Tag Archives: art

Lake Atitlan National Park, Guatemala

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Lake Atitlan, volcano's and botanical garden

Lake Atitlan, volcano’s and botanical garden

If you happen to be planning a trip to San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico don’t miss the chance to visit Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.  Tour companies offer daily shuttle bus rides to and from Atitlan for a cost of only $50 dollars  round trip from San Cristobal.  This lake is considered to be one of the ten most beautiful in the world  and has been has been a national park since 1955. Besides the lake; the main outdoor attractions include the 3 volcanes that surround the lake and a nature reserve featuring a botanical garden, butterfly sanctuary, hiking trails and cascading waterfalls. Other recreational activities in the park include trails to the top of the volcano’s, rappelling, zip lines, hang gliding, canoeing and bass fishing. The lake also has several indigenous maya communities where it is possible to gain insight into the their culture and purchase traditional hand made arts and crafts at very reasonable prices.

 

Botanical garden flora
The botanical garden ferns, airplants and sculptured hedges
more botanical garden flora
botanical garden trees and flora
gardden hibiscus
nature reserve trail and obstacle course
butterfly sanctuary monarch
cascading waterfalls in the nature reserve
botanical garden flora
ferns and flora
lake atitlan and volcano’s in the distance
butterfly sanctuary

 

Mexico and Monuments

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a tribute to the maya people and civilization

a tribute to the maya people and culture

Mexico loves it monuments and that’s why one of its most important  cities, Oueretaro, was inscribed as a historic monument  U.N.E.S.C.O. world heritage zone in 1996. A  tourist in Mexico can learn much about the history of this country  by simply visiting these monuments which can be found in most every large city and resort area. There are several kinds of monuments such as statutes  built as a lasting tribute to a person, a group of people or an event. Other kinds of monuments that are most common can be either a place, building site or structure that is preserved because of its historic culture and/or aesthetic importance. In addition to Queretaro;  most of the national monuments are found in Mexico city, Gaunajuato, and Guadalajara but there are many other significant monuments to be found in a variety of locations nationwide.The photo essay below shows a variety of these monuments including some of the most important and popular in Mexico.

A monument in Puerto Vallarta dedicated to mexican culture
El Caballito a monument in Puerto Vallarta dedicated to the sea
monument to Father Hildago, the spiritual leader of Mexico’s revolutionary war
the fishermans monument is dedicated to the importance of commercial and recreational fishing in Mazatlan
Monument to Mazatlan which translated means land of deer
a monument to Danzante and the Otomi indian culture in that existed in Queretaro before the Spanish conquest
Ruins of La Pintura building which housed works of art in the ancient city of Tulum
a monument about the Mayan people in playa del carmen on the caribbean sea
mermaid and dolphin monument in La Paz
The ninos hero’s monument dedicated to 6 cadets age 13 to 20 who lost their lives after they volunteered to defend a fortress against overwhelming odds.
a monument to the Pacifico brewery founded in Mazatland
a monument statute of aesthetic beauty in Puerto Vallarta
A chapel monument located on the hill in Queretaro where the Mexican army defeated Maximillian to win freedom from Austria.

Sculpture Park, Isla Mujeres, MX

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The Sculpture Park opened in 2001 on the same grounds where remnants of the Chac-MoolTemplo Maya Diosa Ixchel can also be seen by interested visitors. It is an open air musuem with a mayan related  theme. All together, there are 23 original pieces which were donated by local and foreign artists. The most well known of this group are Jose Luis Cuevas and Sebastian.The Timber Man

One of the sculpture’s, created by Sebastian, is called Chac-Mool; a name given to a type of pre-columbian, meso- american stone statute which depicts a human figure in a reclining position with the head up and turned to one side as seen in this abstract rendering. The original meaning of Chac-Mool, however, is unknown. The other piece featured in this post is the work of Jose Luis Cuevas and is named “El Tamborilero” which is almost like saying  Mr. Tambourine Man. If the tambourine man could sing a song today, it  would be about the rust and corrosion that will eventually destroy these sculptures if repairs are not made in the near future..Temple of Ixchel

The Art Institute of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

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San Miguel de Allende may be a tourist town but what attracts visitors to this area is the atmosphere created by the art institute and all its related activities. Although the art institute was created around 1950 by Enrique Martinez, a former governor of Guanajuato, his wife Nell Harris,  a retired Naval Officer named Sterling Dickinson and Peruvian artist and diplomat Cossio del Pomar, everyone seems to agree,  that Sterling Dickinson is most responsible for San Miguel becoming an international art center.

Initially,  the art institute  offered a master´s in fine art accredited by the University of Guanajuato but  over the years the institute has grown in size and scope and now offers  BA and AA degrees  in the visual arts along with workshops in painting, drawing, jewelry, weaving, photography and more. Additionally,  there are many spanish language learning

programs and an art school for children.