Cañada de la Virgen Pyramid Site

Today we visited Cañada de la Virgen, the pyramid site outside of San Miguel de Allende.  The site was built by the Otomí Indians around 500 BC and was inhabited until the 1500’s.

CLICK ON THE PHOTO BELOW TO VIEW THE SLIDESHOW

You go with a guide and are driven to within a 20-25 minute walk of the pyramid site & you hike in climbing volcanic rock steps.  Besides the Otomí, we were told that the Toltecs also used the site during this time, however they were a nomadic tribe who did not settle permanently here.

The pyramid is situated so the light of both the sun and moon come directly into the center at specific dates of the year during which ceremonial activities were performed.

As you can see the landscape after a good rain year is lush and green and today, in full bloom.

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Diego Rivera’s Anahuacalli Museum

One Reason to love Mexico City:
Diego Rivera’s Anahuacalli Museum in Coyoacan.
Over his lifetime, Diego Rivera collected 50,000 pieces of pre-hispanic art. According to the museum staff he bought from ‘archaeologists’ who robbed temple sites and had a hand in taking pieces himself.

In return, he built this volcanic rock house which mimics a pyramid inside, to give the historic art collection a home and share them with the Mexican people.
The house took 28 years to build and was unfinished upon his death.  With the generous support of Dolores Olmeda, the house was finished and opened to the public.  I have to say it is an amazing piece of architecture that they say was built with some consultation from Frank Lloyd Wright.

Inside, you are walking inside a pyramid laden with stone mosaics of prehispanic images on both the floor and ceilings, the walls made of volcanic rock from the land the house sits on.  The top floor is home to some of his large mural sketches and houses contemporary shows. It’s beautiful and a must see if you are in Mexico city.

View the slideshow below:

© Suzanne da Rosa 2012

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Museo Antropologia

Mexico City, the museum of anthropology.

There’s more than I can write pecking a letter at a time on my iPhone so here’s some photos until I can get to my computer

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Casa Azul, Frida’s House

The Frida Kahlo Museum and the house that she grew up in, the house she was nursed back to health in after her tragic accident, the house she learned to paint in. This was her family home, which after one of her break ups with Diego Rivera, she moved back to. She painted it blue. She and Diego later brought the Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and his wife here to live. She spent her last days and died here. (slideshow at the bottom of this post)

The grounds outside the room where Frida's day bed was.

I was truly stunned by the size of the grounds, as well as the design of the structures which skirted the outer perimeter near the street, different than I had imagined.  I was equally surprised at how many preconceived ideas about Frida Kahlo’s life I had adopted which this visit  dispelled by just being in the presence of the real thing.  This always happens to me with art galleries anyway.  For example Goya’s dark series, which are housed at the Prado in Madrid, you can’t imagine what these paintings really are through photographs of them.  You think you can, but when you stand right in front of them, they convey emotion, compassion, anger and the power of their story and they become real.  You have to spend time with the emotion they create inside you afterwards.

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Singing in Spanish #4

Today’s song – Mucho Corazon
Is a Bolero written and popularized by Benny Moore,
Go here for the video to listen to while you read this post

There is a general consensus
That the first Latin American Bolero
Was popularized in 1895
By Cuban troubador José Pepe Sánchez
With his song Tristeza.
The Bolero contains two phrases of sixteen bars,
A guitar instrumental between them,
The words are emotionally romantic,
Of love,
Adoration,
Lament,
Unrequited love,
Sadness.

The striking differences

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Where Did The Last Two Weeks Go?

Yikes! all of a sudden two weeks have gone by.
I’m working on several posts which if all goes well,
Will be up by the end of the week –

The final movie of the sunday parade is finished.
You can click on the photo below
Or go here to read the entire post.
The movie is at the end.

Click On Photo To View Movie of the Sunday morning parade - the dancers getting ready, practicing parts of their dances, and shots of the parade route.

Fireworks and castillo tower fireworks

The final Festival of San Miguel video

Guanajuato and the Cervantino Festival

The Olga Costa, Jose Chavez Morado Museum
Guanajuato

Dori Locos –
You have to love what they do with food here.
Complete with video of how to make these yourself.
Here’s the link to the Dori Locos Post which is finished.

After all this, a posting from Charco del Ingenio

Where I am going today to video a private botanical tour
Let by former director Mario Mendoza.
This post is done, click here to read it.

Last, but not least
As a follow up to Billie’s blog on shrimp coctail
A delicious new recipe that has NO sugar or catsup in it.

Well, I take that back –
There’s one more, a trip to Pena de Bernal
A weaving town that has a spectacular rock monument
The third largest in the world
Behind the rock of Gibraltar and Sugar loaf in Brazil.

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Xilitla, Las Pozas

Las Posas – beginning with the trip through the mountains outside of Queretaro and into the tropical green of Xilitla and Las pozas, the sculptures, the labyrinth quality of the sculptures in the jungle, ending with the pools and waterfalls. A busy Three weeks.

We’ve had two separate family visits which prompted us to look into trips around the area for trips we have been wanting to take.

First, we went to Guanajuato where we’ve been so many times and love. Then we’ve done various local things like the Tuesday market and walking around town plus  a tour of the Rancho Canada de La Virgen (another post that I’m working on) and a trip to the very unique Las Pozas in Xilitla.

Las Pozas is Edward James’ surrealistic, labyrinth, Jungle Castle in the Sierra Gorda Moountains….

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