An Addiction To Murals

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31077, 4 June 1966, Page 13

An Addiction To Murals

(Specially written for "The Press"

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CRANLEIGH BARTON.)

REVIEWING my four crowded days in Mexico City, a bustling metropolis indeed, 11 many and varied impressions emerge.

My first afternoon I spent in travel arrangements and exploring on foot the tourist attractions in the central area—the pleasant Alameda Parda —a square with fountains and statues, but which holds memories of executions during the Inquisition. This adjoins the large and ornate Palace of Fine Aits which took 30 years to build and it houses a theatre and a series of art galleries.

The Mexicans are addicts to frescoes and murals, both inside and outside—there are some famous ones in the J'alace —another in the De Prado Hotel and the whole of the 10-storey library building at the university is covered with mosaics made of natural stones in their varied colours so will never change. The colourings of these are subdued compared with the more garish colourings of the paintings.

University Site

The university covers nine square miles and accommodates 70,000 students. I saw this on a subsequent tour. I visited the enormous Cathedral—the largest and oldest in the American continent—built on the site of the Aztec's Great Temple. It was started in 1523 and took 100 years to build. This faces the Zocals—a huge square—as also does the National Palace —now the seat of Government—with more frescoes. Pacing the north side of the Cathedral is the National Pawn Shop, a large building in which the pawned articles are arranged in departments. An auction was in progress but the door-keeper would not let me in. There is a uniformity in all the buildings round the Zocals and at the

w'eek-ends these are all outlined by myriads of lights—including of course the Cathedral—a most beautiful sight My first day's excursion was to two country towns— Cuernavaca and Taxco—about 100 miles out. Leaving Mexico City we passed the huge stadium being built for the Olympics. I also saw another huge stadium and a swimming pool in the university area.

Rocky Country

We then entered the very fine Morelos highway with toll gates at either end and overlooked by a gigantic statue of Morelos, a famous Mexican patriot. It was an interesting drive through rocky and scoria covered country with scenery on a vast scale.

As we approached Cuernavaca—with a population of 40,000 —the countryside mellowed. Jacaranda trees were in full flower and there were banks of scarlet and purple bougainvilia and Spanish architecture with pleasing wrought iron embellishments. We saw the Palace of Cortez —built in 1529. It has numerous frescoes and stained-glass windows often depicting gruesome scenes of battle and torture. General Morelos was much to the fore and other patriots who were prominent in the Independence of 1810— the Reforma of 1857 and the Revolution of 1910. The city is built on different heights and we went across to another one to visit the Cathedral and two adjoining churches. The interior of the former is austere—a Franciscan church with a few pale frescoes of missionary martyrs and sheets of translucent alabaster in the windows which filter through a pale golden light.

Cuernavaca is at 5048ft—and 2500 ft lower than Mexico City and is a favourite holiday resort. We drove another 50 miles to Taxco on a very tortuous road which, I am

sure, would be no help to passengers prone to car-sick-ness.

Mining Town

Taxco comes from an Indian word, Tiacheo, —the name of the original Indian village. The Spaniards founded the present city in 1529 and it is probably the oldest mining ‘town in America. Rich silver deposits were discovered, by the Spaniards, and in 1716 real development began under a French miner, Jose de la Borda—who became a millionaire. He kept his mark bybuilding the highly ornate—inside and out—Cathedral dedicated to St. Prisca. Sprawled over a rugged hillside in the heart of the Sierra Madre range the town has changed little since Borda’s day. Some mines are still productive and in the shops there are vast collections of silver and brass ware to lure the tourist. Souvenirs are also made of cleverly plaited straw in the form of people and animals.

Cathedral’s Gold

I have never seen such a display of gold as that in the Cathedral—a tribute, no doubt, to Borda’s wealth. Casa Figueroa is a patrician’s home, built in 1767 by Count Cadeua—a friend of Borda’s. The Indians who worked off fines by building it called it “La Casa de las Lagruinas”— the House of Tears and that is still its popular name. It contains 26 rooms on different levels and as an indication of the times in which it was built has many secret hiding places for wealth—no outside windows—secret rooms and trap doors. During the years it fell on evil times and was even used as a store house, but an artist who acquired it has taken five years to restore it to its former grandeur and it is now fully furnished and full of treasures appropriate to its period. We viewed it from kitchen to chapel.

Nothing Modern

Taxco is a national monument and no modern additions are allowed to spoil its old world charm. In Mexico

City, next morning I visited three markets—first the flower market in a large hall where generally speaking the arrangement of flowers was stiff and formal in pyramidical formation and then enclosed in cellophane. I was more interested in the wide variety of dried flowers for winter decoration and some were very beautiful indeed—l think at times the flowers were composite and art cleverly assisted nature. The next was the market of souvenirs and I bought a crucifix—the figtu-e of plaited straw and finally a large food market

Floating Gardens

For the days outing I was attached to a touring party of elderly Americans—a week out from Los Angeles and with two weeks to go. I was the sole stranger. After visiting the university we drove across very rough country with poor roads and got into a very slow-moving queue for Xochimilco—a suburb with Its own big market. We arrived eventually at a landing stage beside a series of canals known as the Floating Gardens—a regular Sunday attraction, both for Mexicans and tourists—and thronged with both. The Floating Gardens were founded in the 19th century by Indians and originally were rafts woven from twigs, covered with a shallow layer of earth and then planted. They could be moved but eventually the vegetation took root and now there is a series of canals with permanent banks and these are shaded with tall trees —mostly poplars. This makes a pretty background for the hundreds of flat-bottomed boats which Indians pole up and down the waterways.

Bull-Fights Dull

From Xochimilco to the city’s largest bull fight ring, capable of holding 50,000. There were to be six bulls despatched, and punctually at 4.30 p.m. the procession of matadors and assistants entered the arena. Twenty minutes are allotted for each bull. I saw two bulls killed and it seemed such a routine with a foregone conclusion that I couldn’t understand it rousing any excitement.

Next day I visited the famous Basilica of Guadelupe, Mexico’s chief shrine. In 1531, the Virgin appeared four times to an Indian, Juan Diego, and requested that a shrine be built. Each time he reported this to his bishop who gave the story little credence but said Diego must bring some definite proof. He did so by bringing his cape filled with roses and when these were removed, the figure of the Virgin was

found imprinted on the cloth. This cape is the focal point of interest in the church. It occupies a glass case in the centre of the elaborate reredos behind the main altar.

Pilgrims approach the Basilica on their knees from the far side of the wide Square in front and continue right into the church and up the long nave to the altar rails—it must be a very tiring feat.

Inside is one of the largest and most impressive churches

I have seen—thronged with people and many altars banked with fresh flowers. Some madman once tried to blow up the shrine with a time bomb hidden in flowers, but another miracle was performed and a twisted crucifix was the only damage suffered. This is now in a glass case. There is a small hill behind the church planted with trees and adorned with statues and crowned by yet another shrine which will remain if the main shrine ever collapses. Parts of it are very much out of plumb and have supports. Subsidence is Mexico City’s

big problem and is due to the fact that when the Aztec tribe came in 1325 to the end of a centuries’ long search to find the right place to settle—they chose an island in a lake as there they found the sign they sought—an eagle devouring a serpent. Their temple stood on the present site of the Cathedral and the city now stands in what was originally a complex of islands and many buildings are affected—even the Palace of Fine Arts has settled some feet since its building. The picture shows the organ in the church at Yanhuitlan.