Navidad Diary: Mexico City
Museo Nacional de Antropologia, DF
I boarded the bus at midnight with a bunch of brute faced men; I was wide awake from the coffee for an hour or so and excited from the day. The lack of sleep was starting to kick in and things were blurring together rather, still, it was comfortable to be on the move and it wasn’t long before I was dozing. It wasn’t long before I was awake again either, I had told the driver there was no rush but at 4:30am smart we were at Mexico TAPO.
I scored a socket for my camera and a hot chocolate for me and the hours crept by, I became too awake to sit still and walked in circles around the shut up food stalls in the centre of the station, trying to keep warm. At 8am I could wait no longer and I set off into the maze of the Metro.
It’s just like London, I thought to myself, it’s just like London. I had been told horror stories about Mexico City from day one with people telling me I would get robbed down to my socks before I could even catch a cab and although I had crossed the place on a few occasions on the Metro I had only once ever set foot on the street. The say that DF is the safest place in the country now, but that’s not because it’s got any better it’s just because everywhere else has gotten worse! Although before I left I saw a sad story about a lad stabbed to death during the sales on Oxford Street and on reflection I think I’m in the right place.
In fact it was a lot like walking in London circa 1987; it had that kind of vibe. I got out at the corner of Reforma and promptly set off in the wrong direction, the first person I asked turned me around. Reforma runs through Chapultapec Wood and despite the traffic the air was fresh from the trees.
I had 10 minutes to sit outside and prepare myself before the doors opened at 9am and I was in!
There are 9 rooms and the top floor shows the indigenous people who live in Mexico today. I chose the left hand side and went to the Occidental and Norte regions before crossing over to the anthropology room and looking at the history of man. It's fascinating to think about our origins and trace our migratory pathways. I’m not sure I agree with all of the dates and history on display there and it amazes me how “scientific” Darwinism has become as dogmatic as the "religious" Creationism it is so often put up against, anyone who dares to question it is marginalized and ridiculed.
Around 11am I had to break my fast so I made for the cafeteria, not expecting much I was delighted by some absolutely delicious mole enchiladas. I scribbled some thoughts down onto paper and jumped right back into the thick of things. What follows is an assorted gallery from the Toltecas, Zapotecas of Oaxaca, Olmecas, and the indigenous people of modern Mexico. Pride of place was understandably reserved for the culture that had lived on the ancient site the city was built on - the Mexica.
There were familiar scenes on the top floor, as I walked around I realised that I had met most of these people, I didn’t dwell on the peyote inspired Huichol art because I’ve seen them making it in the streets. It was the same story downstairs, seeing artifacts from beloved places in the south was like hearing from an old friend.
There were artifacts from every day life, including musical and smoking instruments and jewellery. I was interested to see a cross pattee design in the mix.
There were some enthusiastic fertility symbols amongst the statues from various sites.
A glimpse of the modern amidst the ancient.
Quetzalcoatl's face poked out here and there. Ancient action figures reminded me of my He-Man and the Masters of the Universe collection when I was a child.
"the Gods from above fought with those from below at the creation of the world" snatches of information floated around my head, as above, so below.
Stela from Palenque and Yaxchilan told more of the story.
Ceremonial objects and writing were featured. Those elusive texts, a culture smashed into tiny pieces by conquistadors and the spoils hidden deep in the Vatican vaults, what price access to the Mayan's recorded history?
Testament to the monuments which dot this rich and varied land and an ancient ball-game.
My brain was way overstimulated and everything began to blur together as tiredness and lack of sleep caught up. 6 hours on my feet doing the museum shuffle after 3 hours of snatched sleep rolling cross country. Objects and artifacts swam in my vision and I tried to recall them all like some pre-hispanic Generation Game. It was time to leave.
I found my treasured pages in the bookshop and some silver jewellery caught my eye. I was done, I walked out of there with great satisfaction and turned for home.
The bus station was a crowded mess, I bought my ticket and some pasties, joined a long queue, bundled through the crowd and boarded the bus in a chaotic mixture of Spanish, English, and French and was homeward bound.
I consulted the I-Ching whilst contemplating which direction to head in on my free days. I had simply asked: North, South, East, or West?
It had given a rambling answer about forgetting friends in the north and east and heading west but in the end I realised I had done all of that, albeit in a slightly different order:
East, South, West, North.
I had been all over the country in one day, but not before I had explored so many of the far flung corners for myself.
One of my earliest memories on the thought of death was the idea, or hope that upon dying all the world's secrets would be revealed to me and I still remember a mental image I had of the pyramids in Egypt; they represented to me such irresistible mystery. Although my mind swam I felt that a few more pieces of the puzzle had fallen into place on this trip, on my quest to answer the big ones: Why am I here? Where do we come from?
An interesting mural and the ubiquitous Feathered Serpent:
It's a funny thing because if you present me with a brain-teaser or something I will lose patience with it very quickly, but the greatest mysteries of all I never lose patience with; each and every day comes the thrill of discovery and I should hate to be given all the answers now, not when I feel I am getting so close, I'm having too much fun figuring it out for myself. I don't know how close is "close", maybe not in this human lifetime, but there is a quickening, it's coming.
Just like my trip, I sometimes get tired and want to go home but I think once I get home and rest awhile I will want to do it all over again and go on having new adventures.
Living new lives and sailing new seas; experiencing myself and the Universe around me. But for now, this is My Mexperience.
