The House of Dolls

 Mexico City is a city with over 150 museums, and more are continually being added.  While looking at Google Maps, I came across one that I had never heard of before... "La Casa de Mil Muñecas" (The House of 1000 Dolls).   It claims to have the largest collection of dolls in the world.  That claim might very well be true, since the old mansion in which it is housed has room after room filled with dolls and dollhouses.

The first several rooms are devoted to Mexican dolls.

An Aztec warrior

The Emperor Maximillian and his wife Carlota

Frida Kahlo...

and Diego Rivera

There was a large collection of elaborately furnished, antique dollhouses.

Dolls from around the world

Dolls representing famous people

There were dolls from the 20th century, including a collection of Barbie and Ken dolls.

It was an interesting addition to Mexico City's long list of museums.

Saturday Night at the Movies

Last weekend Alejandro and I went to the cinema at the mall near his house to see a movie that I have been waiting to see.  Although it premiered in the United States in November, it was not until last week that the critically acclaimed movie "Hamnet" came to movie houses here in Mexico City.

 

(image taken from the internet)

Little is known about the personal life of William Shakespeare.  The best-selling novel "Hamnet" by Maggie O'Farrell and this screen adaptation speculate on the relationship between Shakespeare and his wife and his children, particularly his only son Hamnet.  The novel and movie also speculate as to whether Hamnet inspired the Bard to write his masterpiece "Hamlet".  (The movie begins with an explanation that the names "Hamnet" and "Hamlet" were interchangeable in that era.)

The movie has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress.  It has already won Golden Globe awards for Best Motion Picture - Drama, and Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama.

For anyone who has not yet seen the movie, I am not going to give anything away.  However, the accolades are well deserved.  It will not appeal to those whose taste favors fast-paced action movies or cartoon superheroes.  But for those who like serious drama and / or historical films, it is a powerful piece of filmmaking.  The actress who plays Shakespeare's wife, Jessie Buckley, is a stand out.  I must admit that I had never heard of her, but if she does not win an Oscar as Best Actress if will be robbery.

One thing that confused me was that Shakespeare's wife is named Agnes.  I had always learned that his was was Anne Hathaway.  I did a bit of research afterwards, and learned that at that time Agnes and Anne were interchangeable names (as were Hamnet and Hamlet).  The author of the novel chose to use Agnes because that is the name by which her father called her.

Coincidentally, I happen to have the novel sitting on my bookshelf, waiting to be read.  It will be interesting to compare the book to the novel, but since the author, Maggie O'Farrell collaborated on the screenplay, I would expect the film to be faithful to the book.

If you have not yet seen "Hamnet", I highly recommend it! 

Made in Michoacán

I have talked about Mexican handicrafts and popular arts in many of my blog posts.  You may have noticed two states that are mentioned again and again... Oaxaca and Michoacán.  They are arguably the two states with the richest tradition of handicrafts.

While visiting the festival of tamales at the Museum of Popular Cultures, I went into one of the museum's galleries to see an exhibit of works by artisans and artists from Michoacán.  Since pre-Hispanic times there has been a rich tradition of crafts and art from the indigenous Tarascan or Purépecha people.  After the Spanish conquest, Vasco de Quiroga, the first bishop of Michoacán, encouraged each town to become a center for a particular industry.  To this day, many towns throughout the state are noted for a one type of craft.

From left to right... A ceramic jar with the image of the Virgen of Guadalupe.  It comes from the town of Tzintzuntzan, which once was the capital of the Purépecha Empire.  

A papier maché figure from Pátzcuaro representing a dancer dressed for the Dance of the Little Old Men, the best known dance from Michoacán

Another ceramic jar from Tzintzuntzan protraying the fish in Lake Pátzcuaro

 A silver box from Morelia, the state capital, with pictures created from feathers, an art form dating to pre-Hispanic times.

A Pieta from the town Tlaxazalca created from bees' wax

 A woven figure of an armadillo from Puácuaro

Ceramic centerpiece from Tzintzuntzan

Painted wooden tray from Uruapan

Elaborately painted gourd with 24 karat gold highlights from Pátzcuaro

Painted wooden plate from Pátzcuaro

This cotton "rebozo" (shawl) with a trim of birds' feathers was woven on a back strap loom in the town of Ahuipan.

A wool "gabán" (a poncho-like garment) made in Santa Clara del Cobre

A picture of the Virgen of Guadalupe made of birds' feathers from Morelia

Since pre-Hispanic times the Purépecha people were noted for their metal work.  That tradition continues in the town of Santa Clara del Cobre, which is famous for its objects of hand-hammered copper.

Movie Update

 

This afternoon I heard on the radio that the movie "Melania" sold a grand total of 426 tickets this weekend in the entire nation of Mexico.

Ha, ha, ha!!!

The Season for Tamales

In the Church calendar, today is the Feast of Candelaria (Candlemas) which commemorates the presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple.  In Mexico tamales are the traditional food for the celebration.

This time of year there are several festivals and fairs in Mexico City which feature tamales.  One of them, the "Feria del Tamal" is held at the Museum of Popular Cultures in the southern district of Coyoacán.  (I have mentioned in the past that the singular of "tamales" is "tamal", NOT tamale.)

This was the thirty-second year for the fair at the museum, and admission was free.  (Of course you had to pay for the tamales and other food and beverages that you wanted to eat.)

In case you don't know, tamales are made with "masa", corn meal dough.  The dough contains a filling, and they are wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf and steamed.

Last Thursday, I went to the fair.  I took the "metro" to the nearest stop, and from there walked to the museum.  There were around 50 vendors who had set up their stalls in the courtyard.  They were from different parts of Mexico and sold a wide variety of tamales.

There are savory tamales with fillings such as chicken in green sauce or pork in "mole".  There are also sweet tamales with fruit fillings.

I intended to make this visit my main meal of the day.  But before I bought any tamales, I walked through the entire fair to see what was available.  At the far end of the courtyard were a number of vendors from other Latin American countries who were preparing their nations'  variations on the Mexican "tamal".

The national dish of El Salvador is the "pupusa", a griddlecake make of corn meal.

I ordered a "pupusa" filled with cheese and covered in a spicy cabbage relish known as "curtido".

I ordered an "arepa" from a vendor from Colombia.  An "arepa" is another grilled flatbread made from corn "masa".  It is split, filled and served like a sandwich.

"Arepas" are also traditional to Venezuela, but I ordered something called an "hallaca", Venezuela's version of the "tamal".

I ordered two "hallacas" filled with shredded beef and pork.  There are wrapped in banana leaves (no, you don't eat the wrapper!) and served with a creamy garlic sauce.

I was time for me to eat something Mexican!  These vendors are from the state of Michoacán, and they were selling "corundas", triangular-shaped tamales covered with "crema" and cheese.

From a vendor from the state of Oaxaca I also ordered a traditional "tamal" filled with Oaxacan black "mole".  its black color comes from the chocolate which is one of its ingredients.  I love black "mole", but unfortunately I did not care much for this "tamal".  The flavor was too bitter.

Well, it was time to order something to drink to wash down all this food.  The traditional beverage to accompany tamales is "atole".  It is made from corn flour and flavored with unrefined sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.   It is also often flavored with chocolate or fruit.  I generally do not care for "atole", but I do like guava "atole".  The acidity of the fruit cuts the taste of the corn.  This vendor had a variety of different "atoles", including guava (guayaba).  So I ordered a cup of it, and it was very good.

In addition to all the food, there were musical performers on a stage set up in the courtyard.

I left the fair with a full tummy.  Fortunately. I had a thirty minute walk back to the subway, and burned off a few of those calories. 

It's February

 It's time to turn the page on my calendar which features photos that I took on my travels in Germany.

February's picture is a photo I took from the top of the bell tower of the Cathedral of Frankfurt.

The 300 foot high tower offers an excellent view of the city.  In the foreground is the Old Town of Frankfurt, which was rebuilt after the Allied bombings of World War II.  In the background are the modern skyscrapers of the city's commercial and financial center, and to the left is the Main River, which gives the city its official name... Frankfurt am Main.

The First Sighting

In spring thousands of jacaranda trees blossom throughout Mexico City.  They are at their peak in March and early April.  However, there are always some trees that bloom early.  I usually see a few of them in February.  It is a bit like seeing the first robin back in Ohio.  When will I see the first blooming jacaranda?

Even though this winter has been colder than usual, I had my first sighting last Wednesday.  It was still January, and this tree was blooming!

 It is located in the Alameda, a downtown park that has a large number of jacarandas.  It is one of the best places to see the purple blossoms of springtime.

Although it may not seem like it for those north of the border going through an especially rough winter, spring is on its way!