An April Weekend: Celebration of Creativity

On Friday we decided to visit the Museo de la Estampa, just across the Alameda from us on Avenida Hidalgo, to see the Jose Guadalupe Posada engravings of dancing skeletons, La Catrina, and Don Quijote. Closed for montaje - setting up a new exhibit. So we went next door to the Franz Meyer Museum, one of our favorites, and blithely passed by their exquisite permanent exhibit, which we have seen often, to view the current ones: Marimekko, modern Danish jewelry, and Fiskars, all very interesting. We especially felt at home with the Fiskars exhibit, which included willow baskets, pussy willows, and birch bark creations. Almost Maine!




On Saturday we hopped on the Metrobus for San Angel to visit the Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, which reportedly has a marvelous modern art collection. Closed for montaje! So we walked down Avenida Revolucion to find the Museo Soumaya, located in the Plaza Loreto, an old factory renovated into a mall of specialty stores. Perserverance paid off: the sculpture collection alone is worth the visit; the Soumaya has beautifully displayed a collection of sculptures by Rodin, Dali, Degas and Picasso, among others.



On Sunday we had to alter the beginning of our usual paseo dominical on bikes down Juarez to the Zocalo, because crowds of people heading to hear the "legitimate president" of Mexico, Lopez Obrador (who lost the elction of 2006) filled Madero Street and blocked our passage. It would have been very interesting to hear his speech opposing the current government's policy toward PEMEX, the sole petroleum industry of Mexico. The debate over the future of PEMEX is constant and heated, a topic better reserved for its own entry later. So we headed in the other direction, toward Chapultepec, for our customary "snakes and lakes" tour. This photo is of a section of the base of an enormous structure that was part of a reservoir system in the park, hence the "snakes" part of our loop.





At one end of Chapultepec is a fine children's museum - the Papalote - and the Museum of Technology (MUTEC). We went to MUTEC to see the exhibit of forty machines made from Leonardo da Vinci's drawings.
The exhibit opens with an animated figure of da Vinci speaking about his work, followed by a biographical film and then the forty machines.
A fascinating way to appreciate Leonardo's genius.





On the way back home we passed a display of chile peppers along the Reforma. I especially liked this one of chile poblano done in talavera, the pottery of Puebla.



And this one, in the style of the black pottery of Oaxaca.



And this one, in the style of the national sport, futbol, and apparently much appreciated by this fan.