The Fiesta de Culturas Indígenas is held in the Zócalo at the end of August every year for two weeks. A well-organized colourful event, the Fair is a great place to learn about some of the indigenous groups in Mexico and also to taste their food, buy their art and crafts or watch them dance.We started Photo Walk Nº82 outside the Cathedral in the Zócalo and while waiting for the Fair to open, we headed down Calle Moneda towards the Santissima church to see some street art. On our way, we experienced the daily life of this part of the city, capturing some interesting shots with our cameras. Although the street art around here used to be based on the theme of Indigenous Groups, we discovered it had recently been painted over which was somewhat disappointing. However, there was a lot more to see and photograph in this part of the Centro Histórico which is off most tourist trails.Returning to the Fair in the Zócalo, we wandered around the stands crammed with food and crafts from Oaxaca, Nayarit, Baja California, Guerrero, Puebla and other states and watched the Aztec dancers on the stage. Among other things, we savoured esquites, pan de elote, tlayudas from Oaxaca, aguas de sabores and someone was even brave enough to taste the roasted grasshoppers covered in chocolate.Towards the end, we watched a rug weaver from Teotitlán del Valle in Oaxaca working on his loom and a Huichol man from Jalisco covering figures of animals with thousands of tiny beads.All in all, it was a great opportunity to photograph indigenous cultures without having to leave Mexico City or travel far and wide around the country!
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Photo Walk Nº80 - A spectacular library, street art and Moorish architecture... off the beaten path20/8/2018 The area of Buenavista and Santa Maria La Ribera is not on the main tourist trails but has a lot of surprises in store for those who head there. On Photo Walk Nº80, we combined a visit to the enormous Vasconcelos Library with a wander down an entire street covered in urban art and a walk around a very unusual "kiosco" in Santa Maria La Ribera.Our first stop was at the massive Vasconcelos Library with its very unusual interior, full of light, where half a million books sit on bookshelves and walkways suspended from the ceiling. All around the library is a peaceful botanical garden where we did some nature photography.From there we made our way down both sides of the Buenvavista-Guerrero street where the buildings have been covered with vivid street art depicting different themes. 43 artists teamed up with the local residents who decided what to have painted. Frida Kahlo, the 43 missing students, indigenous groups and nature are some of the themes represented. We enjoyed not only photographing the street art but also the locals going about their everyday life.We then crossed over Av Insurgentes and walked to the park in Santa Maria La Ribera to take photos of the Kiosco Morisco with its unusual Moroccan-style architecture. In fact. it was designed as the pavilion representing Mexico in the World Fair in the USA in 1884-5, after which it was dismantled and shipped back to Mexico. We also peeped in the Geology Museum where we photographed the sweeping staircase and mosaic floor and got a glimpse of the mammoth skeleton inside.Our final stop was at Casa de Toño for some refreshment where we discovered that, even in this restaurant, there were interesting murals on the walls!Colonia Roma is a neighbourhood that needs to be savoured slowly. Preferably on foot, with observant eyes, and a camera around your neck. That's when you discover the often overlooked details that make this such a charming place and the many contrasts even on the same street.And that's precisely what we did on Photo Walk Nº78. We ambled around part of the neighbourhood, learning about its history, photographing its architecture and street art, and even being invited into a private courtyard to see some local urban art.We began the tour at Casa Lamm and learned that Colonia Roma had originally been the place where the wealthy built their mansions to escape the chaos of the city centre. Its heyday was from the early 1900s to 1940 when wide leafy streets were lined with European-style residences. We also wandered around La Romita, a mangle of tiny streets around a leafy square with one of the oldest churches in Mexico City in the centre. This is where the pre-Hispanic village Aztacalco was founded on one of the small islands on the lake in Aztec times. The Spaniards came and built a church there but over the years, it has strongly resisted development like the rest of the Colonia Roma. So maybe this was really a photo walk to capture the two faces of Colonia Roma and some of its curious spots. And as Avenida Alvaro Obregon simply bristles with restaurants, we decided to end with a meal and a cold beer at La Cerveceria. The best way to savour Colonia Roma.On Photo Walk Nº75 we spent the morning wandering around the streets of Colonia Roma south of Av. Alvaro Obregon in search of new and old street art and finding some hidden gems. We were not disappointed by what we found... scores of colorful murals brighten up this part of the neighborhood. Many of the murals in the streets near this square are part of the series on Mexican indigenous groups #VAPORLAROMA. There are 68 different indigenous groups in Mexico and the idea is to represent all of them in murals in Colonia Roma.Of course, there is much more to Colonia Roma than street art and we met some friendly people along the way who explained things to us, including the owner of a tortillería who even invited us all to hot, freshly-made tortillas and spicy sauce.By the end of the morning, we had all got lots of great shots, a few selfies and learnt a bit more about the street art world in Mexico City.Colonia Roma, Mexico City's hipster neighbourhood, is one of the best places to find interesting street art. On this private walk with a visitor from Colombia, we explored the area south of Av. Alvaro Obregon where the group of artists called "Jóvenes Artesanos" have been brightening up some of the streets with their #VA POR LA ROMA series of murals. Of course, there was a lot more to see and experience in Colonia Roma, including other murals, two leafy squares and a visit to Roma's urban garden, and we were even treated to a delicious sandwich by a man selling cheeses who refused to let us pay.Colonia Roma never fails to provide endless opportunities for photos and experiences and lived up to its reputation on this particular walk. |
Margaret MetcalfeBorn to travel, explore and share photos and experiences Archives
May 2019
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