Exploring Colonial Mexico©Exploring Colonial Mexico©Homepage | "Mission of the Month" | Archive | Publications | Story | Ordering | Yucatan | Oaxaca | Español | Links | Book Reviews | Folk Baroque | Art in Peril September 2010
El Año de La Patria September 2010 marks the bicentennial of the Grito de Dolores that launched the Mexican Independence struggle, as well as the centennial of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Despite its current problems, Mexico plans special events to celebrate these milestones.
We offer Mexico and the Mexican people our congratulations at this time, and wish them all the best for a brighter future.
We mark this occasion by reprising our earlier page on the Hacienda de Burras with its special connection to the momentous events leading up to Independence.
New Exhibits
Two photographic exhibits open this month in which your editor is involved. © Jeffrey Becom
The first is on display at the newly restored Mission San Miguel, California, until February 2011. The show consists of large scale photographs by the well known California photographer Jeffrey Becom taken at the five Sierra Gorda mission churches, founded by Padre Junípero Serra and others in the present state of Querétaro, Mexico.Events planned in coordination with this exhibit include the San Miguel Fiesta on September 18th, and a special wine tasting on September 25th.
These colorful church fronts are among the most stunning in Mexico. Drawings by artist Richard Perry are also on exhibit there.
A Joyful Noise: Music and Musicans in the Painted Ceilings
The second event is an exhibit of images from the spectacular painted ceilings of churches in western Michoacán. Entitled A Joyful Noise: Music and Musicans in the Painted Ceilings, it opens September 23 at the Cathedral in Dallas, Texas, and features a selection of photographs by Carolyn Brown that illustrate this theme.
This inaugural exhibit will run until December and is part of a larger project under development that will showcase a variety of images from these painted ceilings entitled Heavens Above.
Our 2010 pages so far: January: Mexico City cathedral and Metztitlan (Hidalgo) February: Teopisca, (Chiapas) March: Murals of Izamal (Yucatán) April: Salamanca & Irapuato (Guanajuato) May: Patzcuaro cathedral: Michoacán June: Los Gozos (Puebla) July/August: Oxtotipac (Mexico)
To access all our pages go to our archive. If you enjoy our updates you may support our work by ordering our unique guidebooks We offer online discounts from the list price on all our guidebooks. Take advantage and order now !
Amate Books, Merida We are delighted to welcome our new sponsor Amate Books, the leading distributor of English language books in Mexico.
Through their two bookstores, located in the popular tourist cities of Oaxaca and Mérida, Yucatan, as well as their unique mail order network, Amate books serves visitors and residents alike across Mexico. Amate's attractive bookstores, with their unequalled book selection and displays of colorful folk art, are must see stops for travelers to Mexico. Visit their web site for more information.
Amate Books, Oaxaca
OurOur mission at Espadaña Press is to promote public awareness of the rich artistic and architectural heritage of Spanish colonial Mexico through our illustrated guidebooks and the regular features and updates on this web site.
Each month or so we post a new page featuring one of Mexico's colonial buildings or art works, with a focus on the lesser known monuments.
So bookmark us now and visit again soon. Please browse our extensive archive of past features.
If you have enjoyed visiting our web site, we welcome your support. We carry no intrusive or distracting advertising messages.
Our publications are not available at most bookstores. But wherever you are, you can now order any of our affordable guidebooks at a special publishers discount, using your credit card. Orders are shipped within days. What could be easier? So, if you are planning a trip to Mexico, or just want to learn more about Mexico's colonial heritage, take us along!
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