Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Tlaxcala and Puebla

Brian has updated his Flickr with pics of Tlaxcala, Cacaxtla, Xochitecatl,
Puebla, Puebla, and Cholula.

The highlights (segun yo):
In Tlaxcala, this prominent building on the main square is the home of one of the smaller official union confederations in Mexico.


In Xochitecatl, locals put a cross on top of this "mound" before they discovered that it was a pyradmid. In the photo, the pyramid looks small, but the cross is about 20 feet tall at least.


In Puebla, I snapped this photo of Shrek and his sidekick on the main plaza.


I also took this picture of a balloon vendor.

Brian took serious shots of Puebla architecture.

In Cholula, we visited this church built on what locals thought was a hill but later was discovered to be a pyramid. I'm skeptical that the Church didn't know that it was a pyramid at the time or at least suspected that it held some religious significance for indigenous locals.


Today, (since both my morning interview appointments cancelled) we went to the Universidad Autonoma de Chapingo in Texcoco to see some of Diego Rivera's finest murals. Unfortunately, they don't allow photos, even without flash, because they want to make money from the images (according to the guide) and don't want professional photographers to sell the images. Nevermind that this attitude is directly contrary to Rivera's philosophy. It seemed quite hipocritical that the guide introduced the murals as the "patrimonio de la nacion", but apparently only of the nacion that can afford to pay US$1 if you're Mexican and US$30 if you're foreign. What would they do if someone showed up with a group of local peasants to view the murals? Would they deny them access because they didn't have the US$1? Again, I digress.

The murals are painted on the campus of an agricultural university that has historically been one of the most radical and has produced many graduates that later organize workers and peasants in the countryside. Though Brian doesn't have any photos to share, this website does.

posted by Michelle @ 12:23 AM,

2 Comments:

At 6/21/2005 10:28 AM,  Schroeder said...

Excellent. Along with propaganda art, Mexican murals are a favorite art form. Thanks.

I've been to Puebla (many years ago) on my way back to the states from Honduras. After seeing all the Mayan ruins, the Aztec stuff just didn't impress me (with the exception of the scale of the layout at Teotihuacan). I skipped Palenque because I knew the funds were running low, but I've heard they are spectacular (again, Mayan).

My favorite stop in Mexico was San Cristobal de las Casas. Mexico City, other than the pollution, was really fascinating, but the money started running out, so I had to beeline for the border - which, thinking about it, conjures an image. On that long journey to Matamoros, I will never forget staring out at hundreds of miles of desert passing by, and seeing nothing for miles out across that expanse of scorched dirt but mountains. Then, the bus stopped. There in the middle of nowhere, an elderly man and woman were waiting to board with what looked like a tractor tire. They boarded, as though the journey was no more routine than a ride on the subway, and the bus continued for the border.

 

At 6/21/2005 10:52 PM,  Michelle said...

Yes, I hear Chiapas is amazing. We'll have to make the trip next time. I also like the ruins we've visited better than Teot. Especially Yagul, because it was only partially excavated and on a hill with a gret view.

 

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