CULTURE THE PLACE YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW

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1 CULTURE THE PLACE YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW

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3 THE PLACE YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW

4 MEXICO S HISTORIC CITIES The history of Mexico is told in its streets, and plazas, and along country roads; is made manifest in magnificent stone palaces and cobblestone paths. Visitors in search of Mexican history s traces favor a number of cities, but it might be the case that the classics are still the top those cities that never fall out of fashion, like Guanajuato and Zacatecas in the Bajío region, or marvelous Campeche on the Yucatán Peninsula. 2

5 CAMPECHE A wall to protect the ancient commercial port from pirate attacks was erected beginning in the seventeenth century, and today it is the city s most emblematic landmark. Its museums, forts and ramparts are iconic and at spots like the José el Alto Historical Fort Museum they recreate a swashbuckling history of galleons, swords and buccaneers. Not least of all, Campeche s Maya heritage has been preserved in the form of striking artworks gathered from nearby archaeological zones. 3

6 GUANAJUATO Mexico s mining bonanza reaches its highest expression in Guanajuato. And La Valenciana, the mine that tapped its bountiful silver vein, helps explain the baroque, neo-classical and nineteenth-century architectural treasures one sees in the city, lining its streets and plazas seamlessly. A visit to museums such as the Alhóndiga de Granaditas allows visitors to relive Mexico s struggle for independence from Spain one of the nation s most eventful eras. The modern city lives an intense cultural life that visitors perceive and experience with the very first notes of a concert at the Teatro Juárez. 4

7 ZACATECAS Plazas, gardens and jewelry markets frame pink cantera stone buildings that are the hallmark of Zacatecas, another mining city. Its Churrigueresque and plateresque cathedral exemplifies the city s unique aesthetic, rendered in pastel hues alone. Bufa Peak features a museum on the Mexican Revolution, along with privileged views reached via a cable car that offers a panoramic vista of the city and surrounding countryside. Visitors seeking world-class events head for Zacatecas s beautiful Teatro Fernando Calderón a landmark visible from almost any point in the city. 5

8 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES Time cannot diminish what remains of Mexico s ancient pre-hispanic civilizations, whose cultural splendors continue to astonish visitors at cities and pyramids that rise from even the most impenetrable jungles. The Yucatán receives the greatest numbers of visitors to archaeological sites, but ruins are found throughout Mexico. 6

9 PALENQUE, CHIAPAS One of the most beautiful Maya cities of all, Palenque is found in the northern part of Mexico s southernmost state, Chiapas. Visitors enter the city which reached its peak around the seventh century AD through the Gran Plaza, surrounded by a number of other impressive structures. The most notable is the Temple of Inscriptions, a funerary building that contains a secret tomb. The ball court and aqueduct are also important ruins, but nothing is as impressive as Palenque s still-well-preserved temples and palaces. 7

10 Teotihuacan, Mexico STATE This Mexica nation archaeological zone was one of the most influential cities in all antiquity the representative conurbation of the Classic Period. At its height it enjoyed some seven centuries of preeminence its population reached 200,000. Highlights include the Street of the Dead and the Pyramid dedicated to Quetzalcóatl; but that said, no visitor should (or can) miss the site s most important and dazzling structures: the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. The former rises almost 64 meters, and is well worth the climb; when you reach the top, try to imagine life as it was lived in this powerful civilization and at its vast, bustling capital. 8

11 TULUM, QUINTANA ROO Turquoise Caribbean waters surround Tulum, in the state of Quintana Roo. In ancient times it was a port as well as lookout spot, walled for its own defense. Its most important structure is dedicated to the deity Kukulkán: a lighthouse that warned navigators off the coral reef after maritime expeditions, now known as the Castle. The Temple of the Descending God is another must-see structure. 9

12 M E X I CA N A R C H I T ECT U R E Great metropolises are always chic: their buildings bear the marks of past glories at the same time the city continues to create and build, a testimony to the passage of time. Cities such as Morelia, Puebla and Querétaro reflect the splendor of their past in façades, walls and towers. Yet contemporary architecture also finds its place within these imposing cities. 10

13 PUEBLA Also known as the City of the Angels, Puebla s capital city contains Mexico s greatest concentration of churches, many of which are easily discovered on a walk through the city s magnificent downtown. The seventeenth-century cathedral is considered one of the most beautiful in the entire Western Hemisphere and features a magnificent rear altarpiece, high altar and Moorish-style choir loft. The Churches of Santo Domingo a masterpiece of the baroque style and San Francisco featuring a gray stone and talavera tile façade are just the start of Puebla s almost innumerable architectural treasures. 11

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15 MORELIA Your Morelia architecture tour begins with a visit to its imposing, eighteenth-century cathedral famed for campaniles almost 70 meters high, its tripartite baroque façade and its 4000-pipe organ. Plaza de los Mártires is the starting place for the city s emblematic aqueduct, spanning more than 250 arches before it arrives to Plaza Villalongín and a graceful fountain portraying Tarasca indigenous women. The architecture of Michoacán s capital city is especially lovely after dark, thanks to dramatic lighting cast upon the downtown area s most beautiful structures. 13

16 14 QUERÉTARO At Mexico s geographical center, colonial Quéretaro is home to neo-classical and baroque structures with touches of the Moorish even as its streets harmoniously incorporate more modern architecture. Amid peaceful plazas and parks, visitors reach buildings such as the former Santa Cruz Convent, a construction of sober and classical design whose walls feature seventeenth- and eighteenth-century paintings. The church of Santa Rosa de Viterbo an exquisite example of the Mexican baroque is also notable. Querétaro s Regional Museum and Museum of Art, housed in the Old San Agustín Convent, are architectural masterpieces from Mexico s viceregal period.

17 Central Library at the National University Modern ARCHITECTURE The play of geometric forms and color that distinguishes modern Mexico arrived with the twentieth century. For an understanding of the constant evolution that the nation s big cities have undergone, look no further than Mexico State s Torres de Satélite, by master Mexican architect Luis Barragán. Mexico City abounds with innovative work by such architects, exemplified by landmarks such as the Auditorio Nacional and the Rufino Tamayo Museum of Contemporary Art by Teodoro González de León or the National University Rectory Tower, by the unequalled Mario Pani. 15

18 A R T The art of Mexico has come to enjoy international renown, above all because of works by twentieth-century artists who exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the world. It still appeals to connoisseurs who appreciate the unique aesthetic of a nation that uses creativity and aesthetic innovation to define and reinvent itself. 16

19 Ramiro Chaves / Gatopardo CONTEMPORARy ART Mexico s creative spirit is in constant movement and undergoes perennial evolution and the twenty-first century has been the arena for numerous and compelling aesthetic proposals. In recent years, Gabriel Orozco has enjoyed tremendous success both in Mexico and abroad, thanks not only to his tenacity, but above all, to his obvious talent. Damián Ortega is another promising young artist on the scene; fully versed in global art trends, his work creates a universal discourse that speaks of Mexico at the same time. Works by Damián Ortega 17

20 Man of Fire, by José Clemente Orozco 18

21 MURALISMO Mexican art reached a zenith in the twentieth century thanks to artists who put Mexican identity at the center of their painterly creations. This nationalism found expression in murals that in turn touched on socio-cultural complexities as well as the beauty of Mexico s peoples and landscapes within a framework of the European avant-garde, yet in an inherently local palette. Works by Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros adorn dozens of Mexican buildings; an important collection of canvases and sculptures by Rufino Tamayo and Juan Soriano can be found in museums and along city streets. The Abolition of Slavery, by José Chávez Morado 19

22 INFRASTRUCTURE Along with contemporary architecture, new technologies and services reflect Mexico s third millennium ambitions, clearly exemplified in recent constructions featuring both eclectic designs and new modes of functionality. 20

23 Felipe Luna / Guías df Universitary Museum of Contemporary Art The face of the future Mexico s newest museums the University Museum of Contemporary Art, by architect Teodoro González de León, and the Museo Soumaya, by Fernando Romero, both in Mexico City create an encounter between the contemporary and the intensity of the nation s cultural life. These spaces forms and structures present a manifesto of the modern to every visitor at the same time they house and showcase invaluable collections. 21

24 ARTISANAL CRAFTS AND FASHION The whole world has come to know Mexico through textures and palettes that demonstrate its creativity and joy: artisanal crafts bearing brightly colored mosaics or complex weaves that are converted into breathtaking utilitarian or decorative objects. Over the years, the styles associated with this work have been transformed into fashions of the highest quality and refinement. 22

25 Artisanal crafts An entire atlas could be devised to plot out the almost innumerable artisanal crafts produced in every corner of Mexico; every region has its own aesthetic, materials and techniques. More than just serving the purposes for which they were created, they become one-of-kind artworks. Their added value resides in the dedication that Mexican artists have applied to each work to make it unlike any other, as part of an ongoing celebration of tradition. 23

26 CONTEMPORARy design A new generation of Mexican designers is creating impeccable work here at home, often by refashioning traditional elements. Examples include sophisticated couture pieces, livened by a touch of the innocent, as produced by the Trista collective or Alejandra Quesada; or work by Macario Jiménez bearing his signature sophistication and elegance. In interior design the current rage for the artisanal and the handmade has lead a number of designers to work with artisan communities and create singular, sustainable objects that simultaneously reinforce notions of fair trade and the ecological. 24

27 Designs by Alejandra Quesada Courtesy Alejandra Quesada 25

28 MUSIC The history of Mexican music is as extensive as the history of the nation itself. You ll frequently see dancers observing traditions from different pre-hispanic cultures, or hear varied regions signature rhythms, each with its own distinct style. Yet you ll also hear new musical themes that never lose sight of their Mexican roots. 26

29 Arturo Limón / Nueva Guía del Centro Histórico de México Mexico s TRAditional sounds Traditional Mexican music enriches a sense of nationality and local color, and is especially appealing to visitors in search of a lively Mexican fiesta or a more intimate encounter with a land whose songs exude its joys and passions. Mexican rhythms run the gamut, from nostalgic sones and intriguing indigenous dances to driving drumbeats, intense corrido ballads featuring accordion riffs, and of course, Mexico s world famous mariachis a sound that has spread Mexico s musical fame far beyond its borders. Tequila and Mezcal Museum, in Garibaldi 27

30 Music FESTIvALS The Mexican music scene is diverse and supports a number of festivals that attract internationally renowned musicians. Standouts include the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival, in Quintana Roo, which brings the very best in jazz to one of Mexico s most popular resort areas. Other festivals focus on folkloric music. The venerable Guelaguetza festival, in Oaxaca, is a pageant of color where music, indigenous costume and traditional dance play equally prominent roles. 28

31 Alondra de la Parra Courtesy Alondra de la Parra CONTEMPORARy MUSIC More and more, Mexican musicians are crossing borders and making careers for themselves at home and abroad. Tenor Fernando de la Mora has combined talents with orchestra director Alondra de la Parra in the classical vein; at the same time, bands such as Café Tacvba with years of success to its credit or Rodrigo y Gabriela talented guitarists who ve become a sensation in Europe continue to blend sounds and genres, yet always stay connected to Mexican roots. 29

32 MUSEUMS Mexico is full of museums dedicated to the preservation of its art and history, above all in Mexico City, whose neighborhoods contain innumerable spaces given over to showcasing the nation s heritage. But don t discount museums in other cities, either: they feature everything from the ruins of millennia-old cultures to works from the world s most impressive painters. 30

33 Fountain of the National Museum of Anthropology 31

34 Mexico City s MUSEUMS The National Museum of Anthropology designed by architect Sergio Ramírez Vázquez is home to priceless pieces, such as the world-famous Sun Calendar Stone, that narrate Mexico s remotest past in a vast panorama that covers 2000 years of history. In contrast, the brand new University Museum of Contemporary Art, in the south of the city, presents what s most outstanding in the arts today through painstaking curation and open spaces that accommodate the edgiest expressions in music and dance. Aztec Calendar Stone, in the National Museum of Anthropology 32

35 Regional MUSEUMS But it s not just about Mexico City: in Zacatecas, for one, you ll find the Manuel Felguérez Museum of Abstract Art, one of the nation s most important showplaces for contemporary works. It features an impressive permanent collection of painting and sculpture by over 120 Mexican artists. Villahermosa s Carlos Pellicer Cámara Regional Anthropology Museum in the capital of Tabasco State houses incredible Olmec, Maya and Zoque treasures originally discovered in archaeological zones throughout the Yucatán Peninsula. 33

36 FESTIVALS Mexico s festival calendar keeps expanding, year after year. There s so much to celebrate film, culture, music, art, cuisine and enough variety to stave off boredom indefinitely. The infrastructure supporting them improves every year, and many figure among the world s very best. 34

37 International Cervantes Festival Courtesy Festival Internacional Cervantino Notable festivals Celebrated annually in Michoacán s capital city, the Morelia International Film Festival attracts a global crush of cinema actors and directors. The Guadalajara International Book Fair has become a principal cultural forum for all Mexico and brings together dozens of Latin American writers. Additionally there are art festivals such as Guanajuato s International Cervantes Festival, or the Festival de México, held in Mexico City. 35

38 MEXICO S UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES* Downtown Mexico City/Downtown Xochimilco (1987) Downtown Oaxaca and the Monte Albán, Oaxaca Archaeological Zone (1987) Downtown Puebla (1987) The pre-hispanic city of Teotihuacan, Mexico State (1987) The pre-hispanic city and national park at Palenque, Chiapas (1987) Sian Ka an Biosphere Reserve, Quintana Roo (1987) Downtown Guanajuato and adjacent mines, Guanajuato (1988) The pre-hispanic city of Chichén Itzá, Yucatán (1988) Downtown Morelia, Michoacán (1991) The pre-historic city of El Tajín, Veracruz (1992) Downtown Zacatecas (1993) Cave paintings at Sierra de San Francisco, Baja California (1993) Whale sanctuaries at El Vizcaíno, Baja California (1993) Mexico s first sixteenth century monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl volcano, Mexico State (1994) The pre-hispanic city of Uxmal, Yucatán (1996) The historical monument zone at Querétaro, Querétaro (1996) Guadalajara s Hospicio Cabañas (1997) Paquimé, Casas Grandes, Chihuahua Archaeological Zone (1998) The historical monuments zone at Tlacotalpan, Veracruz (1998) The historic walled city of Campeche (1999) The archaeological monuments zone at Xochicalco, Morelos (1999) The ancient Maya city of Calakmul, Campeche (2002) Franciscan missions in the Sierra Gorda de Querétaro Mountains, Querétaro (2003) The Luis Barragán House and Studio, Mexico City (2004) Protected islands and zones in the Gulf of California (2005) The agave fields and old distilleries at Tequila, Jalisco (2006) The National Autonomous University of Mexico s main Ciudad Universitaria campus in Mexico City (2007) The monarch butterfly biosphere reserves in Michoacán and Mexico State (2008) San Miguel el Grande and Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco Church, Guanajuato (2008) The Camino Real historic highway (2010) Yagul and Mitla caves in Oaxaca s Central Valley (2010) *Source: 36

39 PUEBLOS MÁGICOS MEXICO S ENCHANTED TOWNS For qualities inherent to them, a number of towns throughout Mexico have been designated Pueblos Mágicos enchanted towns. They are emblematic places that take particular pride in their culture, cuisine, architecture, artisanal crafts, music and other traditions, and that preserve their heritage for the enjoyment of residents and visitors. A visit to any Pueblo Mágico is a journey straight to the heart of Mexico. Mexico s Ministry of Tourism regularly updates this list, adding municipalities and landmarks that fulfill Pueblo Mágico designation requirements. Real de Asientos, Aguascalientes (2006) Todos Santos, Baja California Sur (2006) Palizada, Campeche (2010) Creel, Chihuahua (2007) Parras de la Fuente, Coahuila (2004) Comalá, Colima (2002) San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas (2003) Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato (2002) Taxco, Guerrero (2002) Real del Monte, Hidalgo (2004) Huasca de Ocampo, Hidalgo (2001) Mineral del Chico, Hidalgo (2011) Tapalpa, Jalisco (2002) Tequila, Jalisco (2003) Mazamitla, Jalisco (2005) San Sebastián del Oeste, Jalisco (2011) Tepotzotlán, Mexico State (2002) Valle de Bravo, Mexico State (2005) Malinaco, Mexico State (2010) El Oro, Mexico State (2011) Pátzcuaro, Michoacán (2002) Tlalpujahua, Michoacán (2005) Cuitzeo, Michoacán (2006) Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacán (2010) Santiago, Nuevo León (2006) Calpulálpam de Méndez, Oaxaca (2007) Cuetzalan, Puebla (2002) Zacatlan, Puebla (2011) Bernal, Querétaro (2005) Jalpan de Serra, Querétaro (2010) Cadereita, Querétaro (2011) Bacalar, Quintana Roo (2006) Real de Catorce, San Luis Potosí (2001) Cosalá, Sinaloa (2005) El Fuerte, Sinaloa (2009) Álamos, Sonora (2005) Mier, Tamaulipas (2007) Huamantla, Tlaxcala (2007) Coatepec, Veracruz (2006) Xico, Veracruz (2011) Izamal, Yucatán (2002) Jerez de García Salinas, Zacatecas (2007) Teul de González, Zacatecas (2011) Tepoztlan, Morelos (2010) Tlayacapan, Morelos (2011) Tapijulapa, Tabasco (2010) 37

40 FOR MORE INFORMATION AGUASCALIENTES BAJA CALIFORNIA BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR CAMPECHE CHIAPAS CHIHUAHUA COAHUILA COLIMA durango GUANAJUATO GUERRERO HidALGO JALISCO MEXICO CITy MEXICO STATE MICHOACÁN MORELOS NayARIT NUEvo León OAXACA PUEBLA QUERÉTARO QUINTANA ROO SAN LUIS POTOSí SINALOA SONORA TABASCO TAMAULIPAS TLAXCALA veracruz yucatán ZACATECAS 38

41 2 CULTURE DESTINATIONS the sea of CORTés caribbean GULf of MexiCO 31 Pacific OCEan Aguascalientes 2 Baja California 3 Baja California Sur 4 Campeche 5 Chiapas 6 Chihuahua 7 Coahuila 8 Colima 9 Durango 10 Guanajuato 11 Guerrero 12 Hidalgo 13 Jalisco 14 Mexico City 15 Mexico State 16 Michoacán 17 Morelos 18 Nayarit 19 Nuevo León 20 Oaxaca 21 Puebla 22 Querétaro 23 Quintana Roo 24 San Luis Potosí 25 Sinaloa 26 Sonora 27 Tabasco 28 Tamaulipas 29 Tlaxcala 30 Veracruz 31Yucatán 32 Zacatecas 39

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44 THE PLACE YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW