Top Ten: What I Like About You, Mexico...No. 10
Historical Buildings
I remember the first time I went to Mexico City. I was like most people, I suppose, in my ignorance of the world beyond my small home town. I knew nothing about Mexico City, how old it was, how it got started, who were the major players in her history. Once there I was stunned by the age of the buildings in the Zocalo. "How did I not know this existed?" was my 20-something naivety. Our first encounter with Mexican history came through the classes offered us in the Spearhead program of Latin America Mission. I was amazed at how long and how hard it was that men and women had fought the battle just to get a constitution in place that would form the backbone of decisions for future generations. What I learned in those classes has stayed with me. It was a good base for helping my children with their Mexican History classes later on. It has also formed my fascination with all the very old buildings you can find in any nook and cranny of the country. I recently visited the towns of Tequisquiapan (again) and the small pueblo of Peña de Bernal. Photographing the outside of a particularly beautiful building, I was called aside by an old man cleaning the floors. Very proudly he explained that this building was one of the first built in the tiny town named after the peña (the unusual rock formation). He himself looked as weathered as the thick-walled building and the small town cathedral nearby, but his delight was evident that he got to participate in the history of his town and its architecture, even if only to help in its upkeep.
Historical Buildings
I remember the first time I went to Mexico City. I was like most people, I suppose, in my ignorance of the world beyond my small home town. I knew nothing about Mexico City, how old it was, how it got started, who were the major players in her history. Once there I was stunned by the age of the buildings in the Zocalo. "How did I not know this existed?" was my 20-something naivety. Our first encounter with Mexican history came through the classes offered us in the Spearhead program of Latin America Mission. I was amazed at how long and how hard it was that men and women had fought the battle just to get a constitution in place that would form the backbone of decisions for future generations. What I learned in those classes has stayed with me. It was a good base for helping my children with their Mexican History classes later on. It has also formed my fascination with all the very old buildings you can find in any nook and cranny of the country. I recently visited the towns of Tequisquiapan (again) and the small pueblo of Peña de Bernal. Photographing the outside of a particularly beautiful building, I was called aside by an old man cleaning the floors. Very proudly he explained that this building was one of the first built in the tiny town named after the peña (the unusual rock formation). He himself looked as weathered as the thick-walled building and the small town cathedral nearby, but his delight was evident that he got to participate in the history of his town and its architecture, even if only to help in its upkeep.
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