In Chapultepec Park

You may remember that the week before Day of the Dead I went to Mexico City's Natural History Museum to see an "ofrenda" that was on display there.  The museum is located in the second section of Chapultepec Park, an area of the enormous park that is not frequently visited by tourists.  It is not easily reached by public transportation either... after a subway ride, it was necessary to take a long walk.

Upon reaching the second section of the park, I was at a broad pedestrian walkway called the Avenue of the Composers.  It is lined with busts of famous Mexican composers.

I was familiar with some of the composers.  Juventino Rosas was a 19th century composer who died at the age of only 26.  He is best known for his waltz "Sobre las Olas" (Over the Waves).  The tune became internationally famous and is known in the U.S. by the English title of "The Loveliest Night of the Year".   If you heard the tune you would undoubtedly recognize it.

Agustín Lara was one of the most popular and prolific songwriters of the Spanish-speaking world.  In the U.S. his best-known song is probably "Granada".

Armando Manzanero was a well-known songwriter from the state of Yucatán.  One of his best-known songs, "Somos Novios" was recorded in the U.S. by Perry Como under the title of "It's Impossible".   Manzanero died in 2020, but they have yet to put the year of his death on this monument.

Singer and songwriter Juan Gabriel was one of the most famous artists in the Spanish-speaking world.  He sold more than 60 million records world-wide.  He died in 2016.

 

Beyond the Avenue of the Composers is the Fountain of Xochipilli.  Xochipilli was the Aztec god of art, music and flowers.

Continuing further through the park, you come to the Lago Menor (Lesser Lake).  

At one end of the lake is the elegant Del Bosque Restaurant.

The lake is home to waterfowl, not just ducks but also a number of cranes.

Just beyond the lake was my destination, the Natural History Museum, an unusual structure composed of several domes of different colors.  That will be the topic of my next post.