One of Omar Soto's Drawings directly on the wall at Museo de la Ciudad de Mexico

All of the blogs we read to put together eldefe.com covered this exhibit at the Museo de la Ciudad de Mexico.

Here’s Ciudadanos en Red.

Esencia y Espacio is here.

Espacio Blanco did a nice write up here.

Arquine did a cut and paste post here, as did Segunda Creación aqui.

Dfinitivo made it seem extremely official and important with this photo.

Even Milenio says: Se trata de un trabajo constructivo, individual y, al mismo tiempo colectivo, que parte y llega al mismo punto, es decir, al Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México.

The funny thing was, in the only other gallery open in the museum, there is an exhibit of historical illustrations by Sergio Carillo which celebrate sort of common notions of what the Zócalo has looked like every one or two hundred years over the course of the last 800 or so.

They get more frequent in the 20th century, suddenly illustrating just before the revolution, then 1926, then the 50s and 1968 and the last one is 1985.   25 years ago, and it’s sort of gray with dastardly looking urban blight.

Espectáculo de luces; Andrés Padilla Domene

That was 25 years ago. Since then, in reality probably, the Zócalo gets subjected to all sorts of banal faux-monumental exhibitions and skating rinks and vulgar, but not too-vulgar, bread and circus-types of occupations. It’s not often just a big open space.

The Lucian Matus exhibition sort of thrashes around looking to be kind-of about the Zócalo, or about politics or about political space in some general sense. The one place where it succeeds is in Andrés Padilla Domene’s “Espectaculo de luces” a video of political imagery, obviously political imagery, nicely displayed on a cellphone.

Presumably the cell-phone is underneath a giant glass jar primarily so that no one walks off with it – hence the cell phone is, itself, of more intrinsic value than the thus-insignificant politics that it displays.

Is it all just old history?

I think I just found my most favorite museum in Mexico City – The Museum of Popular Art.  Now, I’m sure this place isn’t a hidden treasure for those of you that do live in Mexico City, or even for those that know how to read their Lonely Planet guidebook right…but somehow, after several trips to Mexico City – many of them for “touring” purposes, I still had never even heard of this museum.

We found out about the Museum of Popular Art via the giant alebrijes that lined Avenida Reforma in Mexico City for a few weeks in October into November. Part of a competition sponsored by the museum, these alebrijes were very entertaining to look at – creative, colorful and fantastic. Seeking more of this vibrant art, we wandered our way down past the Palacio de Bellas Artes, and over to Revillagigedo Street #11, right behind the Sheraton Hotel on Avenida Juárez.

The Museum of Popular Art is a pristine, white, modern building amidst some fairly drab looking concrete buildings, so it’s not too hard to find. The museum is 3 stories high, and organized by salas or rooms.  The atrium reaches up all three stories with wrap-around balconies – when we were there the balconies were decorated with lively piñatas made out of traditional materials – mermaids, donkeys, grapes…all just about as unique and creative as the alebrijes.

This museum is perfect for those who might be tired of the same old broken pottery and clay figurines and historical artifacts found in most other museums in Mexico…and around the world. In these salas you can find lots of popular art with skeletons, masks, traditional decorations and more alebrijes, with themes such as “The Fantastic” and “The Sacred.”

The museum of Popular Art is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10-6, and Thursdays 10-9. The ticket is $40 pesos, and allows for all of the exceptions that regular museums do (student ID, children under 13, etc.)

The San Augustino Ex-Convento from the Tulancingo Expressway, (Click image for the original)

If you’ve browsed through the Mexico City Museum Guide that we’re still in the process of assembling – one thing that becomes occasionally obvious is that I’m driven crazy by too much Flash in museum (any) websites.

The point to a museum website is to show you some really basic info – like location, hours, maybe some highlights from the collection – and beyond that – it’s probably superfluous.

So when a museum announces a new virtual tour I am usually the first one rolling my eyes.

But I have to admit – one of the points to any Vice-Royalty collection in Mexico is usually the place where it is held – stunning 16th and 17th century architecture – ambience – and terrific spaces that you never expect to find on this side of the Atlantic Ocean -  and the Templo and Ex-Convento of San Augustín Acolman is one I have wondered about for years. And the recently unveiled “virtual tour” of the museum is not half-bad at all.

The photo at top is what you see on a return to the north of Mexic0 City from Teotihuacan or Tulancingo – and it really is one of those visions on the Mexican landscape that always make you want to stop. (See Map Below) I never have but I guess I should have – and now maybe I don’t need to. The Virtual tour gives you a really good idea what to expect and it’s super close to the city and has exactly what you hope for in one of these under-funded old ex-Convento places. Don’t know what I mean? Here’s an idea anyway. All the screen-grabs below are from what is really an admirably-done Virtual Tour. Though it is all in Spanish, I hope you’ll check it out and visit soon.
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All Mexican Ex-Convento Museums seem to be hurting for a paint job - it gives you a good feel for the centuries old collection inside.

Just about all of these museums contain these sort of to-die-for art collections - not the sort of stuff you want to look at on the internet at all - but it does give you an idea.

Of course, if you're lucky, your ex-convento may contain a priceless church. The Virtual Tour gives you a pretty good look around this one.

Among the charms of the ex-convento museum is the creative way that passages need to be blocked off - I've seen 30 fire extinguishers lined up down a hallway. The Acolman people rely here on the opposite facing signage, you get the message, and on the Virtual Tour you only get one way to go anyway.

Please wait a moment while the map of San Augustin Acolman is loading.

Gormley's "Space" - among the works that make all the difference in the current San Ildefonso exhibition

Antony Gormley is not the easiest artist to understand. And the exhibition at the Antiguo Colegio De San Ildefonso is not likely to compete well against El Greco at Bellas Artes.

You see, curators love to distract you with the figure that looks so good on promotional posters but which cannot accurately represent the work much less an experience of the work. Gormley is not ever formally exploring the figure but recording it as a temporal condition within space – he describes it as “a place.”  That sounds awfully lofty, but in fact, it is crucial to an understanding of the work, and an appreciation of it too.

Those who approach this exhibition hoping to catch all manner of figures provocatively narrating a space with gestures and heroics will be disappointed. And that misunderstanding is one that surely haunts the artist where ever his work is shown. That may very well include most of us.

Bread Line, still from the video at The Austalian Monthly

This 26 minute video, a lecture of 80 slides that Gormley gave in Australia, at Slow TV, is well worth a good close watch. It can certainly further illuminate a discussion of the artist’s work better than I could and his discussion of how and why he treats the body as he does is explored and explained at some considerable length. “It’s the absolute reverse of the classical position of the sculptor making an idealized figure at arm’s length.” But Gormley’s explanation of  “Bread Line” – perhaps even more difficult to understand – is also a good place to start to understand his work.

“It’s the key to understanding my experimental approach. You could say this is a form of Cubism. This is called “Bread Line.” It’s simply a loaf of processed, white, factory-made bread, laid out in the way that we experience it physically – a bite at a time. It’s a drawing you might say. But it’s both the object – it’s a real loaf of bread – but also a representation of the object – a re-positioning of it’s material substance in a way that, I think, both makes logical, but also imagistic sense. You have to walk along it in order to appreciate it -  and in doing that, in some way, that physical response to this object that has been turned into a line and therefore has been turned, in some sense, into a temporal sequence begins to reveal itself.

So that idea of not trying to be imagistic, not trying to be representational, not trying to be expressive but simply looking at the experiential structure of object became very important to me.

Part two, here, is an additional 24 minutes and both of them should make a very good introduction to the exhibition. It’s good stuff. But if it is too heady, too ethereal for you “objective reality” seekers, the truly admirable thing about the exhibition at the San Ildefonso is the inclusion of a tremendous number of drawings, lithographs and sketches – some of them dating back to 1980.

Drawings in process in Gormley's studio, from the Guardian.com (click to enlarge)

Here’s a pic I found at the Guardian of some of Gormley’s drawings, still in the studio. And the work hung in the present exhibition is not terribly far from that studio experience. It’s a very good way to finish off what might be the somewhat mystifying experience of walking through the galleries housing the main body and principle works of the exhibition.

Gormley is not someone you should dismiss too easily – and this is really not the sort of exhibition you should skip if you get the chance to see it. In my own opinion and for a variety of reasons that perhaps I’ll explore later, he really is one of the most important artists working today.

Not another record breaker.

To read the Mainstream American Media, Mexico City is always teetering on the edge of an abyss.

The most polluted and crime infested urban hell-hole on Earth  is now bankrupt and facing teeth-wrenching budget cuts. The solvent-huffing inhabitants are all passionately but drearily watching the peso climb back against the dollar only to be scuttled in a daily sell-off when they all need to run and see the Thriller performance or 549 Marriachis  perform in Guadalajara.

In fact, I did see at least part of the Thriller dance, and I can attest to the attendance of at least 10,ooo people, at least 1,000 of whom were not part of the mainstream media -  who lined up for the event in droves.

After 90 minutes smiling at the kids, though, a fight or flight situation ensued and fleeing north on Ramos Arispe I can say that I never approached the Museo de San Carlos from the back before. Thank goodness I did.

I send everyone who visits me to the Museo de San Carlos. It’s the perfectly sized collection for 90 minutes or so of gazing – not so enormous as to leave you running to try to see it all. From the back – there is a small park bordering the patio at the back of the museum – one quickly senses the calm that the building throws over this piece of urban hell. And even a glance from the satellite gives you an idea of the majesty of the collection’s historical home – if not of the collection itself.

Please wait while the map is loading.

Gramático del Ornamento - through October 19th at the Museo de Nacional San Carlos

Inside you’ll find just enough to occupy an afternoon or as little as an hour. Admission is 25 pesos. I paid that times two plus 5 pesos for the right to photograph a few more memorable pieces.  The show Gramático del ornamento inhabits galleries on the lower floor and the upper galleries  house one of the most pristine and soul-calming collections of colonial art in the city.

If you’re trapped and can’t face acres and acres of museum or wall to wall traffic or the inevitable collapse of the country or you just want to pitch in and help out the beleaguered institutions that do so much to prop up the country, an afternoon at the Museo de San Carlos could save your life.
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Antonio Gómez R., Untitled at the Museo Soumaya

The Delegation of Alvaro Obregon is known as the home to some of Mexico City’s wealthiest residential communities. What keeps properties prices so high when traffic is a nightmare and public transportation is non-existent?

Of course, it’s Alvaro Obregon’s world class collection of Museums and Cultural Centers. Below is the most complete list of Museums and Cultural Centers that we could come up with for Mexico City, including addresses and contact info. Many of the smaller places particularly in Colonia San Angel have no web sites, and very little online presence. If you know one of them well, please let us know. We’ll update this page as we receive more information.

*See our note on the linking system below. Some of the info on this page originated with the delegation’s tourism page here.

Museo-Casa del Risco

• Museo Casa Del Risco (Centro Cultural Isidro Fabela)
• Plaza San Jacinto 15, San Angel, Delegacion Álvaro Obregón, 01000 Mexico Df
• 5616-2711

• Museo De Arte Alvar Y Carmen Carrillo Gil
• Avenida Revolución 1608, San Angel, Delegacion Álvaro Obregón, 01000 Mexico Df
• 5550-3983/5550-1254

Museo del Carmen

• Museo de el Carmen
• Avenida Revolución 4, San Angel, Delegacion Álvaro Obregón, 01000 Mexico Df
• 5616-2816

• Museo Soumaya Loreto
• Avenida Altamirano (Plaza Loreto) 46, Tizapan, Delegacion Álvaro Obregón, 01090 Mexico Df
• 5616-3731

• Alianza Francesa De México (San Ángel)
• Plaza San Luis Potosi 26, San Angel, Delegacion Álvaro Obregón, 01000 Mexico Df
• 5661-4161 / 5661-3671

• Casa de Cultura Letrán Valle
• Matías Romero 280-Bis, Col. Letrán Valle, Benito Juárez,03650, Mexico, Df
• 5539 3852

Centro Cultural Helénico

• Centro Cultural Helénico
• Avenida Revolución 1500, Guadalupe Inn, Delegacion Álvaro Obregón, 01020 Mexico Df
• 5662-2945

• Centro Cultural San Angel
• Francisco I. Madero S/N, San Angel, Delegacion Álvaro Obregón, 01000 Mexico Df
• 5616-1254

• Centro Cultural Y Biblioteca Isidro Fabela
• Plaza San Jacinto 5 Y 15, San Angel, Delegacion Álvaro Obregón, 01000 Mexico Df
• 5616-2711

Centro de Estudios de Historia de Mexico Carso

• Centro De Estudios De Historia De Mexico CARSO
• Callejón Hipo (Plaza Federico Gamboa) 1, Chimalistac, Delegacion Álvaro Obregón, 01070 Mexico Df
• 5326-5175 / 5326-5174

• Casa Jaime Sabines (Antigüa Casa del Agua)
• Avenida Revolución 1747, Col. San Ángel. C.P. 01700
• 5550-3134

Parroquia de San Sebastian Chimalistac, Photo: "...y esto que..."

• Casa de los Delfines
• La Cita 2, Esquina Lascano, Col. San Ángel Inn, c.p. 01060

• La Casa Blanca
• Hidalgo No. 13, Col. San Ángel

• Ex-hacienda de Goycochea
• Diego Rivera N°50, Col. San Ángel Inn,  c.p. 01060

• Parroquia de San Sebastian Chimalistac
• HIDALGO #23 CP: 01030
• 5663-4266

• Casa de la Dinamita
• Calle Arenal, corner with Universidad. House famous for an exploding box that killed a family of San Luis Potosi miners who believed it was full of religious relics. Legend has it they still haunt the premises.

• Iglesia y Ex-Convento San Jacinto
• Juárez # 8, Col. San Ángel

• Casa del Mayorazgo de Foyoaga
• Plaza del Carmen 25, Antes núm. 11, Col. San Ángel

*Note: In most cases we linked directly to the museum website. Where the museum does not have a website, we’ve linked to either a government or third-party website with what we hope was the best description.

If you’d like to add a bullet point description, update an address or link (including Facebook contact), or add a note on location, please use the comments section below.
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Planetarium "Luis Enrique Erro" at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional

The delegation of Gustavo A. Madero in the north of the City is known to the entire country for the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe to which religious faithful, pilgrims and curious onlookers travel from all over the country.

It’s an enormous delegation that borders Estado de Mexico to the north of the city and includes such well known neighborhoods as”the Aragons” actually several neighborhoods surrounding the Bosque de San Juan Aragon, a big city park and recreational area.

The national park, El Tepeyac, also calls Gustavo A. Madero home. With a fascinating – loooong- history, the park includes recreational areas, forests and mountains with fantastic panoramic views. Nearby an enormous Ecological Conservation area adds necessary green-ness to this part of the city.

The Instituto Mexicano Petroleo, though not open to the public carries out research in the field of petroleum and maintains an enormous research center in the delegation near the Metro Station of the same name.

Another big part of Gustavo A. Madero is the Instituto Politecnico Nacional that maintains a number of the galleries and exhibition spaces and cultural centers listed below, plus the Corredor Escultórico and similar places on and near to the campus.

*See our note on the linking system below.

Basilica de Guadalupe, from Kenny's Trip (many great photos)

• Museo De Geologia De La Esia I.P.N.
• Calzada Ticoman 600-A, San José Ticoman, Delegacion Gustavo A. Madero, 07340 Mexico Df
• 5729-6000 Ext: 56043

• Museo De La Basilica De Guadalupe
• Plaza De Las Américas (Paseo Zumarraga) 1, Delegacion Gustavo A. Madero, 07050 Mexico Df
• 5577 6022

• Zoológico de San Juan de Aragón
• Bosque de San Juan de Aragón, Av. Loreto Fabela s/n Col. San Juan de Aragón. Del. Gustavo A. Madero, 17920, México D.F.

• Planetario Luis Enrique Herro
• Wilfrido Massieu S/N, U. Profesional Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Delegacion Gustavo A. Madero, 07738 Mexico Df
• 5729-6000 Ext. 53920 Y 53906

• Centro Cultural Imss Rafael Solana
• Eje 4 Norte Avenida Fortuna S/N, Magdalena De Las Salinas, Delegacion Gustavo A. Madero, 07760 Mexico Df
• 5747-3500

Gustavo Montoya, Dos Niñas at the Instituto Politecnico Nacional

• Centro Cultural “Jaime Torres Bodet” at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional
• Av. Wilfrido Massieu s/n casi esq. Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Unidad Profesional “Adolfo López Mateos,” Col Zacatenco, Del Gustavo A. Madero, 07738, México, Df

• Sala De Conciertos Tepecuicatl
• Avenida Cantera 12, Barrio Rosas Del Tepeyac, Delegacion Gustavo A. Madero, 07010 Mexico Df
• 5478 0675/5748 0949

*Note: In most cases we linked directly to the museum website. Where the museum does not have a website, we’ve linked to either a government or third-party website with what we hope was the best description.

If you’d like to add a bullet point description, update an address or link (including Facebook contact), or add a note on location, please use the comments section below.
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Collection of the Museo De Historia Natural Y Cultura Ambiental

Miguel Hidalgo

The delegation of Miguel Hidalgo is well known for the strip of museums that line the Paseo de Avenida Reforma in Bosque de Chapultepec. Some of the best known national museums are located here, but the neighborhoods of the delegation are home to some secret collections too. To see the complete index of Mexico City Museums & Cultural Centers, click here.

Note: In most cases we linked directly to the museum website. Where the museum does not have a website, we’ve linked to either a government or third-party website with what we hope was the best description.

If you’d like to add a bullet point description, update an address or link (including Facebook contact), or add a note on location, please use the comments section below.

• Galeria De Historia. Museo Del Caracol
• Calzada Del Cerro, Junto Al Castillo De Chapultepec S/N, Bosque De Chapultepec 3 Secciones, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, 11100 Mexico Df
• 5241-3140

• Gruta Marina (Parque Atlantis)
• Av. Constituyentes S/N, Bosque De Chapultepec 3 Secciones, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, 11100 Mexico Df
• 5271-8618

Museo Nacional De Historia

• Museo De Historia Natural Y Cultura Ambiental
• 2a Seccion Del Bosque De Chapultepec S/N, Bosque De Chapultepec 1a 2a Y 3a Seccion, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, 11100 Mexico Df
• 5515-2222 / 5515-6304 / 5516-2848 Ext. 112 Y 113

• Museo Nacional De Antropologia
• Calzada Mahatma Gandhi; Dentro Del Bosque De Chapultepec 1a Sección S/N, Polanco Chapultepec, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, 11560 Mexico Df
• 5553-6381

• Museo Nacional De Historia (En El Castillo De Chapultepec)
• Bosque De Chapultepec 3 Secciones, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, 11100 Mexico Df
• 5061-9214

• Quinta Colorada
• Pedro Antonio de los Santos y Constituyentes, 1era Sección Bosque de Chapultepec, Entrada por la Puerta de Flores, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, 11100 Mexico Df
• 5212 2171

Museo Rufino Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo

• Papalote Museo Del Niño
• Boulevard Adolfo Lopez Mateos Anillo Periférico Sur S/N, Bosque De Chapultepec 1a. 2a. Y 3a. Seccion, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, 11100 Mexico Df
• 5224-1260

• Museo Rufino Tamayo Y Arte Contemporaneo
• Paseo De La Reforma S/N, Bosque De Chapultepec, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, 11580 Mexico Df
• 5286-6519

• Museo De Arte Moderno
• Paseo De La Reforma S/N, Bosque De Chapultepec, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, 11580 Mexico Df
• 5553-6233

MUTEC - Museo Tecnológico de la CFE

• Museo Tecnologico Comision Federal De Electricidad (Mutec)
• Boulevard Adolfo Lopez Mateos Anillo Periférico Sur S/N, Bosque De Chapultepec 1a. 2a. Y 3a. Seccion, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, 11100 Mexico Df
• 5516-0964

• Museo Casa De La Bola
• Av. Parque Lira 136, Tacubaya, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, 11870 Mexico Df
• 5515-5582

• Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros
• Tres picos 29,Col. Polanco,Del. Miguel Hidalgo,11560, México, D.F
• 5203-5888/5531-3394

• Alianza Francesa De México (Polanco)
• Sócrates 156, Chapultepec Morales, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, 11570 Mexico Df
• 1084-4190

Susana Rodríguez at Casa del Lago

• Casa Del Lago
• Calzada Mahatma Gandhi S/N, San Miguel Chapultepec, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, 11850 Mexico Df
• 5553-6318 / 5211-6093

• Casa Del Tiempo
• Gral. Pedro Antonio De Los Santos 84, San Miguel Chapultepec, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, 11850 Mexico Df
• 5515-6000

• Museo Nacional de la Cartografía
• Av Observatorio no. 94, Corner Periferico, Col Tacubaya, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico Df
• 5272 6686

• Museo de Caballería
• Antiguo Colegio Militar, Campo Militar No. 1-B, Av Mexico-Tacuba, Col. Popotla, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico Df
• 5396 5975

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The Seven Virtues Pieter de Kempener (1503–1580), ca. 1550, Collection of the Museo Nacional de San Carlos

Museums & Cultural Centers in Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City:

This list excludes Centro Historico. For the complete list of Museums and Cultural Centers in Centro Historico, Click Here.

Note: In most cases we linked directly to the museum website. Where the museum does not have a website, we’ve linked to either a government or third-party website with what we hope was the best description.

If you’d like to add a bullet point description, update an address or link (including Facebook contact), or add a note on location, please use the comments section below.

Museo Numismatico, Click to Enlarge

• Casa Carranza
• Río Lerma 35, Cuauhtémoc, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06500 Mexico Df
• 5535-2920 5546-6494

• Museo Casa Del Poeta
• Alvaro Obregón 73, Roma Norte, Delegacion Cuauhtemoc, 06700 Mexico Df
• 5533-5456

• Museo De Betlemitas (Museo Del Ejercito Y Fuerza Aerea Mexicana)
• Filomeno Mata 6, Centro, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06010 Mexico Df
• 5512-3215

• Museo De Cera De La Ciudad De Mexico
• Londres 6, Juárez, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06600 Mexico Df
• 5546-3784

Museo De Geologia De La Unam

• Museo De Geologia De La Unam
• Jaime Torres Bodet 176, Santa María La Ribera, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06400 Mexico Df
• 5547-3900

• Museo De Lo Increible De Ripley
• Londres 6, Juárez, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06600 Mexico Df
• 5546-7670 5566-1576

• Museo De San Carlos
• Puente De Alvarado 50, Tabacalera, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06030 Mexico Df
• 5566-8085

Enrique Luft, Untitled, Museo Nacional de la Estampa

• Museo Franz Mayer
• Av. Hidalgo 45, Guerrero, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06300 Mexico Df
• 5518-2265/5521-2888

• Museo del Juguete Antiguo México
• Dr. Olvera #15 Col. Doctores, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06720 Mexico Df
• 5588 2100
• See our review of the Toy Museum here

• Museo Nacional De La Estampa
• Av. Hidalgo 39, Guerrero, Delegacion Cuauhtemoc, 06300 Mexico Df
• 5510-4905

Museo Nacional De La Revolucion Mexicana

• Museo Nacional De La Revolucion Mexicana
• Plaza De La República S/N, Tabacalera, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06030 Mexico Df
• 5546-2115

• Museo Panteón San Fernando
• Plaza de San Fernando 17, Col. Guerrero, Delegación Cuauhtémoc
• 5518 4736

• Museo Numismatico
• Paseo de la Reforma #295 5° Piso, Col. Cuauhtémoc, Delegación Cuauhtémoc, México Df
• 5080 9850

• Museo Universitario Del Chopo
• Doctor Enrique González Martinez 10, Santa María La Ribera, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06400 Mexico Df
• 5546-8490

• Capilla Alfonsina (Casa Museo Alfonso Reyes)
• Benjamin Hill 122, Hipódromo De La Condesa, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06170 Mexico Df
• 5515-2225

Museo del Chopo, under Construction

• Casa de Cultura del Estado de Tabasco
• Berlín 33, Juárez, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06600 Mexico Df
• 5705-0114 / 5705-7413 / 5563-2078

• Casa De La Cultura Hipodromo Condesa Jesus Romero Flores
• Culiacán 103, Hipodromo, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06100 Mexico Df
• 5584-7511

• Casa De La Cultura Romita
• Callejón Romita (Plaza Real De Romita) 28, Roma Norte, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Mexico Df
• 5208-4897

• Casa Del Poeta Ramon Lopez Velarde
• Álvaro Obregón 73, Roma Norte, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Mexico Df
• 5533-5456

Centro de Cultura Casa Lamm

• Casa Lamm
• Álvaro Obregón 99, Roma Norte, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Mexico Df
• 5511-1016 Ext. 26

• Centro Cultural Telmex
• Eje 1 Poniente Avenida Cuauhtémoc 19, Roma Norte, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Mexico Df
• 5414-2300 / 5207-1498

• Centro De Arte Y Comedia Gonzalo Correa (Teatro Diego Rivera)
• Versalles 27; 2nd. Piso, Juárez, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06600 Mexico Df
• 5207-1498 / 5546-2975 / 5546-2995

• Centro Expo Reforma
• Avenida Morelos 67, Juárez, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06600 Mexico Df
• 5140-9470 / 5140-9463 / 5140-9460

Poet Alfonso Reyes, from the Collection of the Casa Museo Alfonso Reyes (Capilla Alfonsina)

• Instituto Anglo Mexicano De Cultura (The Anglo Mexican Foundation)
• Maestro Antonio Caso 127, San Rafael, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06470 Mexico Df
• 3000-1800

• Sociedad Dante Alighieri
• Marsella 39, Juárez, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06600 Mexico Df
• 5511-2953 / 5511-5257

• Sociedad Mexicana De Geografia Y Estadistica
• Justo Sierra 19, Centro, Delegacion Cuauhtémoc, 06010 Mexico Df
• 5542-7341

• Centro Cultural Estación Indianilla
• Claudio Bernard #111, Esq Niños heroes, Col. Doctores, 06720, Mexico Df
• 5761-8923

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Click image to enlarge

I like Mexico City because it’s the only thing like Rome in the Americas. These are grand cities, in the English sense of being massive and impressive, but they’re also, incomparably priceless in history – and somehow they will always  be unfixable, chaotic, and extreme.

Rome sprawls out on it’s own peninsula, across the ocean, and I’ve never been able to know all of that city either. There is always another impossibly beautiful corner to turn, and secret places that ring with the memory of thousands of years of humans looking and being and living – each of them unknowingly putting more energy back into the city.

Gallos, Juchitán, Oaxaca (Roosters, Juchitán, Oaxaca), 1985 © Graciela Iturbide

Both cities vibrate more than people vibrate – and more like only stones can vibrate – stones that carry the unmistakable energy of human intervention, longing and resentment.

Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide is one of the few most qualified people on Earth to tap the energy of both cities – and to give you some back. According the museum, the exhibition, Ciudad Mexico. Ciudad Roma is “an essay on the aestetic re-invention, using new languages, to rescue readings of both cities through found objects.”

That’s my translation, but whatever Iturbide finds, it tends to be worth looking at. There’s a short video interview with Iturbide, below, conducted at an exhibition in Rome (in Spanish with Italian Subtitles), but for the novice this introduction to the Exhibtion at the Getty Museum last year is an even better place to get an idea what you’re in for, (ie, lots of photos).

Date: Thursday, August 20, 2009
Time: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Location: Museo Archivo de la Fotografía
Street: Guatemala 34, colonia Centro Histórico

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