Catching up...

It’s been a little while since my last post. Somewhere along the way I lost a bit of momentum, which happens. But before we head off to Southeast Asia, I wanted to get back and catch up on Mexico. 

Right before we left, we visited the Secretariat of Public Education building, which is still an active government building dedicated to education. Inside are extensive murals by Diego Rivera, spread across multiple courtyards and corridors. What makes this so striking is how accessible it all is—these massive, political, unapologetic works aren’t tucked away in a museum, but displayed in a public building meant for the people. The murals depict workers, teachers, farmers, revolutionaries, and everyday life, reinforcing Rivera’s belief that art should educate as much as it inspires. It’s one of those places that quietly stops you in your tracks.

The ofrendas set up in the Zócalo for Día de los Muertos were massive—far beyond the small, personal altars you usually see in homes. An ofrenda is meant to welcome the spirits of the dead back to the living world, built with offerings like marigolds, candles, photos, food, drinks, and objects the person loved in life. In the Zócalo, that idea is scaled up to a civic level. Entire sections of the square were filled with towering installations, each one layered with symbolism, color, and detail. It felt less like a single altar and more like walking through an open-air gallery dedicated to memory, ritual, and the very public way Mexico honors its dead.

Just outside the Zócalo, we came across a flower carpet, or alfombra. These temporary works of art are made from flowers, colored sawdust, and natural materials, laid directly on the street. Like the ofrendas, they’re meant to be fleeting—created to be walked past, photographed, and eventually disappear. This one stretched on for a blocks dense with color and pattern, a quiet counterpoint to the scale and spectacle of the Zócalo installations.

And speaking of counterpoints: the Zócalo ofrenda in the distance, the Mexican flag nearly fully unfurled, Palacio de Hierro—Mexico’s upscale department store—standing off to the side, and, at street level, an active protest cutting through the same space as the flower carpet. Celebration, commerce, remembrance, and dissent, all sharing the same few city blocks.

Next Stop.....  San Jose....  Does anyone know the way??