Photos, from top, left to right:

1. View of Extinct volcano on the way to Puebla
2. Interior Dome of Chalula Cathedral
3. Chalula Cathedral, built on a former pyramid site
4. Interior atrium of restaurant, purported to be haunted. Piñatas were created by the Augustins to convert Natives to Catholicism by instilling fear in the devil. The monks wanted children to fear the Devil, who did bad deeds, from God, who would save them. Children “beat the devil” by hitting the seven points on the piñata (representing 7 deadly sins). By successfully beating the devil through the piñata, God would reward the children with sweets. As their patron saint is St. Augustin, boys and girls participated in this activity.
5. Street musicians in Puebla, a UNESCO world heritage site
6. Building along Main Street
7. Street vendor
8. Interior of the Church of the Rosary
9. Cathedral of Puebla

With my love for architecture and art, I couldn’t help but be completely contented with my late afternoon visit to the Mexico City MOMA.

With a wealth of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera artwork in the City, I managed to amplify my trip to Kahlo’s house with more original artwork.

1. Dual self-portraits of Frida, with the heart prominent.
2. Portrait by Diego Rivera, 1938
3. Portrait by David Alfaro Siqueiros, 1934
4. Portrait of worker by Rivera,1955
5. Sculpture by Contemporary Artist
6. Watermelon by Frida Kahlo
7. Sculpture inspired by Frida Kahlo quote
8. Staircase in central circular building, reminiscent of stairs scaled at the Pyramids
9. Detail of tread strips, just enough to work for those who need it and not for those who don’t
10. Architectural exhibition using drafting boards for presentation

There are many pyramid sites throughout Mesoamerica, but this was my embarrassingly first visit to one, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Not to be disrespectful, but for me this was a bit underwhelming. It is worth visiting, but after overcoming my personal trepidation about making it up to the top of the first pyramid, I got cocky and culturally chauvinistic and decided that scaling these were a piece of cake.

The site is approximately one hour outside of Mexico City. Being alone and not managing to convince Gee Kin to take time off to come with me, I decided the safest and most efficient way was to sign up for a tour. Aviator made good on its commitment and duly picked me up at the hotel at 6:20am as agreed. There were only 6 people on the tour, and the mini-van easily and comfortably accommodated us. The guide was OK, not the “archaeologist” advertised nor able to pack us with details. None of the information at the pyramids were translated into English, so we were dependent on the guide’s words. The gist I got was that there were 3 periods: Pre-Classic, Classic, and Post Classic.

Pre-Classic entailed the period before the Teotihuacan people occupied and developed the site. They migrated here from another location in Mexico. Explanation why is sketchy, but there were other indigenous people living here before, who worshipped the subterranean earth, earth above, and the heavens.

Classic: From 100 BC-200AD, the temples were built. The Teotichuanan people built the large pyramid originally to pray for the rain. It was later converted to worshipping the Sun. The smaller temple at the end of the main axis is dedicated to the Moon.

The Teotihuacan people lived in this area from 100BC to 900AD, or nearly 1000 years, and had already been destroyed as a culture prior to the occupation of the Aztecs. The Aztecs used the temples, but they did not conquer the Teotihuacan people.*

Post-Classic: from 900 AD to 1521, this was considered the post-Classic or pre-Hispanic period. The Aztecs were the third culture to develop after the Olmec and the Mayan cultures. The Spanish came and destroyed the Aztec culture that had adopted this temple area. First Montezuma welcomed the Spaniards, then the second Aztec chieftain defeated them, followed by the final conquest of the third chieftain in 1521.*

But…back to the pyramids. The main axis approach was 2 km. and took about 1/2 hour to walk at a slow pace. We stopped along the way to look at a few houses that were set at corners surrounding an open courtyard. It was a very hierarchical and class conscious society from the get-go. Only the upper classes who managed the temple matters were allowed to live along the main access.

There is debate whether the human sacrifices used for prayers were Teotihuacan or other people in the area. The Aztecs continued this tradition. The Spaniards were horrified by this practice of human sacrifice so went about converting as many indigenous people as they could quickly. My way or the highway guys.*

The tour guide spoke sufficient English, but he didn’t deliver much more than a canned tour. The only good feature was that we left at the crack of dawn to avoid the crowds. That worked; what didn’t on the way back was contending with MC traffic that can kill your incentive to go anywhere by car. We managed to get back, however, at a decent hour of 2pm.

To do this site justice, please go to the UNESCO world website at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/414 to learn more.**

Having just climbed Emei Shan in September this year, I found this experience a bit disappointing. Maybe the high altitude (over 7,700 feet) made the Teotihuacan designers of the temples a bit light-headed. The large platforms served as the landings for breaks in the stairs and were a welcome relief. Cables covered with rubber tubing provided a sense of safety and were added (later, of course). Even as I became winded from the thin air, I couldn’t help but think that these temple makers appreciated the reduced sets of steps themselves and declared, “oh heck with it, let’s just call it a day here! Everyone gets the point!”

Photos, from top, left to right:
1. View of Temple of the Moon from the Base
2. Overview of approach to Temple of the Moon.
3. View of the Temple to the Sun from Temple of the Moon
4. View of Approach to Temple of the Moon
5.6. Details of initial stairs with sculptural elements

* a few errors in dates corrected thanks to the advice of the second guide. He also provided information on the conversion techniques of the Spaniards. What the local people didn’t like doing or thinking, the Spaniards stuck them with smallpox. The second chieftain, while succeeding in thwarting the Spaniards, died a few years later of chicken pox after his successful battle (per tour guide, he might have meant smallpox).
** Addenda

From top, left to right:

1. Headdress by Kahlo. She may be seen as eccentric, but she used fancy headware to distract from her physical disabilities. She had polio as a child and had one foot shorter than another. At 18, she was in a severe accident where a streetcar collided with a bus she was riding. This required over 22 surgeries during her life and numerous prosthetic devices.

2. 3. Artwork and clothing design by other artists inspired by Frido Kahlo style
4. and 5. Kitchen and Back wall
6. Vestibule in Museum
7.8.9. Stone sculpture reminiscent of Mayan sculpture by friend of Kahlo and Rivera

Despite the worldwide fame of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, to learn the life of Frida from this museum visit was very sad. She was affected by her disability most of her life and had her foot amputated due to gangrene before her death.

Born in 1907 to a Hungarian-German father and mother who was Spanish-Mexican, she faced her physical disability from childhood. She was unable to have children due to her accident and many of her sketches and artwork showed her wrestling with this condition.

Still, her artwork rivalled that of Rivera. They were married, separated and remarried. Their work was shown in Europe, Mexico, NYC, and San Francisco of all places! They were in the company of many famous people, including Trotsky. Frida was a Communist supporter. She died in 1954.

Photos from top, left to right:
1. Entrance to Palacio
2. Diego Rivera Mural
3. Overview of interior atrium, art deco
4. Model of building in Architecture Museum
5. Section thru building
6. Perpective
7. View of Intersecting Domes
8. Main Dome
9. Detail of Side Dome

While Mexico City purportedly has the highest number of museums of any major city in the world, the Museum of Tolerance interested me because of its unusual topic. I was exhausted by the depth and quality of the exhibits and hope you will have a chance to visit it. More than half of the museum is devoted to the Holocaust–its development, the participants, the process, and the statistics.

There were a significant group of Jewish, Eastern European, and Russian emigres who ended up in Mexico before and after the war, just like those who came to the US. The initial exhibit defined what a genocide meant. As the exhibits progressed, more reflective time was needed for visitors to digest the information. The museum designer provided a meditation room and window views to the large interior atrium, that was decorated with a huge tree weblike sculpture. The window slots provided a framed view of the tree sculpture and provided a necessary visual and mental relief from the subject matter.

No museum can ever succeed in conveying the weight of such a heavy topic, but I felt more emotionally informed after this visit. The second half of the exhibits recorded the many variations of genocides that have occurred since WWII until now, in an attempt to prevent repeating history by informing others. The building was designed by Ricardo Legorreta.

Photos, from top, left to right:
1. Introductory Exhibit
2. Atrium Sculpture
3. Window slot at end of Holocaust exhibit, with a view of atrium sculpture.

1. Decoration good enough to eat! Melissa: some research for the next dessert!
2. More wisps that are convertible to edible art.
3. A vintage Mexican carved armoire in the grand style–beautiful parquet
4. Interior courtyard of museum villa–could wrestle with the Frick
5. Wood encrusted Biblioteque, oozing with impeccable spit-shined wood flooring
6. Typical posada style room lined with hand-painted tiles and dark wood furnishings.

Decorative arts are some of my favorite museums, and I am always looking for the distinct or unique if subtle characteristics that define a culture or style. Availability of local materials such as wood or stone drive the local craftsmanship. In Mexico, they had plenty of both, and a lot of history and time to perfect each to the exquisite level represented in this museum.

Wandering around the Old town in Mexico offers endless discoveries and OMG moments. The National Cathedral (interior and exterior shots) struck me as being one of the sacred places that Mexicans throughout the country revere, much like St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC or Washington Cathedral. Most of the tourists were native Mexicans and very few were foreigners, at least when I was there. The over-the top ornateness is characteristic of the Mexican style, with carving craftwork handed down by indigenous people who were forced to perform.

The exteriors of the buildings in the Zocalo area were richly decorated with baked clay face tiles that preserved the old buildings and served them well. This left me wishing China had done a better job preserving not just its ancient buildings, but some of their more recent turn-of-the century tea houses and everyday genre buildings more. It made it that much more evident that “slow” development that at least respects the past creates a much richer and evident history for everyone to appreciate and from which to learn.

Photos, top, left to right:
1. Interior of National Cathedral
2. Exterior Door Detail
3. Hand painted Tile on Exterior of Building
4. hard to see, but another style of painted tile facade treatment (zoom to see)

An evening of Rigoletto at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Maria Callas debuted here in 1950 as Norma.
1. View of Orchestra Seating in Art Deco Interior
2. Beautiful Ceiling with tiffany-designed colored Glass Art Deco Pattern
3. Detail of Stage Frame
4. Exterior of Art Nouveau and Neo-Classical style building.

Best seat in the house Row G in the center was $55. Production and stars were excellent. I’m coming back!

I have been so impressed by the high quality design that I have seen so far. I chose Zocale Centrale hotel from Booking.com because of its location next to the old main plaza. It has been developed in an old renovated building, somewhat reminiscent of Downtown LA but much richer in architectural heritage.
To date I avoided reporting on hotels where I have stayed, but I have to make an exception here. This hotel is very impressive, not just for its ideal location, but its sensitivity to good design and exceptional value. The difference is that Mexico’s architects and designers are respected and their contributions to enhancing life seem to be widely valued. The designs are creative, whimsical and generally well thought out. Inexpensive labor supports good design with craftsmanship and ability to maintain its artifacts. Architects are keeping pace with latest technology and standards such as USGBC and LEED sustainability practices.

Here are a few examples from the Zocalo:

1. Interior atrium with beautiful lighting.
2. Toiletries organized on a stoneware dish, beside a stone soap dish with sloped drain to sink for runoff.
3. gorgeous flowers everywhere, a statement about the establishment’s attention to detail and high standards.