Odds and Ends - Downtown

Here are some random photos I took last week while wandering around downtown Mexico City...

One of the city's most famous landmarks is the "Palacio de Bellas Artes" (Palace of Fine Arts) which includes a lavish concert hall where the "Ballet Folklórico" performs, as well as murals by some of Mexico's most famous artists and galleries where special exhibitions are held.

This tent city, built by indigenous protesters from the state of Oaxaca, has been in front of the Palace of Fine Arts and blocking Avenida Juárez since at least last April when I finally returned to Mexico City after more than a year's absence.  The residents of Tierra Blanca, Oaxaca, have been protesting the forced displacement from their land and alleged human rights abuses.

A perfume shop which has been in the same location in the Historic Center since 1932 still has its Christmas displays in the windows.

On a pedestrian side street next to the National Museum of Art, there are a number of "alebrijes" on display.  These papier mache figures of colorful, fantastical creatures were probably featured in last year's Day of the Dead parade.

Organ grinders are a fixture on the streets throughout the city.

The 18th century Church of La Profesa is tilting and sinking due to Mexico City's soft soil.

A beautifully carved wooden door on one of the colonial palaces in the Historic Center

You may remember that yesterday I mentioned Josefa Ortiz, a woman who in 1810 participated in the plot to break away from Spanish rule.  Here she is honored with a statue on the Plaza de Santo Domingo.  The church in the background was the headquarters of the Dominican order of monks in Mexico during the colonial era.

The new building being constructed on this lot is incorporating the beautiful 19th century façade of the building which formerly stood here.

 

The Ottoman Clock was presented as a gift from the Ottoman community in Mexico City in 1910 in honor of the centennial of Mexico's independence.

This statue on the edge of the Zócalo, the city's main plaza, is a new addition that I had not seen before.  It honors Samir Flores Soberanes, an indigenous activist.  He established a community radio station broadcasting in Nahuatl, the Aztec language which is still spoken by 1.7 million people.  In February of 2019 he led protests against the construction of a thermoelectric plant on native land in the state of Morelos.  The following day he was assassinated.

The Zócalo, the heart of Mexico City, dominated by the Metropolitan Cathedral