MEXICO: CENTRAL AMERICA

Where faith builds on the ruins

But for the Spaniards’ headlong rush for gold, the architectural charms that ancient Mexico hid would not have been visible to us today. Mexico, however, is not just about conquerors and conquests, it has a way of life that is not very different from the one we lead in India; religion has its own sanctity, going at times even beyond what the Gods desire.

Text: FEISAL ALKAZI Photographs: ARMAAN ALKAZI

 

Below us, a patchwork of fields: green, golden, russet, raw sienna. The plane flies low across the terrascape of America. Occasionally, one sees the sinuous shape of a river, the water glittering in the sun, otherwise everything else is regular, almost like an all American patchwork quilt, and then, the sharp straight ribbon of a highway cutting across it. Finally the sea – the Gulf of Mexico still linked in my mind with the oil spill.

Decibels rise in the aircraft. The cool tones of Montreal, with everyone dressed in grey, blue and black, have almost forced people to indulge in fragments of conversation. And now as we fly closer to their homes, the Mexican families take over the space with their exaggerated American accents, their flamboyant laughter; their large and very inter-connected families, almost like us Indians.

Our first stop is a beautiful little town in southern Mexico, Oaxaca (Wa-ha-ka). Our resort hotel, the Victoria is designed as a series of cottages set in the midst of verdant foliage. A heavy ring of the deep blue Sierra Madre mountains surrounds the town and the trees are heavier, fleshier versions of the gulmohar and others familiar to us, from halfway across the globe.

It is about 20 km away from contemporary downtown Oaxaca and 2,500 years ago that the first urban centre in the Americas emerged – this was Monte Alban (White Mountain). On a plateau, a great civilisation came into being. It was to last for 1,300 years before it mysteriously came to an end. These were the Zapotecs, one of 15 distinctive groups of the region, each with its one language, costume and tradition!
It was only in the 1920s that archaeologists in Mexico realised that their own history of building stretched even further back than they had ever imagined. Fortunate-ly, the Spaniards had overlooked this site completely in their headlong rush for gold, hidden as it was beneath extravagant foliage.

The Grand Plaza in Monte Alban, 300m-long and 200m-wide, is surrounded by several towering structures. Most of these are pyramidical in shape and contain numerous chambers. These were the sacrificial temples of the Zapotecs, but on how they were actually used, we can only conjecture. It is said from these rooms and anterooms, small in size, wreathed in steam and smoke, would emerge the priests walking tall, leading a procession of those to be sacrificed. Only the priests and the sacrificial victims walked up the steep steps of the towering pyramids. One can imagine vast multitudes of onlookers dressed in the characteristic white Mexican cotton, watching as the climbers became as small as ants, disappearing upwards to the altar. At the top, a priest would stab the victim and pull out his heart!

On one side of the Grand Plaza, resting against the stone steps of a pyramid, is a small open-air museum of figures carved into rock. Most of them appear to be deformed, castrated even, the blood flowing from their recently lost manhood, a stylised ‘whorl’. Archaeologists wonder at the significance of these figures – were they patients in a hospital for the physically challenged? Or were they prisoners of war?

We cross the square and walk down an avenue. As though from nowhere, vendors appear hawking cheap versions of masks and traditional stone carvings. One of the most fascinating objects they sell here is a crudely fashioned jaguar, actually a whistle, which when blown sounds like the ghostly, eerie cry of an animal in distress.

The bells of the cathedral of Iglesia de San Paolo peal out as we enter the town of Mitla, not far from Monte Alban. The big stones that make up this cathedral mainly came from a Zapotec temple that still stands next to it, but in ruins. The most unique aspect of Zapotec architecture that flourished till around the 13th century are its exquisite mosaics cut in stone. These geometric patterns adorn the walks of several of buildings in and around Mitla.

The journey from Mexico City airport to our art noveau hotel is through a warren of streets. All houses are single storied, weather-beaten, not too well-off, reminiscent of a grimy Bombay of the 1970s. And our hotel is at the end of an avenue of shops selling wedding dresses and bridal wear, which are heady confections of lace and net, some white, others purple, turquoise and others cerulean blue.

Around the corner from our hotel is the Zocalo, the main square filled with the chanting of anti-government protestors. Nearby, the surface of the Zocalo has been excavated to show an entire Aztec temple that once existed there: just below the surface of the pious Christianity of today lies an entire civilisation! The hypnotic beating of a drum draws us further in. Feathered elaborate head-dresses and a simple leather loincloth adorn the statuesque, muscular indigenous Indians. Nearby, a woman uses leaves and what looks suspiciously like loban to bless the faithful. The four sides of this main square house the National Palace, the Supreme Court, the Cathedral and Mexico’s largest pawn shop!

It was in 1531, that Hernando Cortez, a Spanish conquistador, defeated and conquered the Aztec Empire, razing the city to the ground. He built churches from the ruins of its temples and buildings, and also established the first school where Spanish was taught. Incidentally, it was here in 1968, six days before the opening of the Olympic Games, that 10,000 students were massacred in an anti-government rally. And in the earthquake that occurred recently, two skyscrapers evaporated into dust. It is a cursed spot, or so the Mexicans would have one believe.

The centre of this ancient city was a series of 70 temples, pyramidical in shape, their steps constantly wet and shiny with the blood of human sacrifice. A vibrant city emerged around this with cocoa (chocolate) beans as its currency! It is said that at its peak 10,000 vendors thronged the marketplace everyday.

On the outskirts of the city lies the Guadalupe shrine, where the faithful gather to venerate a shawl on which an image of the Virgin Mary appeared five centuries ago. The story goes that in 1531, Juan Diego a native convert, had three visions of Virgin Mary who directed him to contact the local bishop. Unable to convince the bishop of his story, he was finally rescued by the appearance of the Virgin Mary herself on a piece of jute sacking! People believe that from this image came the sound of a beating heart and actual tears rolled down Virgin Mary’s face. This miracle helped convert many to Catholicism, and in 1737, Virgin Mary was officially declared the patron of Mexico. In 2002, Juan Diego was also canonised as a saint. The quasi-scientific nature of the story draws multitudes here and as with many journeys of the faithful across the world, people often reach this shrine, 22 km from Mexico city, crawling on their knees!

The Guadalupe shrine exhibits a vast variety of architectural style and details as it has grown over the centuries. The tiny original church has a vast modern cathedral next door that can accommodate 40,000 people. From the elaborately carved original altar to the really contemporary one in which spectators travel on a moving walkway, a storey below the church altar to enable one to see the Guadalupe shawl, which forms the centrepiece of the altar, is a fine display of faith.

 

Zocalo, the square that tells it all

In Mexico City, our hotel, The Grand, is a local landmark. The rooms are set around an atrium with a roof of stained-glass created by the famous French firm of Tiffany in 1908. Wrought-iron open plan elevators rise out of the lobby. And in the reception area, there are birds chirping in cages!

Dusk is falling as we walk out, a lingering twilight that captures the multifaceted activity of the Zocalo in a strange light. The four sides of the main square in this city of 21 million has the National Palace on one side, and immediate opposite the major pawn shop of the city! A telling symbol. Then there is the Supreme Court, ablaze with a light decoration of an eagle with a snake in its beak – the symbol of Mexico. Opposite stands the three-centuries-old cathedral with an over-ornate baroque frontage. And below these grand citadels of the government, the judicial system and the church, numerous pavement shops sell everything from cheap mass produced T-shirts to exquisite handcrafted objects.

The next morning we begin our tour of the Zocalo in greater detail, beginning with a powerful, evocative sculpture of a group of indigenous Indians, finding the symbol that would tell them where to build their capital. At different places in the Zocalo, maps and models indicate the city as it looked in the 15th century, an island in the midst of a vast lake with roads radiating out. In fact, the early settlers of Mexico City created their city by building floating gardens on a lake. As a result, the whole metropolis rests on a lake; many buildings slowly sinking over the centuries.

The centre of this ancient city was a series of 70 temples, pyramidical in shape. Around this religious centre grew a commercial centre with cocoa (chocolate) beans as its currency, vibrant handicrafts, agricultural produce from maize to rubber, fruit from papaya to pineapple, from mango to rambutan. Vendors thronged the marketplace here, coming from the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan, the Pacific coast, the farthest reaches of South America. A grand urban life style developed in this well-drained city. But it was its gold that drew the attention of the conquering conquistadores.

Large murals in the National Palace by the famous Diego Riviera capture the tumultuous history of Mexico from before the Spaniards arrived in 1521 to today. Schoolchildren squat on the steps of the palace drinking in their own history. Most of us are familiar with Diego Riviera from the film ‘Frida’ that captures the torrid relationship of this artistic couple. Riviera’s painted history of Mexico takes us on a journey over the centuries. Two huge wall murals bring alive the heroes and key incidents; the ups and downs of a country – once a grand civilisation, then cowed down by colonialism and finally battling for democracy, freedom and constitutional reform. Elsewhere in the National Palace, other panels bring to life the strong connection between sun and soil, farmer and miner , herdsman and craftswoman. And across this city in innumerable state buildings, murals by other Mexican masters, Orazco and Siquires demonstrate the power of public art. Even the Supreme Court boasts of recent murals by Rafael Carduro on the horrors of state sponsored crimes!

Other than the Zocalo and the buildings that surround it, the other place not to be missed in Mexico City, is the Anthropological Museum. Distinctive in design, deftly combining interiors and exteriors, the museum showcases centuries of varied Mexican cultural traditions. Different display rooms open out from a wide courtyard with a vast umbrella like pillar in the centre supporting a cantilevered roof. Among the most impressive objects here are the famous sun stone, found below the Zocalo in 1790. This marvel has variously been interpreted as the ceremonial floor on which gladiators fought or as an Aztec calendar. Other fabulous statues of Aztec gods are on display in the same hall. Another fascinating aspect of this museum are the full-scale replicas of temples and tombs in open-air spaces surrounded by lush greenery. Particularly eye-catching is a replica of the tomb of King Pakal at Palanque.

The place to buy handicrafts anywhere in Mexico are the excellent organised bazaars of craftsmen (not unlike Delhi’s Dilli Haat), that are centrally located in every town and city. With cotton and wool among its main textiles, a range of weaving traditions co-exist. In many places, only traditional dyes are used – the most unique being from a cochineal beetle, that gives off red, pink or purple colour depending on how it is used. Traditional Indian (Mexican Indian!) designs, stylised images of turtles and cactus, rendering of paintings by Van Gogh and Gaugin are among some of the more innovative works here.

Deep blue from indigo, brown from various woods are some of the dyes used here. We are familiar with many of these dyes in India, coming from herbs and plants that give off the fabulous colour palette of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The crafts here are as vibrant and varied as the myriad traditions of our own crafts.

Each part of Mexico has its unique pottery tradition. Stone is carved into elaborately designed objects often based on traditional designs. Beautiful handpainted objects in wood are another. Gourds are often also ingeniously moulded into bowls, cups, maracas and even hats! Then there is tequila, the national drink distilled from the cactus plant.