MEXICO CITY – While noticing the thriving museums, streets, and neighborhoods in México City, I realized how art and architecture are immersed in everyday life, on the streets, in designs, and especially in museums.
But sometimes the most meaningful representations are hidden. Those require careful attention to surroundings and what composes those representations.
México is a rich country. While visiting here, I walked in works of art, heard life in the music and experienced the attention and gentleness of the people and their culture.
Before arriving in Mexico, I learned about the symbols of the flag and how the eagle perched on a cactus, eating a snake represented the moment when the earliest city founders saw that as a sign from God and decided to build the city there.
When I found myself exploring the city, I noticed that it was possible to keep learning this way. Looking for meaningful elements, history, and characteristics around me made me feel that I was walking inside a history book.
Mexico appreciates nature and natural flora and fauna. While observing some statues on the street and in the Grand Hotel, you can see flowers and other colorful details and also in important rituals and festivals.
It’s possible to find these specific elements and comprehend the Mexican pride that they demonstrate.
For some of the Catholic members of the population, for instance, have strong beliefs about the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. According to legend, a poor man, Juan Diego, had a vision of the Virgin Mary while in Guadalupe.
The story goes that she told him to build the cathedral there. He took the request to the bishop, who didn’t believe him. Next, she instructed the poor man to collect roses during a season of the year that is not favorable to them to grow.
He did as he was told and brought the flowers to the bishop in his tunic. When he emptied it in front of the bishop, her image appeared in his tunic and the bishop finally agreed to the plan to build a cathedral there.
One of the facts that impressed me the most in México certainly was how the city was put together. The old and modern styles complement each other, and the diversity is both valued and appreciated by the population.
I learned at the Palace of Fine Arts that the history of using flowers and bright colors is to represent and keep the meaning it had to the Aztecs, that flowers are life, friendly, lovely, and remarkable.
Cassiane Saraiva is a Reporter with Youth Journalism International from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She wrote this article.
Other Youth Journalism International students who contributed photos to this article were Associate Editor Holly Hostettler-Davies of Wales, UK; Reporters Damian Nam of Seoul, South Korea and Samantha Esquivel of Matamoros, Mexico and Correspondent Ana Fadul of Bogotá, Colombia.
