Ancient pottery on tasteful display. © Anthony Wright, 2009

Anahuacalli: Diego Rivera’s gift of indigenous treasures

Legendary Mexican artist and master muralist Diego Rivera spent so much time avidly collecting pre-Hispanic art it’s a wonder he ever got around to painting. Rivera amassed a collection of thousands of objects: pottery items, stone and jade figures of animals, gods and humans. Many of the purchases were made on the black market. On […]

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Seen from the summit at Xochicalco, vistas of surrounding hills taper away in the shimmering heat. © Anthony Wright, 2009

Busting ghosts at Xochicalco, Morelos: A UNESCO World Heritage Site

These days, for some tourists, it seems that physical history, a sense of history, a sublimity of walking in the footsteps of the ancients by the light of nature itself, is not enough – one’s senses, incapable of an exercise of pure imagination, need to be kick-started into an appreciation of one’s surroundings. Flashing laser […]

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The Sanchez Ghost – An original short story set in Mexico

Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense. -Song of Solomon Summer day of bougainvillea, wild poinsettia and swaying jacarandas – carefree, carefree – a dry wind carried the restless spirit of the future on its back, fanned by strange […]

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Despite the outbreak of swine flu, life goes on for this organ grinder in Mexico City. © Anthony Wright, 2009

Swine flu at Ground Zero (Mexico City): life in a masked city

People are still going about their business as usual, only we’re all wearing surgical facemasks. I can’t decide if this whole fear campaign is a massive media beat-up or if it has some credence. Greetings from Mexico City… On the subject of the city – and schools, and cinemas, and restaurants, and bars, and churches, […]

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Lawrence Tierney, who once played Elaine Benes' father in Seinfeld, was evidently a rather unhinged individual. © Anthony Wright, 2009 © Anthony Wright, 2009

The lurid artistry of the Mexican lobby card

Mention the name “Sean Flynn” to any savvy tween and the recognition is instant: “He stars in Zoey 101.” Indeed, the teenage actor, grandson of Australian-born screen legend Errol Flynn, is more than recognizable to legions of young Nickelodeon viewers. However history buffs, especially those cognizant with the Vietnam War, might associate the name with […]

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This magical portrait of the Virgin carries a message of peace. It is one of many graffiti murals on the Estadio Azteca (Aztec Stadium) in Mexico City. © Anthony Wright, 2009

Graffiti: the Estadio Azteca and Mexico City’s new wave muralists

Art and sport seem rarely intertwined. There is the American cliché of the muscle-bound football jock bursting with idiotic energy, indulging his time off the field to torment the nerdy, isolated artist (who invariably exacts his revenge by growing up to become a Hollywood screenwriter and perpetuating the cliché in teen flicks — wherein the […]

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"Permanent revolution," stencil grafitti art from Mexico City. © Anthony Wright, 2009

Graffiti: the wry humor of Mexico City street stencil art

Most modern art aficionados know that if mysterious British artist Banksy didn’t create the urban world’s love affair with quirky riddles in stencil art on public walls, then he certainly spearheaded its emergence into light — at least from a broader (if somewhat bemused and undecided) public’s point of view. Those in the know will […]

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