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(View from Chapultepec Castle)
As an "alpha" global city Mexico
City is one of the most important financial centers in North America. It is
located in the Valley of Mexico, a large valley in the
high plateaus at
the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres (7,350 ft). The city
consists of sixteen boroughs.
The 2009 estimated population for the city proper was
around 8.84 million people, and has a land area of 1,485 square kilometres
(573 sq mi). According to the most recent definition agreed upon by
the federal and state governments, the Mexico City metropolitan area population
is 21.2 million people, making it the largest metropolitan area in
the western hemisphere and the fifth largest
agglomeration in the world.
Mexico City has a gross domestic product (GDP) of
$390 billion US$ in 2008, making Mexico City the eighth richest city in the world. The city
was responsible for generating 21% of Mexico's Gross Domestic Product and the
metropolitan area accounted for 34% of total national GDP.
The city was originally built on an island of Lake Texcoco by
the Aztecs in
1325 as Tenochtitlan, which was almost completely
destroyed in the 1521 siege of Tenochtitlan, and subsequently
redesigned and rebuilt in accordance with the Spanish urban standards. In 1524,
the municipality of Mexico City was
established, known as México Tenochtitlán, and as of 1585 it was
officially known as La Ciudad de México (Mexico City). Mexico City
served as the political, administrative and financial center of a major part of
the Spanish colonial empire. After independence from Spain was achieved,
the Federal
District was created in 1824.
[Wiki]
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Saturday, November 5, 2011
Mexico City
Friday, November 4, 2011
The Box
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| Music: Invisible Lady by Charles Mingus |
music+image
Thursday, November 3, 2011
The Day of The Dead II
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Day of the Dead (Spanish: DÃa de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated
throughout Mexico and around the world in many cultures. The holiday focuses on
gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family
members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it
attains the quality of a National Holiday, and all banks are closed. The
celebration takes place on November 1–2, in connection with
the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day (November 1)
and All Souls' Day (November 2). Traditions connected with the
holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar
skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed
and visiting graves with these as gifts.
Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican
holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to
an Aztec festival dedicated to
a goddess called Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread
throughout the world: In Brazil, Dia de Finados is a
public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and
churches. In Spain, there are festivals and parades, and, at the end of
the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray for their dead loved ones.
Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed
celebrations appear in
many Asian and African cultures.
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Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The Day of The Dead I
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| La Petite Mort |
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The Day of The Dead
Her face
is unforgettable and she goes by many names: La Catrina, la Flaca, la Huesuda,
la Pelona--Fancy Lady, Skinny, Bony, Baldy. A fixture in Mexican society, she's
not some trendy fashion model, but La Muerte--Death.
Renowned
writer Octavio Paz observes that, undaunted by death, the Mexican has no qualms
about getting up close and personal with death, noting that he "...chases
after it, mocks it, courts it, hugs it, sleeps with it; it is his favorite
plaything and his most lasting love."
November
1, All Saints Day, and November 2, All Souls Day are marked throughout Mexico
by a plethora of intriguing customs that vary widely according to the ethnic
roots of each region. Common to all, however, are colorful adornments and lively
reunions at family burial plots, the preparation of special foods, offerings
laid out for the departed on commemorative altars and religious rites that are
likely to include noisy fireworks.
In most
localities November 1 is set aside for remembrance of deceased infants and
children, often referred to as angelitos (little angels). Those
who have died as adults are honored November 2.
From
mid-October through the first week of November, markets and shops all over
Mexico are replete with the special accouterments for the Dia de Muertos (Day
of the Dead). These include all manner of skeletons and other macabre toys;
intricate tissue paper cut-outs called papel picado; elaborate wreaths and
crosses decorated with paper or silk flowers; candles and votive lights; and
fresh seasonal flowers, particularly cempazuchiles (marigolds) and barro de
obispo (cockscomb). Among the edible goodies offered are skulls, coffins and
the like made from sugar, chocolate or amaranth seeds and special baked goods,
notably sugary sweet rolls called pan de muerto that come in various sizes
invariably topped with bits of dough shaped like bones and, in some regions,
unadorned dark breads molded into humanoid figures called animas (souls). All
of these goods are destined for the buyer's ofrenda de muertos (offering to the
dead).
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Tuesday, November 1, 2011
November 2011 Theme Day: Fences
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| Caminos de lo Sagrado (Sacred Paths) - Queretaro Tri Cultural Patrimony of The Humanity - 120 Photo exhibition at The Open Gallery of The Chapultepec Park Fence. Curator: Gonzalo Infante. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants |
Monday, October 31, 2011
La Catrina
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| Mexican Handcrafts of Guanajuato. Mexico
Popularized by José Guadalupe Posada, this Catrina is
the skeleton of an upper class woman with large breasts and
one of the most popular figures of the Day of the Dead celebrations, which
occur during two days, November 1 and November 2, corresponding with the Catholic holy days of All Saints
Day and All Souls Day.
Although these holy days have a long cultural history reaching into the
prehistoric traditions of several European cultures, many aspects of the
Mexican festival have indigenous origins in an Aztec festival
dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl.
After the conquest of Mexico, the Spanish superimposed their cultural
traditions upon the similar Aztec festival and a synthesis occurred.
La Catrina, as it is commonly known, was a popular
print in Posada's day, but soon faded from the popular memory. Along with the
rest of Posada's prints, it was revived by French artist and art historian Jean Charlot shortly
after the Mexican Revolution in the 1920s. La
Catrina soon gained iconic status as a symbol of uniquely Mexican art and
was reproduced en masse.
The image was incorporated into Diego Rivera's
mural Dream of a Sunday in Alameda Park, which also includes images of his
wife Frida Kahlo,
Posada, and a self-portrait of Rivera.
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
Quinceañera
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Quinceañera (lit. meaning One (f.) who is fifteen),
sometimes called Fiesta de Quinceañera, or simply quince, is the
celebration of a girl's
fifteenth birthday in parts of Latin America and
elsewhere in communities of immigrants from Latin America. This birthday is
celebrated differently from any other birthday, as it marks the transition from
childhood to young womanhood.
In Mexico, the birthday girl is fixed up with fancy makeup. Traditionally,
this was the first time she would wear makeup, but more recently this is no
longer the case. She also has her nails and hair done especially for this
occasion and dresses up with a fancy dress that she had chosen in advance.
In the Mexican tradition - and if the teenager is Catholic - the quinceañera
festival begins with a Thanksgiving mass. For this mass, the
teenager wears a formal dress, usually quite creative in fashion and reminiscent
of what a western bride or princess would wear. Traditionally, the quinceañera
would wear a pink dress to symbolize her purity; however, in recent decades,
white has become the color of choice to symbolize this treasured quality.
She arrives at the celebration accompanied by her parents, godparents,
damas, and chamberlains. She is also awarded a tiara as a reminder that
to her loved ones, especially her immediate family, she will always be a
princess. [Wiki]
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Saturday, October 29, 2011
The Swing of Life
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Zen and the Art of Photography
Driven by a passion for photography and a fascination with the Zen Buddhist
philosophy, the author conceptually and experientially examines the relationship
between Zen Buddhism and the art of photography.
Among the subjects discussed:
What is the relationship between haiku and photography?
What is the relationship between the mind of the photographer while creating a photograph
and the Zen concept of the Empty Mind?
What role does intuition and feeling play in
photography?
In Zen?
Through examination of these concepts and relationships,
the author explains the heightened awareness, joy, and enlightenment he has
experienced through photography and suggests ways that others may share in
the creative process.
Wayne Rowe. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
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Friday, October 28, 2011
Solar Dance
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When it is
dark enough, you can see the stars.
~Ralph
Waldo Emerson
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