Of murals, cathedrals, and a poetic dilemma

A story of our first day in Mexico City, exploring the city's colonial and Aztec past, making friends and a dilemma about the history and future of the city.

Having slept for about 5 hours after the mishap on our arrival to Mexico City, we woke up at 9 a.m. somewhat refreshed and excited to explore this beautiful and historic city.  Our hotel was within the Centro Historico of the city, within walking distance to most of the major landmarks. We hit the streets just a little over 10 a.m.

Walking through the still mostly deserted streets of the city I couldn't shake off the feeling that all this looks very familiar. The feel of the streets, the buildings and even (to a certain extent) the people, reminded me so much of Indonesia. I have actually noticed this from the night before when we were in the taxi traversing through Mexico City's deserted streets. The resemblance was more than striking, it really felt like I was in Indonesia, except the signs were all in Spanish instead of Bahasa. This I found out would be a somewhat recurring theme throughout my journey in Mexico and thinking about it now, I believe that it was actually this uncanny mix of both novelty and also a slight familiarity that caused me to have such a strong impression of Mexico. An impression that was responsible for me falling head over heels for the country.

It was a tad chilly when we got out which was not what we expected of Mexico. A casual glance at our phone told us that it was 10 degrees Centigrade with haze covering the sky. Undeterred by the chilly and overcast weather, we trudged on to the heart of Mexico City, the world famous plaza the locals refer to as Zocalo. There our first stop of the day was the Palacio Nacional. At first glance we thought that the Palacio was closed with barriers erected all around the perimeter of the building. But after some snooping around the surrounding area, we found that the entrance to the Palacio Nacional is not located in the front of the building facing the Zocalo, but rather on the right side of the building tucked away in a smaller street. Entrance was free and all we needed to do was to leave our IDs with the guards at the front gate who promptly issued each of us a garish pink pass we were supposed to wear around our necks at all times.

There are lots to write about the Palacio Nacional itself, still a functioning government building and the seat of the Federal Executive in Mexico. But, I will focus on just one aspect of the Palacio Nacional which in my opinion is the crowning jewel of the Palacio, Diego Rivera's murals.

Before coming to Mexico City I have read a bit about the murals, its significance and I have also seen some of the pictures. None of that could really prepare me for the actual experience of standing in front of the great work of art itself. The main mural spanned the entire wall surrounding the grand staircase of the Palacio's courtyard. It was a monumental piece of art. Diego Rivera managed to weave centuries of history into one astoundingly harmonious and spellbinding composition.

The monumental central mural summarizes the history of Mexico as a series of conflicts, rebellions and revolution against oppression.  The mural depicts the tumultuous but beautiful history of Mexico, such as the revolt by Mexicans and Indians against the Spanish and the French and various dictators, especially Porfirio Diaz. The mural also depicts the Spanish conqueror Cortes defeating the Aztecs and other Indians who fought valiantly against the Spanish.

 The central mural and the many others surrounding the second floor landing of the palace took a very strong view against colonialism and glorifies the valiant effort of the Aztec and the Indians defending their land. There were depictions of the Spaniards attempt to destroy the Aztec religion and their emperors and the enslavement of the Indians by the Spaniards. From the murals it was clear that the Mexican people did not shy away from their violent history, in fact,  they embraced it as a part of their identity. Coming from Indonesia with our own colonial past, this was something that resonated a lot with me due to Indonesia's own history and something that I grew to deeply appreciate from the Mexican people.

After the tour de force experience of the murals and the rest of Palacio Nacional, we made our way to Mexico City's most iconic building, the Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de la Santísima Virgen María a los cielos, the Metropolitan Cathedral for short (this post would be twice as long if I have to write the full name every single time). This magnificent cathedral is the largest in all of the Americas and housed some extremely gorgeous altars and chapels. A short note on the iconic façade and bell towers;  though predominantly baroque in style,  from my personal point of view, it seem to have incorporated a certain flair that was different from most European cathedrals.

No one can deny that the cathedral has been a focus of Mexican cultural identity, and is a testament to its colonial history. There are reports such as one by researcher Manuel Rivera Cambas, which argues that the cathedral was built on a site sacred to the Aztecs and with the very stones of their temples as a symbolic gesture so that the Spaniards could lay claim to the land and the people. Some posited that Hernán Cortés supposedly laid the first stone of the original church personally.

Though putting the rather sad history of the cathedral aside, we did encounter some astonishingly beautiful altars and chapels in our short visit to the cathedral. The altar of forgiveness which is the first thing that you see as you enter the cathedral is a showstopper-of-an-altar if there was ever one. To the right of the altar we also encountered the incredibly ornate Chapel of the Archangel, where on top of just enjoying the mesmerizing sight of the gold ornamentation of the chapel, I also managed to have a bit of fun deciphering the explanation panels in Spanish, combining my limited knowledge of the language with some Sunday school knowledge of the stories behind each Archangels.

It was in front of the Cathedral that I had arranged to meet up with Miguel whom I have chatted with through Couchsurfing. He was free that day and has kindly offered to take us around some of the sights in Mexico City. Not wanting to pass up a chance to know the city more from a local's perspective, I said yes and we agreed to meet up in front of the Cathedral. Just shortly before 1 p.m. I spotted him waving to us from across the sidewalk. Miguel is currently a student studying history in Mexico city and his love of history and the city was truly apparent as we spend more time with him exploring the city.

He brought us to Templo Mayor, which is located on the East side of the cathedral. Templo Mayor is a major Aztec archeological site located right in the center of Mexico City's Centro Historico. This was the site of the great twin temples of the city of Tenochtitlan, the remains of which have been excavated with new artifacts still being discovered all around the area. As it was a Sunday, the site was rather crowded since on Sundays all museums and archeological sites are free to enter for all Mexican citizens. Though for foreigners entry was still a very reasonable 70 pesos per person. Inside, Miguel became our personal tour guide explaining the history and founding of the city of Tenochtitlan, the culture, customs and religion of the Aztec people as well as his own thoughts and ideas of this incredibly unique culture. 

Though the Aztecs were one of the most powerful and important Mesoamerican civilizations which existed all the way up to the 15th century when the Spaniards arrived, there is still a lot that we do not know about their culture. The Spaniards committed such a thorough and comprehensive act of cultural desecration and destruction that very little of their books and writings are left for us to study and preserve. The great city of Tenochtitlan was once one of the most important civic and cultural centers in all of Mesoamerica, whose reach and influence was only (possibly) surpassed by the great city of Teotihuacan. However, the city eventually fell, destroyed and was covered by the new Spanish colonial city. Much of the building materials of the Palacio Nacional, the Metropolitan Cathedral and even the stones paving the streets and plaza of the Zocalo were thought to have been taken from many of Tenochtitlan's buildings and temples.  

As we looked upon the ruins of Templo Mayor with the cathedral rising above it; lines forming on his forehead, Miguel told us with an expression that was a mixture of both sadness and confusion that this has been a constant source of dilemma for the people of Mexico City. From archeological findings and research done by various anthropologists and archeologists, all evidence points to an even greater deposit of artifacts and remnants of the Aztec civilization waiting to be discovered all around the city. Some of the recent major discoveries, such as a stone disk with a carving of the Goddess Coyolsauhqui, was discovered under a persons' home during construction. However, to fully excavate those artifacts would also mean destroying many of the colonial buildings surrounding the area, including even the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Palacio Nacional.

As much as the Mexican viewed colonialism as an evil that was once committed against their country and their people, as my experience in the Palacio Nacional and cathedral have shown, they have very much embraced it as a part of their culture.  They acknowledged that though colonialism was wrong, it had helped to shape them into who they are today as Mexican people. Therefore as much as they identified themselves with their Aztec and Indian ancestors, the affection that they have shown towards the Metropolitan Cathedral, Palacio Nacional and many of the city's other colonial buildings, showed that they have accepted their colonial heritage and made it their own. It is an integral part of their history and their identity, even if it was originally built by 'invaders'.

So the question remains. Do you excavate or not? There are still so many things we do not yet know or understand of the Aztecs and the desire to uncover more is indubitably tempting and very important for the Mexican people in their journey to discover their roots. The Aztecs are after all the people from whom the modern day Mexicans mostly descended from. The state symbol of Mexico, depicting an eagle perched on a cactus eating a snake is the sacred symbol of the Aztec people. The very vision that told the Aztec people to build their great city and home in what is now modern day Mexico City. So do you sacrifice a part of yourself and identity to discover your roots, or do you preserve them whilst consigning that you may never fully understand the civilization that once gave birth to your nation?

With a sigh we consigned ourselves to not really knowing the answer to that question. Looking back at it now and writing these thoughts down, it felt even more important than ever that this dilemma exist. No history of any country is spotless, thousands of people have died to fight for what they believe in and to finally earn their freedom and independence. This violent but beautiful history is very palpable in Mexico and is ingrained in their identity as a nation. I find it incredibly beautiful and poetic that this dilemma exist. It is the pure expression of the strength and resolve of the people of Mexico and of their never ending journey to discover their identity.