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Post by spindrift on Apr 27, 2010 7:42:33 GMT
I love looking back in time. Thanks for that, Bixa.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 28, 2010 17:09:50 GMT
My main reaction is surprise that Mexicans really did use to wear sombreros! (sort of like some of the French used to wear berets, but memory blocks it out) They still wear sombreros, but I've never seen anyone using the extreme ones shown in the photo. I distinctly remember when every Spanish adult male wore a beret (or so it seemed). It was such a feature, that I never understood why France got the beret reputation instead of Spain. Spindrift -- thank you! I'm pretty fascinated by that big photo, especially since I can't figure out from what angle it was taken. I'll definitely be revisiting the train station as it's so pleasant there. Maybe I can re-create the photo angle. Here are internet photos which look very much like the women in the big photo in Reply #28 ~~  This clothing is similar to the woman in the far lower left of the big photo. It depicts an "Adelita" a woman soldier of the Revolution.  One thing that immediately struck me about the man leaning from the train in the Oaxaca train station photo is that his stance is so similar to one of the most famous pictures from the Revolution era.   |
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 6, 2013 5:19:09 GMT
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Post by nycgirl on Feb 7, 2013 18:09:40 GMT
These are great images, particularly that last one. She has such an intriguing expression on her face.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2013 14:44:51 GMT
It's kind of strange how, at all levels of development, some countries maintained rail travel and others abandoned it. There doesn't seem to be any logic to the decision of the countries that abandoned it. If you take the case of a large country like Mexico I can see only 3 reasons to have abandoned trains, all of them utterly ridiculous.
1. Nobody wants to travel anymore.
2. Everybody can afford to take a plane.
3. People just love to drive or take buses over huge distances.
That leaves us with the real reason -- the people in charge were able to line their pockets with bribes and commissions for pulling the plug on rail travel and giving other lobbies a monopoly.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 25, 2013 23:14:18 GMT
Sorry for not answering your last post sooner, Kerouac, especially since you really hit the nail on the head. At any rate, is everyone ready for a trip back to the railroad museum?  I took my dogs there Sunday -- a nice long walk for their short little legs. I'll show a little of the walk to the museum, starting with a map:  Passing by the Plaza de la Danza, next to the church of La Soledad. (Basilica of Our Lady of Solitude on the map) It's usually not this deserted, but it's a very hot, humid day.   We'll go down the stairs at the back of the Mercado IV Centenario ~   And here we are on the avenue we'll take to the museum. It is here, across from Parque Madero, where one of Any Port's own has put the first of her string of unisex beauty parlors ~  |
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 26, 2013 6:12:05 GMT
So here we are at our destination, with this proud beauty to greet us ~  At first I thought the bracing was part of the art piece, but it looks as though it's necessary. Yikes.  Hello, kitty! Nice kitty!  My mutts were unfazed by the giant lady, but wouldn't go near the tiger. In fact, here they are heading back out the way we came ~  |
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 26, 2013 6:28:52 GMT
The last few times I've been here, I didn't go past the food market or it was at night. This is my first time seeing the art work on the platform ~    I just love these windows ~   It still has the worst-maintained altar I've seen in Mexico. Tsk tsk. That little picture of the Virgin of Juquila looks like Yogi Bear.  This piece really caught my attention. I remember being intrigued by a picture in an art book of a Renaissance painting featuring a large mysterious piece of red cloth hanging down with a folded knot at the bottom. It flashed into my head when I saw the railroad knot. Does anyone have any idea of what the painting could be?  |
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Post by questa on Sept 26, 2013 7:34:45 GMT
Bixa, your rusting rails are very picturesque. What are the tiger and lady made of...is it cane? At first glance I thought it was flat noodles until I came to my senses!
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Post by tod2 on Sept 26, 2013 8:04:24 GMT
Bixa, this is a glorious walk with the dogs! I loved the 'palm' leaves sculptures of the woman and especially the tiger - that was beautifully done!
I think you were right about the archways being propped up on purpose - if you look closely at the photo it seems as though some cement bonding has erroded between them. Good to let the dogs scout it out for you! ;D Sorry I can't help with the name of the painting.......
More walks please!
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Post by mich64 on Sept 26, 2013 11:03:45 GMT
How fortunate for you that you live in a community that has so many areas that display such creativity. It seems any space can be used for artists to express and exhibit their talents. I understand how your walks can be so full filling.  |
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 27, 2013 4:00:17 GMT
Thanks, ladies! Questa, I think Tod has it right about the sculptures being made of palm leaves. I took a look at the lady on my way out, & her pony tail is made of the dried date-like flowering part of the palm. I'll show a pic a little later. There is more of this walk to come, Tod! Thanks, Mich. Recently there was a city-wide use of all kinds of walls featuring art. It was tied in to an exhibit at the modern art museum. I have some pics & will pull them together into a thread. Moving along, you can see there are still various bits of railroad discards lying around. The grass shows how much it's been raining here ~ A pile of apparent discards from some art project -- full of what a contractor friend used to call "rattlesnakes", i.e. boards with nails sticking out -- not so hot in an area where children are encouraged to play.   We'll just move across the tracks to the other side now ~  Looking back to the other side, where the organic food market is in full swing ~  This is neat, mom! Besides the little playground, there's this wagon of physical expression ~   |
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 27, 2013 4:27:54 GMT
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Post by questa on Sept 27, 2013 6:27:37 GMT
They are terrific photos and I love looking at the old ones as well. Such a bustle of passengers and you can see how proud the railway workers were of their jobs.
Your little dog that stays in the foreground of your pic...the golden one... what breed is it? It is the spitting image of my dog who is a cross between Chihuahua and Jack Russell terrier. Every hair is the same, right down to the few black hairs on the base of its tail!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2013 9:26:09 GMT
I love pictures of places like this. My thought about the photo exhibit was the same as yours: "Don't forget to thank us for getting rid of train travel!"
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Post by htmb on Sept 27, 2013 18:48:43 GMT
This is a fascinating thread, Bixa, and one I hadn't seen before. Very interesting to read the story links, too. I look forward to seeing more.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 28, 2013 4:19:38 GMT
Thanks, Questa! My dogs are Oliver (reddish), who is a chiweenie (chihuahua/dachshund), Harley (blonde), who's a chug (chihuahua/pug), & Darla (black), who is a mystery. They'll make more appearances in this thread. Thank you, Kerouac. I figured you'd pick up on that! Thanks so much, Htmb. For me, this museum area, although fairly well used as a park now, retains that romantic lonesome lure of endless tracks and places to go.        |
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 28, 2013 4:31:34 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 28, 2013 4:48:42 GMT
We cross over to the section close to the street. There's some evidence of skimpy landscaping, but it's mostly weeds and mud surrounding this plaque and obelisk to the glory days of the railway.    Backtracking to where we entered, stopping to admire an embroidered tablecloth honoring the food market ~ You're really stopping to take another picture?! palm ponytail  I've been wanting to get a picture of this place & it's conveniently on our way back home ~    That's the last photo -- let's go home!
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 29, 2013 21:23:23 GMT
I was rather pleased with that little wrap-up I did, but then I found a couple of pictures from this past November of a previous photo exhibit. Taken at night, they give the impression of the former railway workers coming back to enjoy a concert at the old station.   |
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Post by fumobici on Sept 30, 2013 3:17:57 GMT
This is a feast for the eyes. I love it!
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 1, 2013 22:56:42 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2013 1:29:40 GMT
This was a really splendid display -- but I still think they should bring rail travel back to Mexico!  |
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 11, 2013 19:38:59 GMT
Couldn't agree with you more! This is today's cover page in the cultural section of one of the local newspapers:  The headline says "10 Years Without Going Off the Rails". The accompanying article addresses the problems confronted in the ten years since the museum's founding, including attempts to change the use of the space, which is dedicated to giving a venue to alternative art, and chronically, a lack of dedicated funding from the municipal government. Among the struggles the museum has faced was the blocking last year of a company's attempt to turn the old cars into scrap. They'd acquired them at auction! On a positive note, the anniversary is being celebrated with a concert & with a new series of artistic workshops. Guess I'd better get back over there! The full article, in Spanish: imparcialenlinea.com/portal/?mod=nota&id=30294&cat=cultura |
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Post by lugg on Oct 12, 2013 18:06:07 GMT
Thank you Bixa for this really interesting report , I had never seen your original post so read this thread from the beginning .
I really enjoyed the historical detail . Your photos are wonderful throughout but really every single photo in your latest addition is superb.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 13, 2014 1:59:47 GMT
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Post by fumobici on Jun 13, 2014 4:18:24 GMT
That's very cool what they're doing. Privatizing is often just a polite way of saying looting and destroying, I can't believe people believe putting important public infrastructure into the hands of speculators with no goals but extracting maximum profit will ever serve the public interest. Privately owned infrastructure is almost always a terrible, wasteful idea and usually the direct result of political corruption.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 15, 2014 15:28:30 GMT
Yeah! It's so great that they got funding for their archeological art. The project surely should be incorporated into studies on reviving rail travel.
And boy, did you sum up the problem. The result of that sort of cynical greed is always human suffering to one degree or another, but always on a large scale.
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Post by htmb on Jun 16, 2014 5:23:14 GMT
Gosh, Bixa, you've added some interesting looking additions. Once I have a more stable internet connection I'm coming back to this, but think I'll start back and read the beginning again.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 11, 2014 15:47:45 GMT
Belated thanks, Htmb. I believe you got to ride some non-rusting rails on your just-completed trip to France. Very much looking forward to your reports on that! Updating this thread because of the recent derailment of La Bestia, the train carrying 1300 migrants from Central America. Thanks to Kerouac for giving me the name of the movie with this migrant/refugee conduit as a subject: Sin Nombre. According to Mexican news, this was the fourth derailment of that train in the past twenty days and the second this week. The reason given for the most recent one was that the two cars behind the engine had wheel damage because of the bad condition of the rails. The train was near this refuge, where many migrants stop to recuperate before continuing their journey or deciding to return home. Note, September 26, 2017: the video originally in this spot is no longer available, so I am replacing it with a more recent one.
Ixtapec, where the refuge is located, suffered damage this month from several back-to-back earthquakes.
This news story reports on the migrants from the shelter turning out to help the populace after the big (8.2) quake on September 7, 2017. |
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