Recently Albs, Shona and I went to Mexico City. This was my third time there, (the past two times were last year), and since I’d already done a lot of the usual things, I for once did a bit of research. This led to us going on the Saturday to a less well known destination, the Museo de Arte Popular. It was located in an Art Deco fire station, and filled to the brim with all the best Mexican folk art from all the various regions of the country.

One highlight was the history train, a set of exhibits in the form of a train, each carriage created by different artists and showing a different event in Mexico’s turbulent and frequently bloody history. The scenes were often done in different materials too: from shiny silver to paper maché to black wood. The accompanying text was unfortunately very long and heavy, which meant I lost the will to live a bit, and accordingly didn’t learn as much as I should have, but the exhibit was great nonetheless. Oh, and I should add: all the figures were skeletons, in a Day of the Dead sort of way!

My other favourites were the various Mexican monsters on display on the third floor. From jaguars to dragons, and many indescribable monsters in between, they were bizarre, colourful, and delicate yet fearsome. This was one of the best museums in Mexico City I felt, and very recommended!