Tulum

Tulum (Yucatec: is the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city serving as a major port for Cobá. The ruins are located on 12-meter (39 ft) cliffs, along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Tulum was at its height between the 13th-15th centuries and managed to survive about 70 years after the Spanish began occupying Mexico. Old World diseases brought by the Spanish settlers appear to have been the cause of its demise. One of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites.

Architecture

Main temple at Tulum has architecture typical of Maya sites on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. This architecture is recognized by a step running around the base of the building which sits on a low substructure. Doorways of this type are usually narrow with columns used as support if the building is big enough. As the walls flare out there are usually two sets of molding near the top. The room usually contains one or two small windows with an altar at the back wall, roofed by either a beam-and-rubble ceiling or being vaulted. This type of architecture resembles that done at the nearby Chichen Itza, just on a much smaller scale.

Tulum was protected on one side by steep sea cliffs and on the landward side by a wall that averaged about three to 5 meters (16 ft) in height. The wall also was about 8 m (26 ft) thick and 400 m (1,300 ft) long on the side parallel to the sea. The part of the wall that ran the width of the site was slightly shorter and only about 170 meters (560 ft) on both sides. This massive wall would have taken an enormous amount of energy and time, which shows how important defense was to the Maya when they constructed the site here. On the southwest and northwest corners there are small structures that have been identified as watch towers, showing again how well defended the city would have been. There are five narrow gateways in the wall with two each on the north and south sides and one on the west. Near the northern side of the wall a small cenote would have provided the city with fresh water. It is this impressive wall that makes Tulum one the most well-known fortified sites of the Maya. [Wiki]

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Cancun

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Redes / Nets

Tetitlan (between Acapulco and Ixtapa), a fishermen's village.

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Flying

Latin American Tower
(Previously posted)

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Mariachis

Mariachis in Cuernavaca

Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Western Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind, and percussion instruments. In addition, sociohistorical factors have influenced the repertoire in terms of the performance of diverse regional song forms as well as the evolution of the performance attire. Mariachi is important to the study of Mexican music because, as an ensemble created during the colonial period, it found its essence during the postcolonial era, blossomed during the nationalist era, and made a global impact during contemporary times. Throughout this development, particularly since the nationalist era, mariachi music has become emblematic of Mexican music by appropriating various Mexican regional song forms.

The term "Mariachi" is said to be an adaptation of the French word for marriage or wedding "mariage" as this type of musical formation used to play at such events.

Although mariachis are hired to play at events such as weddings and other formal occasions, such as a quinceañera (a girl's fifteenth birthday celebration), they are very often used to serenade women because many of the songs in a typical repertoire have as a theme the desire to touch the heart of a woman. Trios of mariachis can be found for hire in different places at night (the best known venues are Plaza de los Mariachis in Guadalajara and Plaza Garibaldi in Mexico City) for the purposes of serenading. Hiring prices can vary immensely and are normally not cheap.

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Saturday 19

Robert Brady Museum. Cuernavaca

In the shadow of the Cathedral of Cuernavaca the Casa de la Torre houses a unique collection of fine and decorative arts from all over the world. The visitor will enjoy a house-museum created in a portion of a massive adobe and stone XVI century Franciscan Monastery.




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Circle

Cuernavaca

Acapulco

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Entrance

(Previously posted)

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Restaurant Clandestino

Clandestine Restaurant (Mexico City)
Workshops, Music, Books, Bazaar, Theater, Puppets

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Venezia III

Il Caffè Florian

Opened in 1720 in Piazza San Marco in Venice, Caffè Florian is Italy’s oldest Café. While seated in one of the café’s frescoed rooms or outside listening to the orchestra in the Piazza, one can enjoy impeccable service and products of the finest quality.

Famous for its rich history as a crossroads of art, culture, politics and entertainment, today the Florian is also known for its elegant trademark products: coffee, teas, chocolates, cookies, porcelains, and design objects. The Florian Gourmet, Lifestyle and Design collections are available for sale at exclusive trademark boutiques and online at www.caffeflorian.com

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Venezia II

The church of San Simeone Piccolo (also called San Simeone e Giuda) is a noted landmark in the Sestiere of  Santa Croce of Venice. In part, it is memorable, because from across the Grand Canal it faces the railroad terminal serving as entrypoint for most visitors to the city.
Built during the years 1718-38 by Giovanni Antonio Scalfarotto (1690-1764); this church shows the emerging eclecticism of neoclassical architecture. It accumulates academic architectural quotations, much like the contemporaneous Karlskirche in Vienna.

Ponti degli Scalzi

The Ponte degli Scalzi (or Ponte dei Scalzi), literally, "Bridge of The Barefoot", is one of only four bridges in Venice to span The Grand Canal.

The bridge connects the  Sestieri of Santa Croce and Cannaregio. On the north side, Cannaregio, are the Chiesa degli Scalzi (Church of The Barefoot) and the Santa Lucia (Ferrovia) railway station. The south side, Santa Croce, is close to the bus station Piazzale Roma.

Designed by  Eugenio Miozzi, it was completed in 1934, replacing an Austrian iron bridge.

The Rialto Bridge (Italian: Ponte di Rialto) is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is the oldest bridge across the canal.

The first dry crossing of the Grand Canal was a pontoon bridge built in 1181 by Nicol  Barattieri. It was called the Ponte della Moneta, presumably because of the mint that stood near its eastern entrance.

The development and importance of the_Rialto_market on the eastern bank increased traffic on the floating bridge, so it was replaced in 1255 by a wooden bridge. This structure had two inclined ramps meeting at a movable central section, that could be raised to allow the passage of tall ships. The connection with the market eventually led to a change of name for the bridge. During the first half of the 15th century two rows of shops were built along the sides of the bridge. The rents brought an income to the State Treasury, which helped maintain the bridge.

Happy Valentine's Day! -Feliz Día del Amor y la Amistad!

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Venezia I

Santa Maria della Salute

Punta della Dogana
Mapping The Studio - Palazzo Grassi

Google Earth

The surface of Venice is constantly metamorphosing [and] painting Venice is almost like being a restorer, peeling off the layers to find the picture after picture underneath.”

~Arbit Blatas

Happy Sunday!
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Venus

Art and Science

How often people speak of art and science as though they were two entirely different things, with no interconnection. An artist is emotional, they think, and uses only his intuition; he sees all at once and has no need of reason. A scientist is cold, they think, and uses only his reason; he argues carefully step by step, and needs no imagination. That is all wrong. The true artist is quite rational as well as imaginative and knows what he is doing; if he does not, his art suffers. The true scientist is quite imaginative as well as rational, and sometimes leaps to solutions where reason can follow only slowly; if he does not, his science suffers.  ~Isaac Asimov

Happy Weekend!
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Bronze and Flesh

Installation of sculptures in main square of Cuernavaca (not finished yet)

Street Vendor in rural Mexico

Mexico's rampant poverty, lagged social development and general public welfare is strongly tied to its politics. Historically, the political system of Mexico has not favored the general population, mainly because it focused to become and be a single-party system of government, largely dubbed "institutionalized" where those in charge had a one-voice, unquestionable plan of action mainly focused to favor the few elite while ignoring the welfare of the rest of population. From the 1800s to the end of the 20th century, as presidential administration came and went, the forms of government has been described as authoritarian, semi-democracy, centralized government, untouchable presidencies, mass-controlling, corporatist and elite-controlled. As each administration took turn, some changes have occurred, sometimes as to contribute to the welfare of the least fortunates but history has clearly shown that poverty has remained constant at any given time in the history of Mexico. Overall, the political framework behind the economic and social structure of the country continues to be the greatest contributor to inequality. The political economy of the country has been inadequate and unfair for many decades.

Corruption is rampant in Mexico. Mexico's government has been historically corrupt at all hierarchical levels: federal, state, and local. Mexico ranks high-to-very high among most corrupted countries in the world. The cost of corruption in Mexico is equal to 9 percent of the country's GDP. Business companies admit to spend as much as 10 percent of their revenue in bureaucratic bribes. 39 percent is spent on bribing high-ranking policy makers and 61 percent on lower-ranking bureaucratic-administrative office holders. At least 30 percent of all public spending ends up in the pockets of the corrupt. With these rankings, it is clear that the unethical practices by government officials directly affect the population, their development and the state of poverty in which they remain. [Wiki]

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Kaleidoscake

To Mavie

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Fisherman's Village

Boca Chica Beach

“Dip him in the river who loves water.” / “Sumerge en el río a aquel que ama el agua.”

~William Blake

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Under The Volcano

Mirando Mirar

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Saturday Blues

Happy Weekend!
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Rest

Taking a break in Tepoztlan Sunday street market.

Irina from Irina's Paintings  and  Moscow Daily Photo honored me with this great sketch of the above photo.  Thank you very much! 

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