Cuernavaca's Muros Museum:
There's Heart within These Walls
By Julia Taylor © Julia Taylor 2008
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Muros' modern architecture
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Tile mosaic front
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Tile mosaic back
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Diego Rivera mosaic
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Lighting in the stairway
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Enjoying an interactive exhibit
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Muros, which means "walls" in Spanish, opened to the public in May of 2004. It is the only museum in Cuernavaca, Morelos originally designed to be a museum. The space is flexible with movable lighting, high ceilings and open areas in which display environments can be constructed. The museum gets its name from its 3,600 square meters of wall space. Even more important than the walls are the professional, organized, staff members who are stationed throughout the museum and who support the visitor's experience. Muros' staff provides the real heart of the museum.
The entrance to the museum is wide open and welcoming. As you approach the museum, you first encounter a tourist information table staffed by both museum and Morelos tourist department personnel where you can get information about Muros and other attractions throughout the state. As the author purchased tickets for a second visit to the museum, she was carrying her toddler on her back and the man in charge offered a stroller for the visit. Often there is someone standing at the large, glass doorway to hold the door open and tell you, "Bienvenidos."
In the courtyard area in front of the museum you is an original tile mosaic credited to Diego Rivera. It was originally built near the swimming pool of a private home and depicts native Mexicans bathing in a stream. A mother is washing her son, a father trying to coax another son to bathe as well, and other people are splashing water on themselves. Walk around the other side of the mural and you see... the other side of the scene.
Inside the museum there is a sense of space and ease of movement. Muros feels modern and everywhere you go you hear the sound of fans quietly turning and air moving in the exposed ventilation ducts. An upstairs area displays the formerly private collection of Jacques and Natasha Gelman, which the museum is proud to maintain in Cuernavaca. The collection provides a nice cross section of important Mexican art without being overwhelming. There are pieces by Diego Rivera, Carlos Orozco Romero, David A. Siqueiros, Frida Kahlo, and Rufino Tamayo, among others, and a timeline that provides an overview of the artists in the framework of world events during their lives. Downstairs, there are rotating displays of additional artwork. There is also a large room with restored murals that provides an area for events and temporary expositions. Throughout the museum, art of a wide variety of media and textures - such as metal, tile, hair, cardboard, glass, canvas, and video - are on display. The titles of works are clearly listed in both Spanish and English. There are also comfortable computer consoles, with standing perches that offer additional information on the artist's lives and works as well as a carpeted reading area with cushioned seats and lots of books about art.
At the time that the author and her family visited, there was an interactive display about the life and work of Diego Rivera, which was specially designed for children. It provided a fun time for all members of the family. The open space had been divided into smaller "rooms," each with a different theme from Rivera's life. Most rooms had something for a 1 and a ½ year old. There were tiles you could move around to make a tile mural and hats to wear. But the most fun of all were masks and costumes of characters from one of his murals. We spent a lot of time putting on masks and peering at ourselves in the mirror provided just for that purpose.
Muros is more of a success story than you might guess because it was first conceived as. . .
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Julia Taylor lives in Cuernavaca with her husband and their young son. She is the author of Mexico: The Trick is Living Here, with inside information for those who want to work, live, and retire in Mexico. For more information, visit Home Sweet Mexico.
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