The altitude and the poor air quality got me a little today. My eyes were extra dry and irritated and I was still breathless with exertion. It slowed me down a bit.
After breakfast in the Executive Lounge (where lovely Leonel made my coffee without hesitation), we walked across the street to the Diego Rivera Mural Museum to see his mural from the Hotel Del Prado, which was destroyed in the 1985 earthquake. The mural was not damaged.
The museum is on two floors and includes very interesting paintings Diego Rivera did during or after a trip to the USSR. From the balcony, the whole mural was visible.
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| 1956, The march of the village |
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| Mural from the 2nd floor balcony |
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| 1956, Mowers 1, 2, and 3 |
The displays in the mural room were very well done. The 1947 mural is "Dream of Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Central." There are over 100 persons in the mural, 70 have been identified. There were pictures from the Del Prado (where husband's parents may have stayed in 1958) and an interactive display of who everyone was in the mural. It was cool to see the mural in this setting because it was without architectural impediments (like columns, etc).
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| Frida behind Diego as a boy |
Our next stop was the Franz Mayer Collection. It's purported to be Latin America's largest collection of decorative arts. We compared it favorably to the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. We didn't know what to expect and actually only went because the courtyard was supposed to be really nice.
We had a hard time finding the entrance (but weren't the only ones). There was a special exhibit on Tim Burton that was very popular. The courtyard was only open to those who paid for the exhibit. I would never have thought Tim Burton would be so popular but then we realized "Dia de los Muertos" is a huge thing in Mexico and that is similar to Tim Burton-so it made sense.
We walked through the permanent collection and enjoyed looking at the beautiful items on display.
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| 17C, Virgin of Guadalupe |
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| 18C armoire |
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| 18C, Queen Anne style bench |
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| Door to the Silver Collection |
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| 18C, Baby Jesus |
The tour led us out to the terrace overlooking the courtyard and one of the rooms off to the side was the beautiful library.
The courtyard had Tim Burton installations.
This was a quick and very worthwhile stop. As we made our way to the street, heading to the Fine Arts Museum, we ended up in a little plaza in which many Tim Burton movie characters were taking pictures with museum visitors. I think this was actually the entrance.
After tracking down an ATM, buying some seriously inexpensive water and sodas at the 7-11, we were ready to tackle the Fine Arts Museum (65 pesos each). There was a special exhibit on Caravaggio at no extra cost.
This museum is in a beautiful building. We enjoyed the Caravaggio exhibit as it focused on how he influenced Mexican or Hispanic artists. These rooms were pretty crowded unlike the rest of the museum.
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| Juan Cordero, 1867, The sleepwalker, |
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| Caravaggio, 16C, The Fortune Teller |
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| Jose Maria Velasco, 1889, A view of Guelatao |
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| Jose Maria Velasco, 1889, Atlantic Ocean |
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| Jose Maria Velasco, 1889, Havana Harbor |
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| Daniel del Valle, 1895, Moctezuma Visiting the Graves of His Ancestors |
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| Angel Zarraga, 20C, Female Study |
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| Nicolas Rodriguez Juarez, 18C, The Virgin of Pasavensis |
And now it was time for some food! We chose Cafe de Tacuba, established 1912, a couple of blocks away, recommended by Jim Johnson. The place was packed but we were seated immediately. Very pretty decor and attentive service. The waitresses had very old fashioned uniforms, including giant bow hats. The large mariachi band was excellent! We would definitely return.
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| My plain but tasty chicken Rice was very garlicky. Excellent tortillas |
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| Husband's beef with enchiladas suisas |
We walked over to Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, passing pretty doors and the Templo Mayor along the way.
San Ildefonso is a former Jesuit boarding house but is considered the birthplace of Mexican muralism. Diego Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros painted murals here in the 1920's. There was a lot of renovation going on and the Rivera murals were not viewable.
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| Orosco, 1923-1926, Destruction of the Old Order |
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| Orosco, 1923-1926, Banquet of the Wealthy |
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| Orosco, 1923-1926, The Aristocrats |
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| Bavaria Germany, 1899, The Welcome |
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| Leal, 1923-1924, The party of the mister of Chalma |
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| Wine with a view, y'all! |
Once we finally got to Foro Sol, it was mass confusion. It's a huge place and there were tons of people everywhere. Security was pretty attentive. There were lots of vendors and husband bought a shirt. We were in the closer of the two Standing Room Only sections (General A) and were not horribly far from the stage at the beginning of the concert. As time went on, it got tighter and tighter so we moved to the very back of the section, 'til it ended. It rained (and we needed our ponchos) for the first hour or so. We were really amazed that the beer vendors navigated the massive crowds selling during the entire concert. I snagged a souvenir cup (full of beer) for like $5.
It was not my favorite Killers concert experience (that goes to NY because it was the entire band -I miss Dave and Mark; and Houston because we were so close) but I certainly enjoyed it! And would definitely love to experience it again!
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| Stadium lit up during Rut |
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| Damp but happy |
Takeways:
1. We were very impressed with the art museums we visited
2. Eating well in Mexico City was easy
3. CDMX traffic was incredible. Like nothing we've ever experienced before
4. The Killers always put on a great show! I can't wait to see them again!
Next: Coyoacan where Frida and Diego lived
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