Cultural Experiences, Mexico City

You will be spoiled for choice. Narrow your options down by deciding on the type of food you'd like (gourmet French? hearty Italian? firey Mexican?), the feel of the place (tablescloths and candles or tall bottles of beer on a wooden table?) the area you'd like to be in after the meal (up for clubbing or want to stay near the hotel?)

I'd go for a cultural experience--get a restaurant that features local specialties and has live music. There is even a restaurant where in the summertime you can see a bullfight with torreros-in-training! (But since I was there in March, I was spared this spectacle.)

It might seem corny to dine to the rhythms of of a mariachi band, but, hey, you're a tourist and it shows anyway, so why pretend?

Medley of mexican music and dancing , native to many different regions of Mexico and occasions such as festivals, weddings, religious holidays and historical events ( day of the dead, celebration of independence , etc)

Greetings,

I am currently visiting Mexico City, and I am happy to say that the tango scene here is alive and well. The best place to connect with the Tango community is at the outdoor Sunday Milonga held at the Parque de Mexico in the Condesa district. (Closest subway Chilpancingo). The event is free and starts at 5:00 PM.There is a free lesson from 5:00 to 5:45.

From there you will meet all sorts of absolutely wonderful people who will be happy to tell you about all of the Milongas and teachers in the city (and even escort you to the Milonga that happens after that Milonga)

Happy dancing!

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Just outside of the Museo de Antropologia, you will find a large pole in the ground. That's where you will find a gruop of men dressed in traditional cllothes. 4 men Perform a ritual dance, then they climb up the pole and they fly down the pole while another men dances and play the flute in the top of the pole.

It's just amazing!, a really must see.
It's free , of course donations are expected, well this men have to feed their families and don't have a life insurance.

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During spanish-rule times (1521-1824) the ornamental wealth and variety of forms were excellent means to project the aspirations and the taste of the colonial society. Just as in the metropolis, baroque was the main style for architecture.

However, baroque in Mexico City was unique as it used to a great extent two regional types of light volcanic stone: chiluca (white) and tezontle (red), and enjoyed the creativity of local architects and patrons who gave an exhuberant and intentionally independent look to baroque.

Visit the Colegio de San Ildefonso (San Ildefonso St. facing Templo Mayor ruins), now a museum with an elegant patio; here, take a look to the "Generalito" room which houses the choir-stalls that once belonged to the temple of Saint Augustine and experience a true baroque grand hall.

Franz Mayer museum (45 Hidalgo Ave., northern side of Alameda park) is housed in the former San Juan de Dios monastery, which in colonial times also served as an hospital. It is the decorative arts museum and has a neat -and big- collection of applied-arts objects: furniture, textiles, ceramics, gold and silver works from XIV to XIX centuries. Its two patios have two different atmospheres: One consists of charming colonial arcades surrounding a garden and the other is a sober covered space housing temporary displays.

The Zona Rosa is reminds me a bit of Soho. It is a fusion of boutiques, bars, restaurants, mom & pop shops, and street vendors. Great place to shop, eat, hang out, etc., anytime day or night. The streets are cobblestone and there is a nice collection of art on the streets. Spend a day here just wandering around.

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The life and works of two artists tower over all others in Mexico - Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. The stories of their turbulent lives - seperately and together - are legendary.
Rivera's murals of Mexico are as easily accessible, both literally and figuratively, today as they have always been to anyone who is interested. Kahlo's work is far more problematical with its raw pain and confronting imagery. If you've only ever seen her work in reproduction, you may well be surprised by the real thing - many of the works are very small with a surprisingly delicate quality and very refined brushwork; they seem nowhere near as confronting whilst losing nothing of their intensity.
Afficionados of either or both artists can pay homage to them at several places in Mexico City. - If Rivera is your main interest you could choose make the pilgrimage to the pair of houses within the one garden they shared - a pink one for him , a blue one for her - in San Angel where Rivera lived and worked until he died, but it is Frida's house, in Coyacan, where she was born and died, that is the place that speaks most eloquently of her , with its collection of her works, her clothes ( in later years she always dressed in traditional costume) and the pre-Hispanic and folk art artifacts she collected around her.
The paintings on show in the house are mostly minor works - to see some of the more famous works you will need to go to the Museo de Arte Moderno in the Bosque de Chapultepec.

If you know little about Frida Kahlo and you're heading for Mexico City, you could do worse than watch the biopic "Frida" - it looks stunning, Alfred Molina is brilliant as Rivera and Selma Hayek makes a sufficiently credible Frida for the film to be both enjoyable and informative.

leyle

Inside the National Palace over the second floor there is a permanet exposition of some main murals of Diego Rivera, who shows his work and try to explain the mexican history trough them.
It really worth it.