Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Severed Heads

It has been a pleasant morning in Guanajuato, despite occasional coughing spells and wheezing at the tops of hills. I visited a museum here with a sordid past--it was once used as a prison (originally it was a granary) and the walls still sport hooks where the heads of various revolutionaries were hung in these handy little bird cages. Grim.

Then to the birthplace of Diego Rivera, just down the hill from there. The family's furniture was not as interesting as the large collection of Rivera's works, from different phases.

Then on to the Cervantes (Museo Iconografico del Quijote) this afternoon. I've never seen a museum quite like this. It is filled with images of don Quixote and Sancho Panza, with a few of Cervantes thrown in. 800 statues, paintings and drawings. My favorite was a painting of Cervantes at his desk, quill in hand, with ghostly Quixote and Panza looking over his shoulder. I wanted to get print of that--imagine your characters standing behind you as you work?

I took a look at the weather back home--could it be I'll be arriving in a snowstorm again?

1 comment:

Mary Akers said...

Ooh, I love that image! And the people looking over my shoulder would be a pretty scary lot. Brrr.