"A nomad I will remain for life, in love with distant and uncharted places." -Isabelle Eberhardt
"A nomad I will remain for life, in love with distant and uncharted places." -Isabelle Eberhardt
I am FINALLY going to Mexico City! It’s been number 2 on my list (after Barcelona, however I think Barcelona is slipping because it is obviously number 1 on a lot of people’s lists and it looks too crazy with tourists) for quite some time. I have an Art History degree and the area of concentration I liked the best was Latin America, so I took as many classes as I could on the artists of L.A. My favorite class was called Latin American Modernisms, which covered modern art of the 20th century in Latin America – aptly named! It was this class this introduced me to Wifredo Lam , a Cuban modern artist who is most famous for his painting titled, The Jungle. After seeing Lam’s work at the Museo Nacional de Bella Artes de Cuba , located in Havana, I decided to write my thesis paper on him.
Anyway! A lot of this class covered the Mexican Revolution which began in 1910, and the art produced as a result of this civil war. This class is where i was introduced to “The Big Three” of Mexican muralism: Diego Rivera , José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros , who created many public murals in Mexico City. Because of this, and of course, because of Frida Kahlo , I have wanted to go to Mexico City ever since. And here I go! Not only will I be seeing a lot of amazing things, I will be creating art with Marie EvB Gibbons – a Denver artist.
Places on our itinerary:
- – Plaza at center of Coyoacan
- – Museo de Arte populare
- – Xochimilco: The Floating Gardens , including The Island of the Dolls (eek!)
- – Bazaar Sabado
- – Casa Azul: Frida Kahlo’s home (!!!)
Photo courtesy of www.isladelasmunecas.com
My mom and I are staying two extra days and during that time I hope to see:
- -Bookstores of course:
- La Cafebrería el Péndulo – which has six locations
- Librería Casa Bosques
- – Chapultepec Castle
- – Polyform Siqueiros
- – Palacio Nacional (Rivera murals abound!)
- -Ruins:
- – Teotihuacán , including the Pyramid of the Sun and the Moon and the Avenue of the Dead
- – Atlantes de Tula
, including basalt sculptures of Toltec warriors seen below
This photo of Tula Toltec Archaeological Ruins is courtesy of TripAdvisor
Despite my shopping ban, I am hoping to bring home a new bangle bracelet (I like to get one on all my big trips), some sort of center piece for my dining room table (to sit a top the rug I brought home from Fez), and my big ticket item is a rug for our downstairs living room. We do not need one but I’ve recently decided I hate the one down there! I’m not sure I want to bring a large rug back though so it’ll have to be pretty amazing. Also, I’m hoping to bring back many bottles of Havana Club rum, the stuff from Cuba not Puerto Rico. Our favorite!
Stay tuned for what I see and find!
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