More Museums and Native Tour

This week-end I was able to scratch off my list another dozen or so museums! Saturday I spend 6 hours touring Coyacan, an "Art & Upscale " district of D.F. First, I happened on the Museum of the Intervenciones, it was like walking in an open book of Mexican history. It discussed the battles and people leading up to the Reforma or reorganization after Spanish occupation. Once again I noticed huge groups of Mexican high school students touring their history museums and taking notes and listening to their teachers.

Next, I stopped at the Museum or House of Leon Trosky. He was given political asylum in Mexico before World War II from the Stalin regime with whom he had parted ways. I guess you couldn't just part ways electively back then and he was finally met with assassination by Stalin supporters after the second attempt. His home had been turned into a protective fortress after the first attempt on his life, which is where he existed peacefully writing his works of history and lived with his wife and animals. He also kept company with many local art celebrities, such as Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Riviera.

Sunday our director, Edith Salem from the Polytecnico, who is also a Mexican history expert, toured us around on something she called the Metro tour. Each metro or subway stop has a name and many people probably don't realize why each has its name. I know we didn't, until
today. We started at the Normal, then progressed to San Cosme, Revolucion, Hidalgo, and finally Bellas Artes. We visited places that aren't on the popular tour routes and places that are considered museums, such as several cathedrals that people attend for their Sunday services. Of special note was the Cementerio de San Fernando Tumbas, which is where many of the key players from the Reforma movement have their burial tombs. Included here are Benito Juarez and Ignacio Zaragoza. Their deaths were in the years 1872 and 1862.
The tour was incredibly informative and we were lucky to have such a knowledgeable tour leader. I have included a photo of our group, the three U.S. teachers, Edith, our director and
another Mexican teacher, Amparo.