Adios Mexico

La Paroquia, San Miguel de Allende

After a lovely three months stay in San Miguel de Allende, we took our leave on January 26th.

As in the past, we enjoyed our stay, but, perhaps not quite as much as we had in our last few visits.  San Miguel, unfortunately, is becoming a a victim of its own success.

Automobile traffic and pollution are more noticeable (or at least to us) than ever, and there are times when you feel overwhelmed by the tourists.  Still, it remains a magical place and a great place to relax and escape the winter weather.

La Virgin de Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico

Larry really enjoys the opportunity to improve and practice his Spanish and the Mexican people are overwhelmingly kind, hardworking and gracious.

Before saying adios or farewell to Mexico, we spent three days in Mexico City visiting with our friend, Carole Reedy.

We used to call it DF (day-effay), distrito federale, as many of our Mexican friends had taught us, but now, thanks to a new national law, it is the City of Mexico (CDMX), (ciudad mexico), with many of the same powers of other Mexican States.

Enjoying our luncheon

 It is always so much fun to visit with Carole, who has lived in Mexico for nearly 20 years.  She is American born but has come to love the country, its people and its culture so much that she became a Mexican citizen.

She is a great guide to the City and in previous visits has introduced us to many of its museums and cultural attractions, including the Corrida or bullfighting.

Templo Mayor ruins in the Zocalo

One day during our stay, after a delicious and relaxing lunch at a great restaurant overlooking the ruins of the Templo Mayor (the main Aztec Temple, dating from before the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1520), we visited the nearby Department of Education (Secretaria de Educacion) to marvel at the Diego Rivera murals.

The murals were painted by Rivera from 1923-1928 and tell the story of the Mexico Revolution.

Restored in the 1990's, they are truly marvelous to behold and study. With very few other tourists or visitors, we were free to wander and explore to our hearts content.

We had planned a stay of half an hour or so and ended up staying more than two hours.  For us, the murals were far more interesting and fascinating than others we had seen in the National Palace or elsewhere.

 Rivera was an avowed Communist and wholeheartedly believed in the Mexican Revolution and through these murals wanted to celebrate its successes in redistributing land and ending illiteracy and generally improving the lot of the Mexican campesino.

His overarching theme seems to be summed up in a banner above one of the murals which loosely can be translated as "True Civilization will be harmony of men with the land and amongst themselves."

Freda Kahlo handing out guns

One of our favorite murals features Freda Kahlo, Rivera's wife and an artist in her own right,   distributing arms to the campesinos.

Although they seemed to have loved each other very much, Rivera and Kahlo had a tumultuous and troubled relationship.  Her fame has perhaps surpassed his in recent times.

Our photos can not do justice to the beauty of the murals nor the impact that they make on the viewer.

We felt so fortunate to be able to see and experience them in person, and should you be in Mexico City--don't miss them!

The Secretariate is a huge complex and after we had finished looking at the Rivera murals, we started to leave only to realize that in another part of the building there were some works by another famous Mexican muralist, David Siqueiros.

We were not as taken with them as we were with the Rivera murals.  They are very monumental and abstract--so perhaps a little less approachable.

What a great way to close out yet another visit to Mexico.  Thanks once again to our friend Carole for turning us on to this great find and for always being willing to share her Mexico City with us.

Now we are back in Denver for the foreseeable future.  It is great to be back in our own place and to be near Bryn, Grant and Charlie.  We got back in town just in time to help celebrate his 4th Birthday--an important milestone.

And to experience Super Bowl 50 with a million other Bronco fans !  It was a SUPER welcome !!