Mexico is Art

How to summarize the experience of visiting Mexico? Though we only managed to hit a few cities across a sweeping and diverse nation, one thing that repeatedly stood out for me was the Mexican passion for art.

Art is simply in the Mexican blood. Starting even before that early orange pottery in Teotihuacan, Mexicans have sought to express themselves through music, weaving, painting, stonework. You name it, they've mastered it. So for this final post, I've decided to share a collection of our favorite works throughout the ages.

Above left, a pre-columbian ceramic dog, who looks remarkably like Speak, lower right, the beloved "dog" from The Tick cartoon series.


Below, another pre-columbian ceramic guy, just chilling and having a smoke. What I loved about the early Mexican pottery is how much personality and life shines through. There's a familiarity and sense of humor that makes even ancient Mexican art feel immediate, as if the artist who made it is nudging you, saying- Go ahead and laugh, that's why I made it.

Not all of the art is meant to be amusing.

Some additional "culto de muerte" sculptures:

And this guy. Shiver.

The sculpture below, made of gleaming cut shell, features a man's face emerging from a wolf's mouth. Two angles on it, because it is unlike anything I've seen-



Young, taking a lesson in Monumental posing.


Ah, the famous Piedra del Sol, which graced the cover of my anthropology textbook.

Turns out the thing wasn't a calendar, as previously believed, but instead likely functioned as a platform for ceremonial battles to the death between Aztec gladiators, captured warriors and other very unlucky souls. Gazing upon it, my thoughts turned towards the poor lady (had to have been a lady) tasked with scrubbing the blood out of all those carvings. every. single. time. Sigh.


Jumping ahead to modern times, and regrettably skipping over all of Mexico's 20th century artists (Rivera, Cough, Kahlo. Next visit, you guys), here's what you can find just walking down the street.


The inclusive, highly democratic attitude towards art was nowhere more visible than in the bizarre and wondrous paper mache sculptures that more than 300 groups of artists created for a fantastical festival/competition on the last weekend of our visit.



Just a few more. There were so many to love. I wish NYC would take a lesson, and hold a similar contest for our own wildly imaginative artists.


All of this was accompanied by stilt-walkers, marching bands, street food, and photo-taking families because that's how they do it in Mexico.



So, to recap, if you have a chance, go to Mexico. Do not be discouraged or scared off by the things you hear on the news. Go with an open mind, and find a new neighbor to love.

Not sure where the Hollow Hippo will take us next, but you can be sure it will be documented here.

Thanks for following the journey!

Teotihuacan

About 30 miles from Mexico City sits the active archaeological site and former ancient mega-city, Teotihuacan. Development began in the area around 250 B.C., and the city remained populated until about 800 A.D., reaching a high water mark of around 125,000 residents at its peak. Scholars aren't certain who exactly built the city- it was likely a mixture of different cultures, including Mayan, Zapotec and Toltec.



The Aztecs later made pilgrimages to the city after its collapse, believing that the massive site was the birthplace of the Universe.

The main temples are the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, which is flanked by several satellite temples. Both temples are found along the ominously named "Avenue of the Dead", a wide street once lined with the multi-leveled homes of nobles.


Above; Young conquers the Temple of the Sun.


Liz poses on 2/3 of the way up the Temple of the Sun, and is photobombed by the Temple of the Moon.

Below:
The view from a noble person's home. Human and animal sacrifices were common in Teotihuacan,so the closer you live to the Temple, the more screaming you'd hear #LatePreclassicProblems



The residents of Teotihuacan made their fortunes by trading a special thin orange pottery that the rest of Meso-america just had to have. The homes of nobles were painted with elaborate murals, some of which have been miraculously restored.

Ancient wall art.


Below, a fine looking bird.


Visiting the site is not for the faint-hearted or easily sun-burnt. You can climb the Temple of the Sun, and the even steeper Temple of the Moon. Vendors sell possibly the world's most obnoxious whistles to the visiting student hordes which, when blown, re-create with hair-raising verisimilitude the grating roar of the JAGUAR. These roars echo off the Temples, lending an otherwise bright and sunny day a twinge of mortal dread.

Below, a view of the Avenue of the Dead from atop the Temple of the Moon.

Lucha Liiiiiiiiiiiibre!!!

When we got back to the Distrito Federal, we knew there were three things we had to do before leaving Mexico: visit the famed Anthropology Museum, climb the Temple of the Sun at Teotihuacan, and see some LUCHA LIBRE!

The above and below photos were part of a series posted in a park near the Anthropolgy museum, so I can't tell you exactly what happened when the man below made his inevitable fall to earth. One can guess.



The Lucha takes place at a smallish stadium in the Roma neighborhood. Tickets for the first few rows ran about $25, and were worth every peso for the in the FACE action and non-stop hilarity. Below, our show's flier-

The show started off with the ladies' match.


Then there were various pairings of one on one, and team fights.



There was showboating. There was drama. There was leaping and throwing and attempted de-maskings! There were LADIES!



The crowd was maybe the best part about the show, relentlessly heckling the wrestlers, feigning outrage, and saying many, many impolite things about the wrestlers' mothers (especially, for some reason, La Mascara. Poor fellow).

Our best shot of the night-



Try not to be haunted by this shot of the blue Lucha little person. Oh, the things he has seen through that furry mask...



In the end, a victor was determined by TRICKERY in that the wrestler RUSH shamelessly pretended to have been kicked in the groin! Will there ever be justice for Tama Tonga and Terrible? Or for la Mascara's much maligned mother? I may never know, but I do know now that I love the Lucha.

Puerto Escondido!

There are small airplanes that fly from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido, but those are for people who plan ahead. Team Curious ended up relying on the services of the minibus, which takes the scenic route; seven hours through harrowing switchbacks, up and down mountainsides on the way down to the humid coast. They call this mininbus the VomitComet.

Having been warned, we took a heavy dose of dramamine, and really, it wasn't so bad.


We didn't take many photos in Puerto Escondido, but it is beautiful. Sandy beaches, calm coves, and on the main beach, some fierce waves. We learned that in Mid-November, the town holds a worldwide surfing competition, and gazing on the tight tubes that pounded the shore every ten seconds, it was easy to see why the place is a surfer's paradise.

Swimming though, is not a good idea. The sculpture of the reaching hands (above right) seems to me the best warning against attempting to enter the waters without a flotation device. The undertow is fierce, and even experienced surfers and swimmers lose their lives to its pull every year. Luckily, there are other beaches a quick walk or cab ride away where swimming and floating are featured activities.

Below- gratuitous hotel beauty shots. Our Hotel, Flor de Maria, was so adorably painted that it made me want to live in an alternate universe where everything is CHARMING.


Did I mention the rooftop? With pool? So, who wants to go next year?


But wait, one last very cool thing about Puerto Escondido is Lago de Manialtepec, a lagoon that, for several months out of the year, usually in the late summer-early fall, becomes insanely, beautifully, incredibly PHOSPHORESCENT!!!!



Plankton are what's afoot. When stimulated, they glow. Doesn't come out well in photos, but lemme tell ya- in person, it's astonishing. The water is warm due to the lake being partly fed by a thermal spring. You jump in, and instantly, you are the Glowing Blue Japanime Character of your dreams (You've had the dreams. Don't deny it.) Sweep your hand through the water, and it becomes alive with a bright blue, arm-shaped flame. Lift your hands from the water, and the drips glow. Climb out of the water, and your clothes SHIMMER. No foolin'- for a brief slice of life, you become your own disco ball.


Sasha and Malia (mmm, not really) were kicking it with us in a kayak. When travelling inside the boat out to the middle of the lake, spooked fish are visible beneath the surface of the water, rocketing away like little teardrop shaped bullets.

Lago Manialtepec. Put it on the bucket list.