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  • Bienvenido a Mexico City,

  • one of the financial powerhouses and cultural capitals of Latin America.

  • A place with ancient roots,

  • in recent years this mega-city of 21 million has undergone a renaissance,

  • exploding into, a city of color!

  • Mexico City’s color can be found on every street.

  • It’s in the sunbaked plazas and monuments,

  • the dappled shade and quiet of its courtyards,

  • and in the brushstrokes of its murals and street art.

  • It’s in the faded pastels and tile work of colonial buildings,

  • it’s in the cantinas,… the music,…the cuisine,…everywhere there is color.

  • If life has a color, that color would be called, Mexico City!

  • Despite its legendary sprawl, Mexico City

  • isn’t hard to navigate.

  • Just like the paint upon an artist’s palette,

  • the city is divided into distinctive boroughs,

  • all with their own shades and moods.

  • Mexico City’s colors run deepest in the main square,

  • thecalo, once the epicenter of the Mexican Civilization.

  • When the Spanish arrived in 1521, the Aztec temples were swiftly leveled,

  • and a colonial city rose in its place.

  • Today, this area is presided over by a temple of a different kind,

  • The Metropolitan Cathedral.

  • Throughout the Centro Histórico district,

  • over 1500 heritage buildings vie for your attention.

  • Visit San Ildefonso College and be introduced

  • to the earliest masterpieces of Mexican muralism.

  • Dive into a kaleidoscope of color and craft at La Ciudadela,

  • an artisanal market featuring over 300 stalls.

  • Then admire the blue and white splendor of Casa de Azulejos,

  • The House of Tiles.

  • The streets of this district overflow with incredible museums and galleries,

  • such as the Museo Biblioteca Palacio Postal,

  • and the Palacio de Bellas Artes.

  • For a window into the life and color of yesteryear,

  • visit the fabulous Museo Franz Mayer,

  • a glittering display of cultural treasures and everyday items

  • that the tireless collector amassed throughout his lifetime.

  • When it’s time for a change of color,

  • head to leafy avenues of Alameda Central.

  • Discover even more shades of green at Chapultepec Park,

  • one of the largest urban parks in the world.

  • As well as serving as the city’s lungs,

  • the park is home to cultural institutions such as the Auditorio Nacional,

  • and the museum of anthropology,

  • as well as the popular Chapultepec Zoo.

  • Pay your respects to the Ninos Heroes.

  • This monument honors the six boy soldiers

  • who gave their lives defending Castillo de Chapultepec,

  • when it fell to the Americans in 1847.

  • Today, the castle serves as the National Museum of History,

  • shining a light through the darkest,

  • and brightest chapters, of Mexico’s history.

  • Just to the north is upscale Polanco,

  • and its neighbor Nuevo Polanco,

  • a former warehouse area rapidly being transformed by new architectural visions.

  • Rising like shape-shifting plasma,

  • the Museo Soumaya is filled with over 60,000 artworks

  • from the private collection of billionaire,

  • Carlos Slim.

  • Displaying masterpieces from across the ages,

  • this free museum features European masters such as

  • Van Gogh, Dali and Rodin.

  • The spirit of philanthropy continues just across the road,

  • at Museo Jumex, a building which echoes the district’s industrial past,

  • and which houses the largest private contemporary art collection in Latin America.

  • To the south of the city is the once ancient village of Coyoacán,

  • the place of coyotes”.

  • In the early 20th century this area flowered into a place of bohemia;

  • its artists, writers and intellectuals

  • inspiring and enriching not only Mexico,

  • but the entire world.

  • Visit The Blue House,

  • the birthplace of Frieda Kahlo.

  • In neighboring San Angel,

  • explore the museum, house and studio of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo,

  • where these two giants of Mexican art worked,.

  • lived,

  • and loved.

  • Just to the south are the incredible murals and buildings of Ciudad Universitaria,

  • which when constructed in the 1950s,

  • was the city’s largest single building project since the time of the Aztecs.

  • It is here, at the university’s Olympic stadium,

  • that you can see one of Rivera’s last epic murals,

  • a work he never lived to complete.

  • The spirit of bohemia and creativity continues

  • amid the sophisticated hues and beauty of districts such,

  • Roma and Condesa.

  • At Xochimilco, simply float away on a riot of color

  • on the last of the city’s Aztec canals,

  • exploring markets and gardens along the way.

  • In Mexico City there is color everywhere,

  • and once experienced, they will never fade.

  • All you have to do is close your eyes,

  • and you will see the many colors of Mexico City again,

  • today,

  • tomorrow,

  • always

Bienvenido a Mexico City,

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