culture - Magic of Mexico

CULTURE
www.visitmexico.com
THE PLACE YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW
www.visitmexico.com
THE PLACE YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW
M E X I CO’S
H I STO R I C C I T I ES
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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MEXICAN
ARCHITECTURE
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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ART
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.
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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
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Man of Fire, by José Clemente Orozco
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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
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IN F RASTRU CT U R E
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.
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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.
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ART I SA N A L C RA F TS
A ND FAS H I O N
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.
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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.
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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.
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Courtesy Alejandra Quesada
Designs by Alejandra Quesada
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M US I C
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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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M US EU M S
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.
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Fountain of the National Museum of Anthropology
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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
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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.
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F EST I VALS
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.
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Courtesy Festival Internacional Cervantino
International Cervantes Festival
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.
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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: www.unesco.org
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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)
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
Aguascalientes www.vivaaguascalientes.com
Baja California www.descubrebajacalifornia.com
Baja California Sur www.turismobcs.com
Campeche www.campeche.travel
Chiapas www.turismochiapas.gob.mx
Chihuahua www.ah-chihuahua.com
Coahuila www.secturcoahuila.gob.mx
Colima www.visitacolima.com.mx, www.vivemanzanillo.com
Durango www.visitadurango.com.mx
Guanajuato www.guanajuatoexperience.mx
Guerrero www.guerrero.gob.mx/descubre-guerrero
Hidalgo www.hidalgo.travel
Jalisco www.visita.jalisco.gob.mx/wps/portal/portalturistico
Mexico City www.mexicocity.gob.mx
Mexico State www.edomexico.gob.mx/turismo
Michoacán www.turismomichoacan.gob.mx
Morelos www.morelostravel.com
Nayarit www.rivieranayarit.com
Nuevo León www.nuevoleon.travel
Oaxaca www.oaxaca.travel
Puebla www.puebla.travel
Querétaro www.queretaro.travel
Quintana Roo www.caribemexicano.travel, www.cancun.travel, www.cozumel.travel
San Luis Potosí www.visitasanluispotosi.com
Sinaloa www.vivesinaloa.com
Sonora www.vivesonora.com
Tabasco www.visitetabasco.com
Tamaulipas www.turismotamaulipas.com
Tlaxcala www.turismotlaxcala.com
Veracruz www.veracruz.mx
Yucatán www.yucatan.travel, www.mundomaya2012.travel
Zacatecas www.zacatecastravel.com
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CULTURE
DESTINATIONS
2
26
6
7
3
25
the
sea
of
cortés
19
9
28
32
caribbean
Gulf of
Mexico
24
1
18
10
12
13
Pacific
Ocean
8
23
16
15
14
17
4
29
21
30
27
11
20
1 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
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22
5
23 Quintana Roo
24 San Luis Potosí
25 Sinaloa
26 Sonora
27 Tabasco
28 Tamaulipas
29 Tlaxcala
30 Veracruz
31Yucatán
32 Zacatecas
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www.visitmexico.com
THE PLACE YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW
www.visitmexico.com
THE PLACE YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW