Museo de Mexico y Palacio Nacional

I'm hella tired, but really content right now.  I just spent the weekend in a beautiful subtropical port city, Veracruz, but the bus ride home was really tiring.  I'm about 3 days behind on posts but I'll try to catch up today starting with my Friday adventures.  We had planned to leave by 3 pm to Veracruz (it's about a 5.5 hour bus ride from Mexico City) so I had to pack as much Mexico City sights as I could in the morning and early afternoon.  Since there's so so much to see I actually only got to two places:  Museo de Mexico (Museum of Mexico) and Palacio Nacional (National Palace).  The first museum I went to was in a part of the city I hadn't been able to visit until then and I got lost for a bit, although not before I took some pictures:

This plaza is right above the metro stop Pino Suarez.  It was shocking to walk up the stairs and find myself right in the middle of a huge marketplace.

The tents made it feel like I was inside an orange.  People were selling everything from sopes and tamales to bras and whistles.  I wonder how many Mexicans actually get there underwear from markets like these...

La Ciudad es Bella (The city is beautiful)

These candles bring back so many childhood memories of when my parents would force me to attend this five hour Catholic mass and then stay another hour afterward to pray and light these candles.

Yes, another church.  They're just so pretty and peaceful. Aaaand they provide a safe space to look at my guide book and map without drawing too much attention to myself...

Just in case the main seating area is not peaceful enough, there's a separate room to pray exclusively to the Virgin Mary, also elaborately designed.

Jesus' hospital.  The line was hella long.

Moctezuma Xocoyotzin, ruled the city of Tenochtitlan, the ruins on which Mexico City now lies.

I finally made it to el Museo de Mexico, which had really eye-opening contemporary art exhibits on the role of capitalism in the country. Topics from race to oil consumption to corporate marketing were popular focal points in the pieces.  Again, I realized that the same things we worry about in the states (read: those pointed out during Occupy) are at the forefront of Mexican minds as well, especially among the intellectuals who reside mostly in urban areas of the country. The first exhibit was by the artist Beatriz Zamora titled El Negro.*  These pieces were all mixed media and were basically just panels painted black and they varied by the type of media that was used to create texture.  The artist was attempting to show the diversity and beauty of just a color and she succeeded.  It's hard to capture how mesmerizing some of these panels were in pictures but here are some. 

Starry sky

This is adorable.  Leonardo (11 years old) left a note for the artist:  "The exhibition showed me the beauty of one color, yes the color black could demonstrate beauty that could never compare...I liked everything that sparkles a lot".

The middle piece on the far wall was a heart shape made of wood pieces.

The second piece on the left used some sort of acrylic to create texture and made the color shiny.

*what I've learned:  racial terms, such as negro, moreno, chino, indio... are actually not meant to be offensive here but just a way of describing people.  To me, it doesn't sound right and I don't think I'd ever be comfortable using them, but it's really interesting to hear people talk about race here. Obviously, the lighter skin, eyes, and hair that one has the better treatment they receive (although they also assume it means more money), but in general, physical descriptions are just that without any judgment behind them. I'm sure there are exceptions, though.

The second exhibition was by contemporary Mexican artist, Minerva Cuevas.  The pieces spanned about 30 years and demonstrate the effects of capitalism on Mexican life.

This is the original head of the "Angel of Independence" lying at the bottom of a black flag.  Notice the symbolism here ;)

Egalite is French for equality and it is written on the label of every water bottle (also on a familiar brand).  So, it is more than advisable to NOT drink tap water in Mexico.  Therefore, Mexicans have to buy filtered water which costs about $1.50 for one of those huge jugs you see on water coolers.  A liter wattle bottle from a grocery store costs around 50 cents.  Coming from the states that's actually quite a bargain, but Mexicans are furious that they have to even pay for something they should get for free. 

The company Del Monte has been exploiting local pueblos by taking over the fertile land of the people and forcing citizens to work their own land for the company.  Since the company controls the majority of fruit and vegetable exports in the country, the towns and their people are left either without the food that comes from their own land or they end up having to buy it back from the company.

The city smells of a combination of smoke, exhaust and food.  It's pretty great...

My second stop was the Palacio Nacional which is the political center of the city. This is where serious business gets done.  The palace is enormous and like most things in this city is also very very old.  They recently constructed another wing where visitors are not allowed, but the majority of the palace is home to famous Mexican art pieces (both modern and indigenous) and museums showcasing the history of Mexican politics, such as the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Mexico's most beloved president, Benito Juarez, and restored artifacts and personal belongings of those that fought in war. 

The famous bell that stands above the entrance.

One of 3 walls documenting the history of the Mexico city starting with the Aztecs until now.

Karl Marx <3

The military guards every entrance and exit, but they also just stand around socializing and getting their shoes shined.

Benito Juarez, famous Mexican president who came from an indigenous background and secured Mexico's independence against European forces.

The Juarez bedroom...

On May 5, 1862, Mexicans defeated the French during this battle in Puebla despite very low odds...I mean come on, it's the French (I'm pretty sure they have the best track record with winning battles).  While it's celebrated pretty heavily in the States it's actually a minor cause for celebration nowadays here.  It really serves as a reminder of Mexican pride and freedom.  It's really got nothing on Mexican Independence day, though, on September 16th.  Actually, not even July 4th can compare to how Mexicans celebrate their Independence.

Well, that really took about 5 hours of my day to get through.  Afterward, I boarded a bus toward Veracruz.  There's so much I haven't talked about and so many pictures that are not on here.  I might use flickr or some kind of photo sharing site to upload all the pictures I've taken.  I'll be working on a post on my weekend in Veracruz today.  I decided to take the day off from being a tourist and just relax.  Can I just say that the coffee here is amazing!  How am I every going to go back???  I've been in Mexico for a week now, but it really does feel more like a month.  I am really happy I decided to take this adventure and I'm so excited for everything I have left to see and learn.  I hope you're enjoying these (very long) blog updates :)  Check back soon!

Extras:

Protest outside of the Supreme Court.  They were deciding whether or not to distribute retirement funds and there were a bunch of very upset older people outside the gates and others that were handing out phone numbers so that they could call and demand their money!

The world is indebted to Mexico for corn, beans, tabacco, cacao, cotton...

That would be a dead lizard providing incense for some soul-cleaning.