Once Upon A Time (A Year Ago) In Mexico

A year ago this month I returned from a 2-week course in Cuernavaca, Mexico to earn my tour manager certification. The course was through the International Guide Academy, based in Denver, Colorado. It was a great time, great fun. Challenging coursework, supportive instructors, wonderful classmates, and a lovely host family in a lovely city.

View of central plaza in Cuernavaca from Palacio de Cortes

La Koba y El Gato...in the Partido family courtyard

This is not a post with anything profound to say about travel or the world or Mexico in particular. Travel doesn't always have to be a life-changing experience, just so long as it's life-enjoying. That's why we travel addicts do it. And my 2 weeks in Mexico were nothing but enjoyable. And I just wanted to share a few pics from the Mexican block on my own memory lane.

Me, strolling to the Cathedral in Cuernavaca, hat in hand. Photo courtesy of Mike Tartaglia.

Shrine to La Virgen de Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico



Carla and the Sacred Heart statue, in the courtyard of the Cathedral

Mariachi man and me, outside the Cathedral

Mexico is a country that wears its Catholicism on its sleeve, but it's not all churches and shrines in Cuernavaca. Also found here is the 16th-century Palacio de Cortes, the palace of conquistador Hernan Cortes, which is now a great museum that features an extraordinary mural by Diego Rivera. Art geeks will also want to check out the Robert Brady Museum. Brady was an American artist and collector from Iowa who settled in Mexico and befriended many other artists and celebrities such as the likes of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and Josephine Baker. Over time he amassed a collection of over 1,300 art pieces, which are all on display in his former home turned musem in Cuernavaca. The home alone is interesting, the art it holds diverse, quirky, and amazing.

Exterior of Robert Brady Museum

 

Room of masks, Robert Brady Museum. Photo by Mike Tartaglia.

Kitchen of Robert Brady home

Frida Kahlo self-portrait in Brady Museum.

On the streets of Cuernavaca



Balloon seller and Benito Juarez

Section of Diego Rivera mural in Palacio de Cortes, showing conquistador brutality toward native peoples of Mexico

Section of Rivera mural. Revolutionary Emiliano Zapata leading Cortes' horse, symbolizing reclamation of Mexico by the people.

Cuernavaca is in the center of Mexico, in the state of Morelos. Not far (within an hour or two away) are Mexico City, Taxco, Tepotzlan, and Xochicalco.

I met my doppelganger in Mexico City.

Boats at Xochimilco in Mexico City.

A passing gondola at Xochimilco.

A mariachi band hijacked our gondola.

A good time was had by all. Photo by Gabriela Ioana.

View of Taxco, silver city, looking up.

View of Taxco looking down.

Cathedral in Taxco.

Standing in doorway of cathedral, looking out.



Chiquita in front of Miscelenea La Chiquita.

Pyramid at pre-Columbian Xochicalco

Time teller structure at Xochicalco

Art on pyramid at Xochicalco

Representation of a Mayan carved into pyramid at Xochicalco



One of the lower pyramids at Xochicalco.

 One thing a visitor immediately notices about Mexico is how alive and vibrant it is. Even a walk down the most mundane little side street in a town guarantees an assault on the senses. Everywhere there's bright colors, sounds, smells, music, celebration. Mexican people celebrate like nobody's business. Having lived in Ireland for a long time, I thought I knew about celebrating. I thought the Irish partied with a vengeance. How naive I was. In Mexico the fiestas never stop. It's a fantastic and joyful place.

Fiesta! Photo by Allison Bitten.

Me and a friend. Photo courtesy of Mike Trant.

Me, gone native. Photo courtesy of Kirk Speer.

This post is for Rafael Partido, whose wife Rosita and family opened up their beautiful home to myself and my classmates in Cuernavaca. Rafael passed away earlier this year. He and his family were warm and generous hosts. Gracias por todo.