Touristic Mexico

Now that I am back in Mexico, I have resumed my almost weekly habit of visiting a special exhibit at one of the city's many museums.

My first week back I visited a rather unusual exhibit at the National Museum of Art.  It was called "Mexico - Route and Destination", and it dealt with how Mexico emerged as a major tourist destination in the 20th century.

In the 19th century Mexico was viewed as a remote, unstable and exotic destination.  However, even then adventurous travelers came to Mexico and recorded their impressions in paintings and photographs. The country's archaeological sites, many unexcavated and hidden in forests, were a mysterious and romantic draw for foreigners who ventured to Mexico.

An oil painting of the ruins of Centla in Veracruz

by German painter Johann Moritz Rugendas, 1831

The Palace of the Governor in the Mayan city of Uxmal as photographed

by Frenchman Desire Charney in 1859.

Besides the archaeological zones, Mexico was viewed by outsiders as a picturesque country of colonial architecture and a land where people still wore traditional attire and produced a rich variety of handicrafts.

Church of La Profesa in Mexico City

photograph by Guillermo Kahlo (Frida's father), 1905

Vendor of Talavera pottery

oil painting by Fernando Best Portones, 1920

Pottery seller

watercolor by Leandro Izaguirre, 1920

Lacquerware tray

In the twentieth century, as the nation stabilized after the Mexican Revolution, and  infrastructure, such as the construction of highways linking different parts of the country, improved, Mexico became a more attractive vacation option, especially for visitors from the bordering United States.

Construction of the Mexico City - Acapulco highway around 1930

A new gas station, around 1960

"Nuevos caminos"... New Roads

An illustration comparing motoring in 1953 with 1910

A highway map published by Goodyear in 1952, illustrated by artist Miguel Covarrubias

A booklet published by the Mexican Tourism Department in 1948 of motor trip itineraries.

A bilingual publication entitled "Mexican Folkways" from 1930

The cover illustration was done by Diego Rivera.

A photo taken around 1950 of a handicraft store in Tonalá, Jalisco

Several vintage travel posters

Printed by the Mexican Tourism Department around 1955

Printed by the National Railways of Mexico around 1950 (back in the days when you could take a train from Texas to Mexico City)

Mexico is being promoted as not only nearby, but mysterious, colorful, and exotic.

Published by the Department of Tourism in 1942

More from this exhibit in the next post...