The music that was playing from this hand cranked organ. It was eerie and transported me to another time dimension- the heat and the sun, the juxtaposition of Mayan ruins site with Catholic churches against the modern sounds of minibuses and the rush of foot traffic. I arrived from the crush of this enourmity into the sincerity of the quiet of Antiguo Colegio De San Ildefonso.
A series of stunning courtyards, there’s almost no one visiting on this day. No one taking selfies (unlike at MUNAL where I made a brief stop), no one to get out of the way of. The building is beautifully preserved- the detail of the stonework and the woodwork of the doors- Mexico City is abound with history.
Showered in the brightest of orange, these arcades bounced the rays of the sun to create an aura within the space. Staying on theme with this trip to Mexico City, these large beautiful swathes of singular color are transformative to the soul (though I would have a hard time believing original to the building). I think there are some spaces that are meant to bustle us through and some that are meant to slow us down. Certainly time keeps on moving but our relationship to it is relative- and I think that spaces like this help us to take note of these notions.
Traversing the staircases, this series of murals, of which I think this building is likely more famous for now- was probably some of the best artwork that I saw on this trip. The modern art fair Zona Maco was great but on a return to Mexico City, I would spend more time digging into the exhibits displaying this age of work.
We build something with intent, but we may never know how it will be used in the end. Sometimes we find our science and our art and our thinking takes us to a clearer understanding, but many times in our hindsight, what we can only take away is the lessons we learned without the why. While I mostly love modern and contemporary architecture, buildings like this always inspire me to reflect on the threads that carry us across time.
We dedicate spaces to the divine- in prayer, in surrender, in devotion- and that energy is without words. Even without knowing it, from all those centuries ago- when we find a place where we long contemplated our relation to existence- one cannot leave unaffected, whether consciously or not.
Website: World Momuments Fund write-up
ofallthespaces 