaved paths.  It was forested predominately with pine trees.  (Toluca is at an even higher elevation than Mexico City... 8730 feet above sea level... so pine trees are common here.)

The best part of our walk was that we had views of the volcano Nevado de Toluca.

Nevado de Toluca, with an elevation of over 15,000 feet, is the fourth highest mountain in Mexico.  It is an inactive volcano, and it is thought that it's last major eruption was over 10,000 years ago.  The word "nevado" means snow-covered.  The mountain used to have permanent glaciers, but due to global warming, the glaciers have all disappeared.   As you can see, there was a small amount of snow on the mountain peak.

 

Welcome to March

As I always do on the first of each month, I write about the photograph that I chose for my calendar for that month.  This year's calendar features pictures from my travels in Germany, and March's photo was taken in the former royal palace in Munich.

The palace, which is known as the "Residenz", was the palace of the Wittelsbach kings of Bavaria.  Begun in 1385, the palace was expanded, renovated and redecorated over a period of more than four centuries, so it displays a variety of architectural styles... Renaissance , Baroque, Rococo, and Neo-Classic.  It is the largest city palace in Germany, and 130 rooms are open to the public.  The Rococo Ancestral Gallery dates from the 18th century and contains portraits of the Wittelsbach family.

The palace was severely damaged by bombing during World War II.  After the war, restoration of the building was begun, with most of the work completed by the 1980s.  

On the Train

Our train trip from Mexico City to Toluca on the brand new "El Insurgente" train took around 40 minutes.  It was a comfortable journey.  Although the seats are not upholstered, I felt as if I were traveling on a train in Europe.

There are two more stops within Mexico City.  First there is "Vasco de Quiroga" which is also the terminus of one of the "Cablebus" lines.  Then the train passes through the ritzy neighborhood of Santa Fe with its high-rise corporate headquarters and luxury apartment buildings.

  

After stopping at the Santa Fe station, the train is soon climbing through the forested mountains to the west of Mexico City.

Through the highest part of the mountains, there is a three mile long tunnel.

The train then descends into the Valley of Toluca and the metropolitan area of the city.

There are several stops in the Toluca area.  First is at Lerma, a large industrial suburb just to the east of the city.  Next is Metepec, a city known for its handicrafts.  From Metepec there are buses that take you to Toluca International Airport.  Toluca Centro is not in downtown Toluca, but buses that take you to the center of the city.  

As we continued on we could see Nevado de Toluca, the fourth highest mountain in Mexico.  

The end of the line is Zinacantepec, a suburb to the west of Toluca.

After having a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant and walking around a bit, we got back on the train to return to Mexico City.

Soon were back in the city and got off the train at the "Observatario" terminal.

All Aboard!

Way back in 2014, construction was begun on an interurban commuter train to connect Mexico City with Toluca, the capital of the State of Mexico.  After long delays, the train route was finally completed on February 2 of this year with the opening of a terminal in Mexico City that connects with Line 1 of the subway.  The train line is called "El Insurgente", after Miguel Hidalgo, the "father of Mexican Independence."  From Mexico City, the train runs west 35.9 miles.  It is electric and can reach a speed of 99 mph.

Last Saturday, Alejandro and I decide to ride "El Insurgente".  We took the newly renovated Line 1 of the subway to the end of the line, the "Observatorio" station.  The subway station merges seamlessly into the new train terminal.

You use the transit card that you use for the Metro or Metrobus.  Going through the turnstile, you are charged 15 pesos from the credit on your card.  When you exit the train you go through another turnstile and are charged depending upon the stop from which you get off.  If you go all the way to the end of the line you will be charged 85 pesos for a total of 100 pesos (less than 6 U.S. dollars).  So, you need to be sure to recharge your card with enough pesos to make the trip.

We barely had to wait at all when a train pulled into the station.

The trains were manufactured in Spain.  Each train consists of five cars and has a capacity of 700 passengers.  The cars were spotlessly clean.  Food and beverages are not allowed on the train.

We boarded the train.

We found window seats facing each other.

Soon we were on our way.

You can see the World Trade Center in the background.

More to come from our train ride...