Mexico 2018 - the people speak out

Humongous demonstration today.  It occurred to me the other day that I hadn't seen any since getting here this year.  Unusual.  Then a couple of days ago there was a small one.  The one today was massive. 

Must have been tens of thousands of people from all over the country and a commensurate number of buses. 

The main contingent seemed to be the Federation of Workers that represented farm workers I believe. 

Fittingly enough they wound up at the Plaza de la Revolucion

There were other groups as well representing campesinos.  Many streets were closed off to cars which was nice for cycling and where traffic was allowed, it was pretty much at a standstill which is less threatening than the usual traffic. 

And usual, where ever people gather a crew of vendors show up selling the usual crap:  cell phone cases, watches, backpacks, etc

An impromptu kitchen set up on the sidewalk

As I've commented before, the government seems very tolerant of these planned, non-violent demonstrations.  The protest routes are blocked off as are streets for parking the buses and the police are out in what must be thousands.  My impression as an ignorant foreigner is that the approach is, go ahead and protest, fill your boots.  Nothing is going to change as a result though.  Maybe they learned something from the heavy handed handling of the protests at the 1968 Olympics.  

Mexico 2018 - Belles Artes 1

The Palacio de Belles Artes is known as the "Cathedral of Art in Mexico" and is said to be the cultural centre of the arts in Mexico.

 Two of the best-known groups which regularly perform here are the Ballet Folklórico and the National Symphonic Orchestra.  The Palace has been the scene of some of the most notable events in music, dance, theatre, opera and literature and has hosted important exhibitions of painting, sculpture and photography. It operates under the auspices of the National Institute of Fine Arts, a government agency originally under the Department of Education, that promotes the arts through education and support of art centres throughout Mexico.  In any case, the building simply known as Belles Artes is a gorgeous art deco building built over a long period of time between 1904 and 1934.  The interior is decorated with huge murals by Diego Rivera, David Siquieros and others.

This year there were a couple of exhibitions of interest to me, the first was devoted to a bug, the cochineal.  

This tiny insect that lives on nopal cactus, when ground with lime juice, was used as a red dye by the Aztecs and after being discovered by the Spanish became global standard for the color red until modern pigments were developed.  It was the second most lucrative export for the Spaniards behind silver.  

 Cochineal dyed clothing

Wool dyed different shades

The other exhibit coming up......

WARNING: This post contains disturbing images and nudity

The other exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art was of the works of Guillermo Gómez-Peña.  I encourage you to read about him for some context and background before looking at the photos: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillermo_Gómez-Peña 

 

Mexico 2018 - Museum of Modern Art part 1

As always when I'm in Mexico City I visit the Museum of Modern Art.  This Huichole Indian inspired bike was at the entrance to greet me.

 

There were two exhibits of particular interest to me at the museum this year.  The first I saw was "100 Years of Swiss Design". 

Mexico 2018 - Jumex

The Jumex is a private art museum created by Eugenio López Alonso, the sole heir to the Jumex fruit juice fortune.  His aim is to promote contemporary art through the Jumex Foundation.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colecci%C3%B3n_Jumex  The art displayed there is very modern.  One of two exhibits I saw there was by the American artist, John Baldessari, "a conceptual artist known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images".  Some of his works I liked, some, not so much.  Here are a few pieces.  Judge for yourself.

Titled:  God Nose

 Camel (albino) contemplating needle (large)

 The other exhibit I saw was of the work of French artist, Philippe Parreno. Very unusual.  Hard to describe.  The principal work was a video projected on a large screen with helium inflated big fish beach toys floating between the projector and the screen producing fish shadows on the video. 

You can watch a bit of video here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmj9LgkiNQg

The Jumex Museum is next door to the Sumaya museum (created by Carlos Slim Helú, one of the world's wealthiest men) designed by the Mexican architect Fernando Romero.  I've posted about this museum before but the building is so outlandish and the view of it is great from the Jumex I had to include the photo.