Among the four polychrome boards at Teotihuacan, near Mexico City, the most prominent mural features green and white feathered birds standing in procession. Likely a depiction of a parrot or macaw with its open, curved beak, it sits above a bent band.
Green Bird Mural
Green Bird Mural Sign
The Tetitla compound, located in the Teotihuacan Archaeological Zone outside Mexico City, is renowned for its magnificent pre-Spanish murals, dating back to between 600 and 700 A.D. Restorers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History have undertaken this work.
The conservation work has thus far focused on 8 of the 16 murals, which are in particularly damaged condition from the constant battering of sun, wind, dust, moisture, and all-around hard living.
Restoring Murals
Abstract Mural
Two characters on a mural below a stone wall at Teotihuacán, a powerful, influential, and massive pre-Columbian city in central Mexico, near modern-day Mexico City, which was the largest city in the Americas at its peak around 500 CE.
Two Murals
There are three types of Teotihuacan murals: religious, nature, and culture. They depicted daily life and spiritual activities, especially regarding the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan, who served as the patron of the city. They illustrated the civilization’s emphasis and respect for nature and animals.
Two restored murals in the corner at Teotihuacan.
Murals in the Corner
A wild cat or jaguar mural partially restored at Teotihuacan, the world-famous archaeological site north of Mexico City,
Wild Cat Mural
Mural Explanation Sign
The Teotihuacan Archaeological Zone, located outside Mexico City, is renowned for its magnificent pre-Spanish murals, which date back to between 600 and 700 A.D. Restoring these murals was no easy task. Not only did restorers have to repair pigment lost from layer erosion and humidity-generated salinization, but they had to combat structural problems in the buildings themselves. They could hardly repair a mural while the ceiling was leaking and the floor eroding.
Restored Mural
Partly Restored Mural
Impressive Mural
Many building materials were obtained locally in the Teotihuacan Valley, including extrusive igneous rocks, volcanic tuff, mud, and wood. Here are walls built with igneous rocks that are formed from the cooling and solidification of molten rock, either underground magma or surface lava.
Variety of Stonework
Restored Stonework
Intricate Stonework
Teotihuacan was a dynamic and economically powerful center in central Mexico, dating back more than 1,900 years. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, the ruins of the ancient city lie about 30 miles northeast of Mexico City and are the country’s most visited archaeological site, seeing millions of tourists each year.
Teotihuacan Recovered
Ruins from the Past
An eagle devouring a snake sculpture, Glorieta de la Lealtad, Bosque de Chapultepec Park, Mexico City. The statue depicts the 1325 sighting of the eagle devouring the serpent on a cactus, representative of the imagery on the flag of Mexico.
Glorieta de la Lealtad
Glorieta de la Lealtad from Other Side
Flag of Mexico
Located in the energetic heart of Mexico City, Aztlán Parque Urbano transforms a historic amusement park area into a modern urban oasis. The standout feature is the giant Ferris wheel that lights up the night with dazzling colors, offering panoramic views of the bustling metropolis. Here are views from the cable car during the day.
Ferris Wheel View from Cable Cars
Ferris Wheel
Aztlan 360
View of a covered stadium from a cable car in Mexico City
View of Stadium from Cable Car
Floating in a cable car over the Charrería grounds in Mexico City, there are views of charros expertly practicing with their horses, as well as a view of horses with riders on a dirt field.
Equestrian view from Cable Car
View of Horses from Cable Car
Views from the cable car of Mexico City’s famous Jewish cemetery
View of Colorful Headstones from Cable Car
Cemetery View from Cablebus
Cemetery View from Cable Cars
Architectural Structures Against City Skyline
For decades, navigating Mexico City has been synonymous with traffic jams, long commutes, and a constant battle against congestion. During the ride, it’s possible to take in a bird’s-eye view of several of Mexico City’s massive skyscrapers and freeways.
Traffic and City View from the Cable Car
Traffic View from the Cable Car
The most striking addition to Mexico City’s transit landscape is its network of cable car lines, known as Cablebús. A three-year-old aerial cable car system is transforming Mexico City’s transportation network and making the trip into the central city faster and easier.
Cablebus on Lines
Cablebus Rollers
The aerial transport system in Mexico City isn’t moving people to popular tourist destinations like Zocalo Square or Bellas Artes Palace. Instead, the gondolas’ primary purpose is to transport people from isolated working-class neighborhoods to other transportation systems, such as the subway, which connect them to work, school, hospitals, and other necessities.
Riding the Cablebus
Two Cable Cars
Cable Car on Lines
Aerial vehicles have become a mode of transportation for approximately 80,000 people per day in Mexico City. Here are stations for loading people in the cable buses.
Cablebús from the Station
Station for Cablebús
Lantana camara, commonly called lantana or shrub verbena, with a multicolored cluster of flowers and fragrant oval-shaped leaves, adds color to Chapultepec Park, Mexico City.
Lantana Camara at Chapultepec Park
Two tree trunks at Chapultepec Park, Mexico City, make a natural frame for viewing the green grass
Looking through at Tree Trunks at Chapultepec Park
Yucca Gloriosa at Chapultepec Park, Mexico City. Yucca gloriosa Variegata is a very ornamental, broadleaf evergreen shrub featuring a basal rosette of attractive, rigid, sword-shaped, spine-tipped blue-green leaves. It is topped in mid-summer with spikes of beautiful, large, white, bell-shaped flowers that hummingbirds love.
Yucca Gloriosa at Chapultepec Park