Shadow Shot Sunday 10 : Xilitla

This week I have chosen a selection of shadow shots all taken very recently at the wonderfully quirky hotel "Posada el Castillo" in Xilitla, the former home of the Surrealist Edward James. Enjoy....







For more practical details about Posada El Castillo and Xilitla, check out the last few posts, and for more showy shadow shots check out Hey Harriet by clicking here.....Enjoy!

Xploring Xilitla 3 - Delving for the Details Deep in the Jungle

Yes.... I know this is my fourth post on Xilitla and the surrealist sculpture garden of Edward James in less than a fortnight, but it is such a special and magical place, that I just wanted to share a few more of the finer details deep in the jungle...

Set amidst this natural setting of pools, waterfalls, and jungle foliage, it is exactly this paradoxical combination of concrete and nature that perfectly complement each other, that makes this place so fascinating. Above you notice the beautiful plants first, and then catch sight of the sculptures peeping through the leaves, and then discover that one sculpture even has plants growing out of its crown....Next the sculptures begin to emerge from the jungle much more strongly....

And then the detail of the sculpture becomes the main focus, through which the jungle is viewed, as if through a lense...

In some places the plants and sculptures are in perfect balance and harmony, neither dominating the other .....

Just melting, merging and blending together; an interplay of shapes echoing each other....

Then the plants take over again as the concrete recedes and becomes more weathered....

And it this continous ebb and flow, back and forth, that creates the rhythm of the place until the jungle once again completely obscures the man-made architecture with not a single sculpture in sight....

But final quirky details always remind us that human hands have been at work here....

For more practical information about getting to and staying in Xilitla, check out the last few posts.

Xploring Xilitla 2 - Posada El Castillo - An Englishman's home is his castle....

If you do manage to get to Xililta to explore the weird and wonderful world of Edward James and his surrealist sculpture garden, then the only place to stay to really soak up the whole atmosphere of his fantasy creations is his former home "Posada El Castillo". With these welcoming footprints leading from the front gate, it is immediately clear that this is not just any run-of-the-mill hotel....

The house has an eccentric and quirky castle feel to it with turrets perched on high, twisting spiral staircases, ornate roof terraces, Modernist architectural details, and Surrealist art work displayed throughout. Here is a mural by Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington (long-term resident of Mexico City)...

The posada is currently owned and run by Gaby, niece of Plutarch Gastelum Esquer who along with his wife shared the house with Edward James for many years, subsequently inheriting it when James died in Italy in 1984. The posada only has 10 or 11 rooms all with a distinctive character such as high vaulted ceilings, lattice arched windows, unusual hexagonal shapes, and many also have fantastic views....

Rooms range from about 800 - 1500 pesos per night and are well worth the money. Here is the Rose Room where I stayed for my visit...

In addition to beautiful rooms, artwork, and views, there are also gorgeous gardens, a pool, and a lounge where guests can relax with an extensive library of books and DVDs, including a fascinating 45 minute documentary all about Edward James and Las Pozas. For more information about his sculpture garden click here... Here is a final shot of the roof terrace to further whet your appetite....

Like all secret hideaways, Xilitla is fairly inaccesible. It is 9 hours by 2nd class bus from Mexico City but the route is indirect through 860 hairpin bends in the magnificent Sierra Gorda mountains. For softies, there might be a more direct route by car via Pachuca....

For more glimpses into different places around the world click here for MyWorldTuesday postings....

Shadow Shot Sunday 9 - Zebra Legs in Xilitla!!

Isn´t it fascinating how harsh sunlight and shadow can transform the most ordinary and familiar of everyday objects into the eerily strange and unrecognisable?? This was taken on the roof terrace of Edward James´ former home in Xilitla which is now run as a hotel called "Posada El Castillo". More details to follow.......In the meantime hunt down more Sunday shadow shots by clicking here for Hey Harriet....

Xploring Xilitla - Las Pozas

If you have the time and want to explore off the beaten track in Mexico, then make sure you head off to Las Pozas in Xilitla and visit the surrealist sculpture garden of the "crazy Englishman" Edward James.....

A patron of the major surrealist artists of his time, he also indulged in creating fantasy worlds of his own in the form of floral sculptures, staircases ascending to nowhere, Escher and Gaudi -like architectural structures all eerily staged in the steamy jungle of Xilitla amidst natural pools and waterfalls. Most such doodlings would have remained quite simply on paper, but he possessed the material inherited wealth to make his dreams concrete...literally... and with the help of a local modest Mexican mason, Las Pozas was born. Xilitla is nine hours from Mexico City, and be sure to watch out for more posts and photographs of this fascinating folly...

For more MyWorldTuesday postings click here....

Shadow Shot Sunday 8 - Mexico City

This is Mexico City's coolest contemporary art space down on the Unam University Campus. The clean lines and bright whites of the building itself make it a very appealing gallery to visit...

The architecture indeed is as cutting edge as the art displayed.....

For more information on Mexico City's newest art gallery click here....

And don't forget to chase down more shadow shots by clicking here for Hey Harriet.....

Mission Impossible?? - Jalpan and the Sierra Gorda Missions

Lonely Planet will tell you it is pretty difficult without your own transport, but if you are up for adventure and don't mind second class buses ( just like Greyhound my NY travel companion commented) and 860 hairpin bends through the mountains of the Sierra Gorda, then head for Jalpan as there are some real jewels awaiting you.

The jewels are in the form of five Mission churches all built by the Franciscan Fray Junipero Serra in the mid eighteenth century who subsequently went on to found a whole host of much more austere Missions in California, USA and Baja California, Mexico. The Sierra Gorda Missions are distinguished by their fine colourful facades and fine ornate detail...

This particular detail depicts the familiar Franciscan symbol showing the interlinking of the arm of Christ and the arm of the Franciscan. These five Mission Churches were awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 2003, but being in such a remote region they are still largely unvisited... Here is the beautiful facade of the Conca Mission.....

And here is an example of the exquisite carving at the Landa de Matamoros Mission.....

The remaining two Missions are at Tilaco and Tancoyol, although the latter is still in need of much restoration work. To get to the Missions take a three hour bus from Mexico City to either Queretaro or Tequisquiapan, and then a second class Flecha Amarillo through the mountains for four hours to Jalpan. Hotel Maria del Carmen provides a good base in Jalpan, and negotiating with a friendly taxi driver will get you a six hour tour of all four Mission churches for just 600 pesos... a bargain!! It is an off the beaten track trip which is well worth the effort!!