The Magic of the Cities.

Zen promotes the rediscovery of the obvious, which is so often lost in its familiarity and simplicity. It sees the miraculous in the common and magic in our everyday surroundings. When we are not rushed, and our minds are unclouded by conceptualizations, a veil will sometimes drop, introducing the viewer to a world unseen since childhood. ~ John Greer

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Tepoztlan II

Artesanias (Craftsmanship)

"Paleacates" (A sort of scarfs or handkerchiefs)

The Entrance

A view from The Tepozteco

TepozRock

Gracias por su visita / Thanks for visiting.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Tepoztlan III

"Aura" (The distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, thing, or place)


"Raspados" (Ice with different fruit flavors)






Tepoztlán is a town in the Mexican state of Morelos. It is located in the heart of the Tepoztlán Valley. The municipality reported 32,921 inhabitants in the 2000 national census.
The town is a popular tourist destination near Mexico City. The town is famous for the remains of a temple built on top of the nearby Tepozteco mountain, as well as for the exotic ice-cream flavours prepared by the townspeople. Tepoztlán was named a "Pueblo Mágico" ["Magic Town"] in 2002. According to myth, Tepoztlan is the birthplace over 1200 years ago of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god widely-worshipped in ancient Mexico. It has not yet been possible to determine who first inhabited the area. The earliest findings of pottery and other ceramic utensils date back to approximately 1500 BCE. By the 10th century CE the Toltec culture was predominant in the area. Tepoztlán is said to have been the birthplace of Ce Acatl, a very important Toltec leader, later known as Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl, and who may be the possible historical basis of the Mesoamerican god Quetzalcoatl.
During the Spanish Conquest Hernán Cortéz is said to have ordered the town razed after the refusal of the town leaders to meet him. This event was chronicled by Bernal Díaz del Castillo in The Conquest of New Spain.

Wiki.

Gracias por su visita / Thanks for visiting.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

April 2008 Theme Day: Water

Lago Mayor de Chapultepec / Chapultepec Lake Major. Restaurant Meridien.

Version 2


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Gracias por su visita / Thanks for visiting.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Scented Wind


The incredible Rothko in action.

Gracias por su visita / Thanks for visiting.

Monday, March 24, 2008

The Beauty of Darkness


The goth subculture has associated tastes in music, aesthetics, and fashion, whether or not all individuals who share those tastes are in fact members of the goth subculture. Gothic music encompasses a number of different styles. Common to all is a tendency towards a lugubrious, mystical sound and outlook. Styles of dress within the subculture range from deathrock, punk, androgynous, medieval, some Renaissance and Victorian style clothes, or combinations of the above, most often with black attire, makeup and hair. [ Wiki ]

Gracias por su visita / Thanks for visiting.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Bellas Artes


Palacio de Bellas Artes ("Palace of Fine Arts") is the premier opera house of Mexico City. The building is famous for both its extravagant art nouveau exterior in imported Italian white marble and its murals by Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and José Clemente Orozco.
You can see pictures of the interior here.

Gracias por su visita / Thanks for visiting.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Semana Santa / Holy Week




Holy Thursday in St. Francis Church at Historic Center of the city. The 3rd picture shows the neglected part of Mexican society: The Indigenous people.
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week before Easter. It includes the religious holidays of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) and Good Friday, and lasts from Palm Sunday until but not including Easter Sunday, as Easter Sunday is the first day of the new season of The Great Fifty Days. It commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. [Wiki]

Gracias por su visita / Thanks for visiting.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Gort


“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Arthur C. Clarke.
Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke has died. Good Bye Sir Arthur.

Gracias por su visita / Thanks for visiting.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

The Sacred Valley of Tepoztlan


View from the Road 95 Mexico City-Cuernavaca-Acapulco of the Valley of Tepoztlan, a magic town south Mexico City, in the center of the image, the one with pyramidal form, "El Cerro del Tesoro" (Treasure Hill) or 'Chalchi'.
The town is a popular tourist destination near Mexico City. Is famous for the remains of a temple built on top of the nearby Tepozteco mountain. Tepoztlán was named a "Pueblo Mágico" in 2002. [Wiki]
About the background music:
Luminessence.
A modern masterpiece, July 12, 2005
By Marius Cipolla.
This is an absolutely luminous piece of music, living up to the name Jarrett gave it. Hard to believe anyone could think it dark. Like most serious modern music, it reflects the human condition in our age, and that means moments of tension and anguish. Indeed one could say that one of the great themes of Jarrett's music is the resolution of such anguish -- crossing the "personal mountains" in each human life.
But the overal experience of these pieces is of sublime beauty. Jan Garbarek is the perfect soloist for this sonata-like composition, an artist who produces one of the most beautiful sounds in modern jazz.
Luminessence isn't easy listening jazz. It might be better to approach it via the path of modern classical music than via any popular tradition. It is serious, heavenly music that needs to be respected. In return, it will reward the listener with intense pleasure.

Gracias por su visita / Thanks for visiting.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Gabriel Ponzanelli. Esculturas / Sculptures






Exhibit at Jardin Borda [Borda's Garden] in Cuernavaca, a beautiful town, near Mexico City.
Sculptures by Ponzanelli.

Gracias por su visita / Thanks for visiting.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Hopeless


A girl and her child begging for money on the street.

Gracias por su visita / Thanks for visiting.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Theory of Man



Theory of Man

January first: The Big Bang
May first: The Milky Way is formed
September 9: The Solar System is formed
September 4: The Earth is formed
September 25: The terrestrial life starts
November 30: Atmosphere in Earth
December 17: Sea invertebrates
December 18: Sea plankton
December 19: Primitive vertebrates
December 20: Vascular plants
December 21: First bugs
December 24: The dinosaurs
December 27: First mammals
December 31: Human beings

Recently arrived:
what are we doing in this Earth?

Alberto Blanco

And in the background the American embassy.

Dedicated to Sofia.

Gracias por su visita / Thanks for visiting.

Monday, March 10, 2008

The Angel of Independence


El Angel de la Independencia al atardecer / The Angel of Independence at dusk and in the background the Torre Mayor [building].
El Ángel de la Independencia ("The Angel of Independence"), most commonly known by the shortened name El Ángel and officially known as Columna de la Independencia, is a victory column located on a roundabout over Paseo de la Reforma in downtown Mexico City.
El Ángel was built to commemorate the centennial of the beginning of Mexico's War of Independence, celebrated in 1910. In later years it was made into a mausoleum for the most important heroes of that war. It is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Mexico City, and it has become a focal point for both celebration or protest. It bears a resemblance to the Victory Column in Berlin. [Wiki]

Gracias por su visita / Thanks for visiting.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Colonia Roma / Roma District


A culture space at Colonia Roma.
Fodor's Review: Recently, bookstores and cafés have helped transform this old neighborhood into the capital's full-blown arts district. The Galería OMR (Plaza Río de Janeiro 54, Col. Roma. www.galeriaomr.com. ) is tucked away in a typical Colonia Roma house, with an early-20th-century stone facade and quirkily lopsided exhibition rooms. This active gallery has a strong presence in international art fairs and art magazines. It's open weekdays 10-3 and 4-7 and Saturday 10-2. A short walk from OMR, Galería Nina Menocal (Zacatecas 93, at Cordoba, Col. Roma. www.ninamenocal.com. ) specializes in work by Cuban artists. The gallery is open weekdays 10-7 and Saturday 10-2, but the small staff is not always particularly welcoming to tourists who just want to take a look around. The Casa Lamm Cultural Center (Av. Alvaro Obregón 99, at Orizaba, Col. Roma. www.casalamm.com.mx.), a small mansion and national monument, nurtures artists and welcomes browsers with three exhibition spaces, a bookstore, a wide range of courses, and a superb café and a great restaurant that offers delicious international cuisine. Galería Pecanins (Av. Durango 186 at Plaza Cibeles, Col. Roma.) may be small, but it's a significant local presence. It's open weekdays 11-2 and 4-7.


Gracias por su visita / Thanks for visiting.

Thursday, March 6, 2008