Mexico 2019 - Franz Mayer Museum, etc

The Franz Mayer Museum is another regular stop for me in Mexico City.  Franz Mayer was a Jewish German-Mexican financier, photographer and collector and creator of this museum.  I've posted about it in the past so it will be on the quiz.  There were two temporary exhibits, one was tapestries:

The other was poster art, all with some social/political content.  They are displayed around an interior courtyard with a beautiful garden.

 "Your profile was false"

 Cleaning the traffic lights?  With all of Mexico City's needs, they're cleaning the frigging traffic lights??!!

These women make the best tlacoyos.  Blue corn masa with a filling.  I like the fava bean.  They're outside the local mercado all day, every day.

Mexico 2019 - Museum of Modern Art, etc

Whenever I visit Mexico City one of the obligatory visits is the Museum of Modern Art.  There were three exhibits there on my recent visit: one of feminist works none of which I photographed; one of paintings by Remedios Varo, a very popular surrealist artist here, originally from Spain who I'm not crazy about so there's none of her stuff here either; and a nice collection of a variety of Mexican artists.  Some of my favourites were:  Raphael Coronel from Zacatecas, a quirky artist who I'm quite fond of

David Alfaro Siquieros, one of the most important artists of Mexican muralist movement.

As was Jose Clemente Orozco

A lesser known selfie

The neighbourhood where I stay is called Roma and it's where Alfonso Cuarón, writer and director of the movie by that name grew up.  I found out where the movie was filmed, one street over from his childhood home but apparently more authentic appearing.  So I made a visit there.

 It gets quite a lot of visitors and they were even selling coffee cups with Roma written on them.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=6e41SnS38KI

 The first jacaranda I saw this year

Mexico 2019 - Los Pinos

From 1934 to 2018 Los Pinos (the pines)located in Chapultepec Park was the official residence and office of the president of Mexico.  It began as a mill in around 1550 and in 1853 was sold to a Doctor José Pablo Martinez del Rio who built the Casa Grande (big house) there.  In 1865 the whole property was sold to Emperor Maximillian.  Upon his execution the house was returned to Dr del Rio.  After the Mexican Revolution the property was expropriated by the first president, Venustiano Carranza who chose to live in the sumptuous Chapultepec Castle.  It wasn't until 1934 that president Lázaro Cárdena, who thought the castle was too ostentatious, moved into Los Pinos.  It housed 13 of the 14 presidents since until the current president, the populist, left-leaning Lopez Obrador, thought it was too ostentatious and opened Los Pinos to the public as a cultural centre and moved to his own house.  There's your little history lesson.  And here's the property:

The presidential office building

The presidential office

The presidential kitchen

The presidential living room

The presidential dining room

 The underground presidential movie theatre

 The Lázaro Cárdenas house

 The grounds

On the way home I stopped in the park for this:  A Canadian at the Totem Canadiense - a tribute to Canada's 150th - the totem, not the Canadian

Mexico 2019 - First Ciclovia

One of my favourite activities in Mexico City is the weekly Ciclovia, car-free Sunday.  There are 25 different routes covering just over 170k.  Some are managed by the city and some by individual boroughs (delegacions).  Roughly half a million people come out every Sunday. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYmrbp2c2No

What a treat it is to pedal through this city without having to be constantly on the alert for erratic and unpredictable motorists which is most drivers here....... but heads up for other cyclists, skaters, walkers, joggers, strollers, etc.

Along the way are stations with different activities.  

A disability awareness station primarily oriented to vision impaired.

 Identify the shape through your feet

Score a goal blindfolded

Vision impaired musicians

The zumba station.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VevBBPfVWHM&feature=youtu.be

Music

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igi-HuXYQtk

Bike class for kids

There's yoga and hula hooping and mechanic stations spaced every few blocks for free repairs and air. 

Even dogs get in on the action

And many interesting sights along the way