MEXICO CITY

When you are a person like me who finds simple things fascinating, it is easy to be overwhlemed by a city as amazing as Mexico CIty. With a population of 22 million and incredible museums and parks and architecture and food and people, i had to take a break and draw this simple scene at Saint Panderia, a cafe in the Colonia Hipodromo neighborhood that we are staying in .

The world is a whirlwind of activity, and doing art is a technique I use to get it to stop. To consciously appreciate something before it mixes with everything else. Photos do that to be sure, but a drawn or painted image glues a series of moments into a cohesive whole. It also makes the scene mine. I own it in a way that I don’t get when taking a photo. I allow places people and things to possess me, so that I can possess them. That sounds a bit creepy, and maybe it is.

Me taking a pic of Giacomo taking a pic of the central column fountain that holds up that giant roof structure all by itself. Quite an amazing spot..

THE MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY

Fantastic and Overwhelming - the cultural richness preserved and celebrated is astounding. The U.S. does not have this level of ancient cultural appreciation. There was a cultural white washing that took place, made easier by there not being too many giant stone pyramids hanging about. But in Mexico, The Olmec, Teotihuacan, Toltec, Aztec, Zapotec, Mixtec, and the Maya all made sure that their legacies were written in stone.

That’s all for this morning! I have so much more to share: Public art and murals. Trees taking over the streets. A dog walking super hero. The incidental charm of funky electrical wiring…. but that will be for another day. Thank you for coming along! Buen dia!