We probably should have done Anahuacalli first on Saturday, before Xochimilco. That way we would have gone from the sublime to the ridiculous in the right order, and maybe I even would have gotten my drank on.
Diego Rivera, channelling Frank Lloyd Wright (ten years his senior), designed Anahuacalli to house his enormous collection of Mesoamerican art (39,000 pieces!). It's often referred to as "pre-Columbian," a phrase that really has begun to annoy me for its European chauvinism. Constructed of volcanic rock--the reason for its nickname--Anahuacalli wasn't completed until seven years after Rivera's death. He and Frida Kahlo bought the property to farm it. Here's the breathtaking scene that awaits you just inside the entrance.
Multiple chambers occupy several floors, each with a decorative ceiling mural, drawn from Mesoamerican mythology by Rivera
. . . and contemporary sculpture, often positioned to reflect the light that pours through the stone slats. Form definitely equals function.
OK, I'll admit that I'm very Eurocentric in my artistic taste, but perhaps that's because I've never seen art like this displayed properly before.
Although the rooms are loosely organized around themes, you won't find a lot of explanatory text, either in Spanish or English. Rivera and Juan O'Gorman, his collaborator, clearly wanted visitors to appreciate the glories of the Mesoamerican aesthetic. He succeeded, magnficently. "Why don't the guidebooks make a bigger deal out of this?" I asked, incredulously.
Again, Rivera's politics may contribute to his under-appreciation.
I expected a celestial choir to begin singing in awe inspiring main gallery. Note Joseph Stalin and Chairman Mao (top left) in this prep drawing for the mural that got Rivera's commission erased from Rockefeller Center.
One room displayed only diseased individuals.
My camera ran out of juice after I snapped this photo from the roof.
Low expectations vaulted Anahucalli to the top of my Mexico City must-see recommendations--it's truly unique in my experience of museums!
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