Mexico City – WANDERFUL

Mexico City, never thought we would be back but here we are once again using this huge metropolis as our jump off point for our 2019 travels.

We plan to ‘wander’ for the first half checking out areas we didn’t get to last year and then settle down and ‘chillax’ in Hualtuco for the remainder – sun, sand, and surf beckon, as does that little piece of paradise.

Navigating CDMX was much easier this time around, we understood the metro and my purse was in full lock-down mode as we headed to the historical centre!! First up was a visit to the Presidential Palace to view the marvellous murals of Diego Rivera, one of Mexicos most prominent artists. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican mural movement in Mexican art. The detail in these murals is phenomenal and really do give a pictorial history of the political development of Mexico.

We also visited Plaza Garibaldi, known as Mexico City’s home of mariachi music. At all hours of the day and night, mariachi bands can be found roaming the square playing or soliciting gigs from visitors and restaurant patrons. The area is quite seedy, so we watched a couple of groups and headed out, best not to linger! Only after our visit did we find out that there was a gang war shoot out this past September!

The Frida Kahlo Museum or Casa Azul was also on the list. This is the birthplace and ultimately final resting place of Frida Kahlo, another famous Mexican artist. For those who aren’t familiar with Frida’s history, she was a self-taught artist who was sickly, suffered polio as a child and was involved in a serious, debilitating bus accident at age 18 which ultimately affected her entire life. She took up painting during her many months of convalescing from multiple fractures includinga broken back , and lived in pain for the remainder of her life. Many of her folkloric paintings represent a diary of her life depicting the physical and emotional pain she endured.

She is also well know for her turbulent marriage to artist Diego Rivera and her unconventional, bohemian life style.

Viva la Vida Watermelon – some believe this was Frida’s last painting 8 days before her death

Although Kahlo achieved success as an artist in her lifetime, and is best know for her many self-portraits, her posthumous reputation steadily grew and she is perhaps one of the best-known artists of the 20th century. She died in 1954 at age 47 from a pulmonary infection/embolism, although many speculate her death was caused by an overdose.

Enjoy your own tour of Frida’s home with a few pictures below.