Mexico City Off The Beaten Path

About an hour from Pachuca (which is 1.5 hours North of Mexico) lies Las Prismas. A cascading waterfall surrounded by a campground and some venders. This is a popular getaway for people from Mexico City.

Your timing would have to be just right to see something like this, but if your there go check it out. I was able to go to a protest in Mexico City while I was staying in Mexico and it was unbelieveable. I've never seen so many people in my life. We went with a local political activist group and marched with them. The march went from the angel of independence to the Zocalo. If you know nothing about NAFTA's effect's in Mexico or the Campesino's I want to encourage you to educate yourself. It's good to know what's going on in the world.

Here is a little hint, if you want to see works of Diego Rivera do not miss the Hacienda de Educacion. You have to show your passport to enter, but it is still probably free. It is only several blocks from the back of the Cathedral and therefore could be visited after or before a visit to the national palace. Try to avoid visiting during teacher union protests -- we got trapped inside for 6 hours a number of years ago. We were the only non-Mexican tourists visiting making me think this is one of the often missed places to see.

and just look down as you enter the church. Not exactly OTBP, but I don't think many people bother to notice the worn and weathered wood stoop. You do have to step up and over it or you will trip and fall on your face, but the aged wood's pattern of wear is interesting to muse over. How many thousands and perhaps a million? hmmmm...people have trod this path ahead of you?

...of what REALLY happened to those Mayans and Aztecs so many centuries ago. When you visit the pyramids and other excavations, you end up with more questions than really solid answers. But take a look at this mock-up of the ancient Mexico City when it was surrounded by a giant lake, will you? Turns out it was invaded by giiiiant pigeons. Did your teachers and guidebooks ever mention this? I doubt it.

A very pleasant upper middle class neighbourhood of Mexico City in the city's south. It does have a wonderful community spirit and nice colonial homes. During weekends, they have flea markets in the main square. The place will give you a diffferent impression of Mexico City

Its architecture is unique: a double geometric structure, 12-sided on the outside and octagonal on the inside.
The structure of the Polyforum suggests a diamond mounted on a steel setting.
Viewed from any angle, this octagon looks like an ellipse, an illusion created by the original perspective conceived by Siqueiros for his interior mural.
The exterior of the Polyforum is actually an enormous easel with 12 masterpieces on it.
Each one consists of 160 square meters of sculpted painting and depicts symbolically a theme.

Another of its unique characteristics is its four different interior levels, which make the utilization of space very versatile.
First level is multi-purpose and houses the offices.
Second level contains a circular theater which seats 600 and can be used for lectures, seminars, small concerts and other cultural events.
Third level is called the National Forum.
Fourth level is the Universal Forum, the walls and dome of which are completely covered by the world's largest mural ever painted, known as 'La Marcha de la Humanidad' (The March of Humanity).

The mural covers 4331 sq meter (46,618 sq ft) of curved and sculpted wall space is a surprise, as is the richness of its form and color.
It depicts the opening of a dome on one side and its closing at nightfall on the other. At opposite ends, two gigantic pairs of hands symbolize Man -in his desire to dominate and create- and Woman -in her search for peace and harmony.
The second part of the mural describes the march of humanity toward the future revolution. Science and technology will be used to build a new world where peace and culture reign.

'La Marcha de la Humanidad' was Siqueiros' last great work, he died only two years after its completion.

Under the dome there is a rotating platform which can hold 1,000 people, thus allowing the audience to 'march' together with humanity through its history and toward the cosmos...

Directions:
701 Insurgentes Av., next to WTC (World Trade Center).

Polyforum -
Polyforum Cultural Siqueiros
(The Siqueiros Polyforum).

The building became part of one of the most ambitious urban projects at the end of the 1960s, intended to modernize Mexico City's image and promote tourism on a large scale combining art, architectural beauty and maximum efficiency in all its services.
Since its founding 30 years ago, it has been both a meeting place and landmark for inhabitants of Mexico's capital and a magnificent example of the country's visual arts vanguard. This center of culture is unmistakable because of its architecture, the murals that cover the twelve sides of its outer walls and the fact that it contains the world's largest sculpted mural by renowned Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros.

After six years of uninterrupted work, it was inaugurated in 1971 by President Luis Echeverría Alvarez.
From the start (1965), the main goal of both the artist and his team was to achieve a total integration of architecture, sculpture and painting.
This was the time when muralism was searching for a new pictorial language, which would receive a great innovative impetus thanks to its merger with modern architecture and contemporary art. Siqueiros represents that new thinking in muralism, which departed from flat walls and imagined all surfaces as an active, dynamic space.
Untiringly experimental, the artist incorporated new materials and techniques with the conviction that the advances of science would permit more freedom of expression.
The result is a work of art which encompasses architecture, painting, sculpture and relief.

With more than 8,000 square meters of space to unleash his creative capabilities upon, with no major restrictions and accompanied by an excellent team of more than 40 people (painters, sculptors, architects, chemists, photographers, workers and artists invited from different parts of the world), Siqueiros encountered in the Polyforum the best opportunity in his life as an artist.

(contunue next block)