Greetings once again. Today I will focus on a building that we visited whose inside walls are covered with depictions of the life and history of this area of Mexico. Since I mentioned the volcano Popocatépetl, I will begin with that.
Popocatépetl is the active volcano of Puebla and next to it is the extinct volcano of Itzaccihuatl. Both names are from the Nahuatl language. To the ancients, Itza resembled a sleeping woman, as seen in the picture below.
And so the legend sprang up that Itza and Popo were once human beings. Popo was a warrior and Itza was a princess, and they fell in love. Itza’s father would not grant permission for them to marry until Popo had proved himself in battle, and so the warrior went off to prove his worth to his beloved’s father.
While he was away, a rival told Itza that he had died, even though he was still alive. She died from a broken heart, and when Popo returned victorious, he was devastated to find that his love had died.
He took her body into the mountains in order to build a funeral pyre so that he could die beside her. The gods took pity on them and turned them into the volcanoes so that they could be together forever.
In another part of the wall is a relief of Benito Juarez, honoring the patriotism and valor of the residents of Atlixco who participated in battle. The sign in front of his chest days “Peace is the respect for the rights of others.”
Another section of the murals shows a traditional Mexican altar. The person they are honoring is Javier Solis, a popular mariachi singer born in Metepec Atlixco. He also sang other types of songs, was an actor and was the third member of the Tres Gallos Mexicanos (Three Mexican Roosters), the other two members being Jorge Negrete and Pedro Infante.
Yet another section paid homage to the labor movement in Mexico
There were also scenes of landmarks and daily life in Atlixco.
And one event which I was fortunate to witness – the voladores. These men would climb a very high pole. At the top was a small platform on which a man would stand and play music. The other men would tie ropes to their legs and slowly twirl about the pole, getting closer and closer to the ground, until they were standing on the ground. It was dizzying to watch, and I admired their lack of fear. I know that I would never be able to do what they were doing….
There were so many murals depicting myths, pre-Hispanic life and landmarks of Puebla. It would take so much more space to go into detail about every one, so I will simply put up the pictures with brief descriptions as indicated.
And finally, the inside of the building from a distance, so you can admire the architecture:
And so I will end this post now, and try to write up and publish the next one in a more timely manner. Adios !
mex-pat.org 