Mexico Woos Visitors Beyond Mayan Heritage

By Tengku Faezah Tengku Yusof MEXICO CITY, July 26 (Bernama) -- The trip to Mexico from Malaysia takes two days with a transit at Frankfurt, Germany. Going to a foreign land definitely provides an invaluable and memorable experience and Mexico being the land of the Mayan and Aztec heritages certainly provides all the thrills and fascination sought by travelers. Mexico, boasts for its tapestry of cultures and celebrations, colourful history and the great hospitality of its people. The colourful dances and lively folk music such as the "Mariachi" are not only entertaining but also highlight the rich indigenous culture and the Spanish influence of its people. Upon arriving at the Mexico City airport, this writer was taken to the El-Ocotal Hotel located at the Atlacomulco municipality, located about 250 km from the airport. The view during the one and half hour journey was dominated by the violet and yellow flowered shrubs that grew wild on both sides of the road leading to the hotel, a welcome respite after the long flight. THE LOST MAYAN CIVILIZATION The visit commenced with a tour to the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon, which are magnificent remnants of the Mayan culture in Teotihuacan. The stone and mud structures are parallel with the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The temple structure appears reasonably well preserved, thanks to the painstaking preservation efforts taken by the authorities. People believe that the Temple of the Sun is believed to have been constructed circa 200 AD while the Temple of the Moon around 250 AD. Nevertheless, this ancient Meso-America civilization characterised by a remarkable cultural, arts, astronomical and mathematical heritage suddenly disappeared from the face of earth. The demise of the Mayan civilization remains unanswered with historians not ruling out epidemics, power struggle, natural calamities including changes in the weather that transformed the area into an arid land and subsequently famine and malnutrition that reduced its population. While the Mayan riddle remains unanswered, visitors to these two temples will be awed by the might of Mayan structures in an empire that stretched from Chiapas to present day Guatemala. MEXICO'S MODERN MARVELS It is not only Mexico's past that captivates the visitors, its modern history too proves to be awesome. Out of the many museums in the country, the blue house of Frida Kahlo exhibits many of her works that reflect the Mexican national and indigenous tradition. Kahlo, who died in 1954, was a renowned artist with her paintings depicting Mexican and American-Indian culture that have been immortalised in her home. During her lifetime, Frida had also created more than 200 self-portraits often depicting her physical and emotional anguish over her tumultuous relationship with her husband Diego Rivera, also a well known artist. Once an individual enters the museum, even a non art lover will be mesmerised by her paintings that brilliantly convey her mind and emotions. Outside, a myriad of flora and a tranquil atmosphere provides a perfect avenue for the visitors to reflect on their own mind and psyche. ALL SOULS DAY, THE LIVING CELEBRATING THE DEAD Mexico is known for its colourful celebrations and during the writer's visit, she had the opportunity to witness and get the feel of the "Dia de los Muertos" (All Souls Day) festival. The celebration highlights the real spirit of the Mexicans and it is celebrated every Nov 1 and 2. The locals believe, on the first day the spirit of the dead children referred to as ‘angelitos’ (fairy) will return home and on the second day it is the spirit of the elders that return home. Candles are lighted and the roads covered with orange coloured flower petals to help lead the spirits to the home of their loved ones. One may wonder how Mexicans have transformed death that is associated with poignant emotions into a celebration. There are many events accompanying the festival, with the old and young putting up colourful shows to appease the spirits. THE FOUR COLOURS OF THE MAIZE Maize is the Mexicans' staple food, and people who visit Mexico will surely sink their teeth into "tortillas", a type of flat bread made of maize flour. Just like its colourful people, Mexico's maize is also colourful. The maize here comes in four main colours - red, blue-black, white and yellow - and there are thousands of shades and colour combination based on these four colours. There is an interesting myth behind these colours as pointed out by Lupita Dominguez Mercado, a lecturer at Universidad Intercultural De Mexico, where each colour represents the different races of the world. According to Lupita, red represented the Latin America Indians, blue-black (dark skinned people), white (Europeans) while the yellow represented Asians. The indigenous people of Latin America believe that all human beings originated from the same family tree; however, they were differentiated based on their skin colour and beliefs. The journey to Mexico was a wonderful experience for this writer. Mexico is not only rich in history and tradition, but it is also diverse and captivating in many aspects. -- BERNAMA