We walked to the local bus stop and caught the bus to the University area. Roman, our guide from the day before had told us a lot about Juan O’Gordan and his art and architecture and mentioned the library at the university. We decided to go take a look as it is the largest mural of its type in the world. The bus was crowded and interesting as it was a street bus, not a modern subway or bus line, and it was crowded. But by the time we got to the last stop, at the university, we were the only two left.
The first thing we saw was the Olympic stadium, which was used in the 1968 olympics. It has a 3D mural of one of Diego Rivera’s creations on the front of it, and we did our best to get a good look.
We walked to the pedestian area, which took us under the main avenues into the university. This place reminded me of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. It is build very plainly in a series of cascading fields surrounded by elevated industrial buildings, similar to the designs Juan O’Gordon used. We found the library, as it was one of the tallest and the mural is impressive. It covers all four sides, each with a central theme: South, history of Spanish and Mexico; West, University emblem and different disciplines; North the regions prehistoric past; and East, the contemporary world. Here is some more information.
We walked around the University for about an hour and enjoyed seeing the young students enjoying college life. We even saw a small market near the library where you could buy popcorn, drinks, trinkets, books, and even green leafy study materials; which we thought were illegal in Mexico, but were openly displayed and sold. Interesting.
We walked to the bus and headed back to the AirBnB, stopping for dinner at a sushi place across from the park that I have been walking the pups. They play 80’s-2000’s videos on screens at your table. Almost a Karaoke theme, without the singing. Peaceful and easy day in CDMX. Beautiful 75 degree weather.
Here is a link to the photos from today and a map of our travels.
