Day 15- National Treasures

It may seem impossible to see such a large city in three days, but we made our best attempt, filling our last day with the treasures of Mexico. We started with a quick tour of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, the fine arts building where we only had time to do a quick tour of the murals. All were by nationally renowned artists, all made powerful statements about Mexico, whether beautiful or grotesque.



Our drive to our next destination took us by more national treasures- first the Angel of Independence statue, then Los Pinos, the home of the president (which is hidden from view, unlike the White House). We drove through Chapultepec Park, the major park in the city, and stopped to see the water feature (currently dry) created by Diego Rivera to represent an ancient creature. Two sculptures that are important to Mexicans, and very Mexican in their design, yet about as different as you can get.





Finally we arrived at the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, the museum of all museums in Mexico. It is hard to quantify the significance of this building, because the United States has nothing like it. It is the Smithsonian, but it is the most important treasures of the pre-Columbian era. Every major artifact of the Aztec, Maya, Toltec, Olmec, Mixtec, and any tribe you can name or have never heard of that lived in Mexico is in this building. I have heard that to truly appreciate the museum, a person should take three days to explore it. Unfortunately we had two hours. I was able to see the first floor, which is the artifacts themselves (the second floor is focused on clothing and on the tribes after the arrival of the Spaniards). I did not have the time to absorb all of the information, but I was able to see all of the pieces I wanted to see. I had an incredible two hours, continually amazed by every turn. It was so hard not to just stop in certain sections and spend my whole time there, but at the same time I didn’t want to miss anything. Below are photos of me beside two of the most famous pieces, the Aztec calendar and the Olmec head sculpture, and then a couple other pictures of some interesting artifacts. Notice that my t-shirt matches one of the artifacts :)









Our final stop took us back to Chapultepec Park, to the castle overlooking the city. The castle, built centuries ago for a viceroy and later home to infamous leaders such as Porfirio Diaz and Maximilian, is now a museum of items belonging to and representing the viceroys and the early leaders of Mexico. There are (as always) murals representing Mexican history as well. For me, the building was secondary to the views of the city. There was no better way to say goodbye to Mexico City than from the castle, overlooking the vast park which led into the even more expansive city, and then to the hills and mountains. I can't put it into words, only pictures. Adios, Mexico City. It was a short but wonderful visit.