Oaxaca Part 1: México City

Reed and I left for México City on the morning of the 20th.  Since we had some time before we had to meet our friends at the airport, we took the train to the Dolores Olmedo Museum. Dolores Olmedo was a self-made businesswoman (she started a construction company in the 40s) who was a huge fan of the arts and was determined to preserve Mexican art by assembling artifacts, modern folk art and paintings, spanning about 400 years of Mexican History.  All of this is displayed in a restored 16th century hacienda with beautiful plush lawns and gardens which seemed like an oasis in this very large, crowded city.  We spent a few hours visiting the many buildings on the complex and having lunch at the small restaurant overlooking the beautiful grounds.

The next day, with our friends from Olympia, Washington, we visited the Diego Rivera Mural Museum which has a huge mural that Diego painted on the side of the Hotel Prado in 1947. When the hotel was demolished after the 1985 earthquake, the mural was saved and transferred to the Museum.  The huge mural is called 'Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park' and chronicles the history of the park from the time of Hernando Cortez (1519) onward.  The mural portrays numerous historical figures from México.  Upstairs in the museum was a display of items from the Spanish Inquisition.  Reading about the Inquisition was fascinating but very gut-wrenching because it was so similar to what Hitler did to the Jews.

From the Diego Rivera Museum we walked to the Museum of Popular Art.  In this location were 244 piñatas on display hanging from 5 stories of balconies in the courtyard.  Artists from Mexico City as well as other parts of the country, enter piñatas in this competition in hopes of winning the 15,000 peso 1st prize.  The talent was amazing!

Later that night, we headed to the National Institute of Fine Arts to see the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico by Mexico's national dance company which is sponsored by the Mexican Government. "Started in 1952 by dancer, choreographer, and teacher Amalia Hernandez, it has become recognized as one of the world's preeminent 'ethnic' ballet companies.   The colorful dances spotlight Mexico's regions, history, and culture."  All I can say is, "WOW"!  The costumes were stunning, the dancing/choreography was top-notch and the music was absolutely beautiful!  It was definitely one of my top 5 experiences in Mexico so far!

For pictures, click on this link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/regnor11/OaxacaPart1MexicoCity#

Coming next:  Oaxaca Part 2:  Oaxaca, the first 3 days