Mexico: Following the Historic Path from Olmec to Modern Daywith Professor Khristaan D. Villela
November 5 - 12, 2011
From the moment in 1519 when the conquistadors first looked down upon a jewel-like island in Lake Texcoco, Mexico City seized the world's imagination. Over the next 500 years, conquest, trade, revolution, cultural riches and romance fueled waves of international attention upon a maturing and indeed exotic culture. This fascinating blend of the indigenous and international has created today’s city that is both familiar and breathtakingly foreign.
Join Far Horizons on a very special 8 day journey to visit several of Mexico’s most important regions – Mexico City, Puebla and rarely-visited Xalapa. This unique trip includes explorations of archaeological sites, visits to museums with spectacular collections, and viewing of works of art created by Mexico’s most renowned muralists. Begin in Xalapa’s fabulous museum containing the finest of the Olmec art, and Puebla, one of Mexico’s most beautiful colonial cities. Continue to Cacaxtla where remarkably preserved murals combine the art of the Maya with the highlands cultures, and the great city of Teotihuacan. The last four days will be spent in Mexico’s capital city to view glorious paintings by the country’s most famous muralists.
(B) breakfast, (L) lunch, (D) dinner
Day 1: Depart the USA on our flight to Mexico City. Upon arrival, immediately drive to Puebla. Overnight in the NH Hotel. Gather this evening for our festive welcome dinner party in one of Puebla’s fine restaurants. (D)
Day 2: Our two hour drive takes us to Xalapa and the Xalapa Museum of Anthropology. Although the artifacts displayed are from all the pre-Columbian cultures of the Gulf region, the museum is especially known for its Olmec collection. In the museum grounds stand several basalt Olmec colossal heads, brought from San Lorenzo where they were found. Other impressive Olmec stone sculptures include not only altars and stelae but also life-sized terracotta figures. Time permitting upon our return to Puebla, enjoy a short walking tour of the historic area. This evening, enjoy a private, after-hours tour of the Amparo Museum. One of the most technologically advanced museums in Mexico, it contains a notable collection of Pre-Columbian art. Dinner will be in one of Puebla’s fine restaurants. (B/L/D)
Day 3: This morning is devoted to an exploration of the fabulous site of Cacaxtla, one of Mexico's most exciting post-war discoveries. In 1974, tomb robbers came upon a series of brilliantly colored murals decorating the walls of this fortified ceremonial and palace complex. Wonderfully preserved for more then a millennia, these images display unmistakable Maya traits, and depict life-size scenes of battle and sacrifice, all still infused with dazzling hues of indigo, ochre, red and black. Time permitting, see the murals of Desiderio Hernandez Xochitiotzin located within the Government Palace in Tlaxcala. Lunch will be in the Posada de San Francisco, situated within a lovely 19th-century mansion on Tlaxcala’s main square. Continue to Mexico City. Overnight for the four nights in Mexico City. (B/L/D)
Day 4: Our full schedule today takes us to several spectacular locations in the historic center of Mexico City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The time between the two world wars was a period when many artists were looking to indigenous traditions for inspiration. And related to a social and political situation of post-revolutionary Mexico, artists were commissioned by the government to create public art on the walls of official institutions, many of them historic buildings. The Ministry of Public Education displays murals painted by Diego Rivera. The Church and Hospital de Jesus is one of the oldest buildings in Mexico City and contains a mural inspired by both the Apocalypse and the horrors of the Second World War painted by José Clemente Orozco in 1944 but never finished. The National Palace, a two-block long building that flanks the entire east side of the Zocalo, contains splendid frescoes painted by Diego Rivera in 1931 - a dramatic, panoramic history of Mexico from the pre-conquest era to the social upheaval of the 1930's. San Ildefonso College, completed by the Jesuits in 1749, is considered to be the birthplace of the Mexican muralism movement. Paintings by Jose Clemente Orozco, Angel Bolivar, Diego Rivera and others are scattered throughout the several buildings. Lunch will be on the outside terrace of the Casa de las Sirenas, a local favorite with views over the zocalo. Then continue to the magnificent pyramid of the Templo Mayor and spectacular new museum that displays what has been found in the recent excavations of the heart of the Aztec empire. Here is found the monumental carved disk that portrays the death of Coyolxauhqui the moon goddess. Dinner is on our own this evening. (B/L)
Day 5: Begin today in the Polyforum Siqueiros to enjoy a specially-arranged private tour of its fascinating architecture and the extraordinary, and in some parts 3-dimensional, mural paintings of David Alfaro Siqueiros, one of the 3 most important artists in Mexican muralism in the 20th century. Then, we drive to the Museo Dolores Olmedo Patiño, set amid peaceful and beautifully tended grounds. Here we join a curator for a private tour of the museum’s huge collection of works by both Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. We then continue to Xochimilco where we board a festive boat to cruise through the ‘floating gardens’. After lunch onboard, disembark and visit San Bernadino de Siena containing one of the three great Renaissance retablos, or altar screens, from thelate16th century to survive in Mexico. Dinner is on our own this evening. (B/L)
Day 6: Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology, is not just the finest museum in the country, but among the greatest in the world. Here we investigate the extravagant and comprehensive collections on display. There will be time for lunch on our own in the museum’s restaurant. We then continue to the Frida Kahlo museum, or Casa Azul, devoted to the work of the world-renowned Mexican artist, and the Soumaya Museum built to house the art collection of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. Designed by architect, Fernando Romero (Slim’s son-in-law), the eye-catching building is a gleaming aluminum cube that has been stretched and twisted so that it soars 150 feet into the sky reminiscent of the bow of a ship. (B/ /D)
Day 7: Our all day tour takes us to Teotihuacan. According to the Aztecs, Teotihuacan was the birthplace of the gods, and the site where the Fifth Sun first emerged from fire and rose to the sky. We will visit all the main features of this enormous ceremonial center, including the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, the Tepantitla Palace and the Palace of Acatitla where colorful paintings can still be seen. Lunch will be in the Villas Arqueologicas onsite. (B/L/D)
Day 8: Transfer to the Mexico City International Airport for our afternoon return flight to the USA. (B)
Tour Leader - Art Historian Khristaan VillelaKhristaan D. Villela received his BA at Yale University and his PhD in Art History under renowned scholar, Linda Schele from the University of Texas, Austin. Dr. Villela is the former Eugene V. Thaw Professor of Art History at College of Santa Fe, and presently a visiting professor of art history at the University of New Mexico and a visiting scholar at the New Mexico History Museum. He is the author of Contemporary Mexican Design and Architecture. He is co-curator of Obsidian Mirror-Travels: Refracting Ancient Mexican Art and Archaeology celebrating the bicentennial of Mexican independence and the centennial of the Revolution. The exhibit is on view at the Getty Research Institute from November 16, 2010 through March 27, 2011. Dr. Villela is editor (with Mary Ellen Miller) of The Aztec Calendar Stone, written to accompany the exhibition. Dr. Villela was raised in both the United States and Mexico, and is bi-cultural and fluent in Spanish.
November 5 - 12, 2011
$4,995.00 (per person, double occupancy) includes roundtrip international airfare from the USA, all hotels, meals as noted, ground transportation, guides and entry fees.
Single Supplement: $525.00. Should a roommate be requested and one not be available, the single supplement must be charged.
Cost Does Not Include: A separate $100.00 (per person) donation check; passport or visa fees; airport or departure taxes; alcoholic drinks, beverages or food not included on regular menus; laundry; excess baggage charges; personal tips; gratuities to guides and drivers; email, telephone and fax charges; or other items of a personal nature.
Fuel Surcharges: Far Horizons must pass on price increases for uncontrollable charges such as flights and other services due to additional fuel charges.
Donation Checks: As a tour company that benefits from the cultural and natural riches of our destinations, we have a policy of donating to the scientific and cultural projects and museums we visit. This has created a bond between Far Horizons and the academic and local communities that has helped us establish an extensive list of lecturers and contacts in each of our destinations.We ask that each participant write a check to the noteworthy project we designate. The donation amount is $100.00 per person and is made by check directly to the donation project. Note that the donation is required as part of your registration for the trip and that it is non-refundable. will be designating a donation project for this trip shortly.
A deposit of $500.00 is required along with your registration form. Final payment is due 75 days before departure. Upon receipt of your deposit and completed registration form, you will be sent a reading list and a tour bulletin containing travel information. Prior to the trip, we will send links to various websites of pertinent interest. Click here to download our Registration Form.
Cancellations and RefundsCancellations received in writing at least 75 days before departure will receive a refund less a $250.00 administrative fee. Cancellations received less than 75 days before the departure date will not receive a refund. If for any reason you are unable to complete the trip, Far Horizons will not reimburse any fees. Registrants are strongly advised to buy travel insurance that includes trip cancellation.
If you do not fly on the group flight, you are responsible for all flight arrangements and transportation (including airport transfers) to join the group. If Far Horizons must change the trip dates or cancel the trip for any reason, Far Horizons is not responsible for any air ticket you may have purchased. If you issue your own international flight, please send the complete schedule as soon as you have it.
The private tours of archaeological sites and talks by specialists are scheduled in advance and include a donation to each. Specialists working at these sites are excited about showing their work to interested enthusiasts. However, please be aware that there may be times when the director or a member of the staff may not be onsite when our groups arrive due to other commitments.
Changes in our itinerary, accommodations, and transportation schedules may occur. A good book to read as well as a flexible attitude and a sense of humor are essential.
This archaeological tour is limited to 15 Participants
