Jul 31, 2008
BAC Instructors:
Luis Montalvo John Pilling
Designing Together - A Parallel Studio about Living in the Américas
Travel Observations
Christian Bender:
Mazamitla
-Arriving in Mexico is exciting! Im not sure what we will see or what we will do, how to interpret and use our coming knowledge for future endeavors, but Im sure that will work itself out.
Traditional Mexican breakfast this morning was followed by examination of the town square as they prepared for a festival later in the day. The town physically shows much of Mexican history, with Spanish architecture and planning and rural goods for sale in small tiendas. It is a phenomenally auditory experience. As I stare at a 19th century church, I alternately hear American hip hop streaming from passersby and a vendor highlighting (poorly) the flutes he has for sale.
La Manzanilla
-The chapel containing the alleged religious artifact seemed contrived; I paid very little attention to it. Touring the square was a wonderful, immersive experience. The festival, the locals helping us with bar food and tequila choices, the tiny taco stand where we dared to make selection after selection…I felt welcome and included in my curiosity to experience rural Mexican life.
Concepciones de Buenos Aires
-The town plan by Urzua seems overly rational; streets are too well aligned, the mostly single storey houses fit together too nicely. The concentric circles of the square do give nice coverage and peek-a-boo views in and around the rings. Here we saw two houses designed by Asura. The first was a stunning working house organized around a beautifully messy central exterior courtyard. The second house seemed more hermetic, but featured vibrant colors in the tile work and plant life.
Guadalajara
-Entering Guadalajara I have the same feelings as arriving is Dublin from the Irish countryside. As the billboards and stores, and subsequent familiar brand names appear, it feels as if I am rejoining the world we left behind a few days ago. The Mexican countryside was Mexico; this is Mexico y America y western Europe. Food, coffee, travel are now easier, ‘safer’, more familiar, however the exciting strangeness of the country is gone.
Mexico City
Tlalpan Chapel
-This was the single most stunning building I have ever encountered. My emotional reaction was nearly debilitating. As a non-believer I was completely unprepared to be brought to tears by a church. Immediately afterward I wrote in order to make sense of my intense reaction…I think I got close.
Why do I cry? How does this space deliver such feelings inside of me? No! This can not be analyzed. It is only power that I am feeling, analysis is not to be done now. I only want to ride the ebb and flow of this building, let the eyes moisten and tears fall down my cheek. Such stunning and enveloping beauty, brought on by such a simple plan, these feelings are difficult to interpret. Do I miss my Catholicism? This feels like a religious experience, the awe and power of faith. Light streaming, fire colors evolving down a wall, light light everywhere. I am in awe. I am small. Am I inspired by faith? No.
I cry. I am overwhelmed by my emotions. I cry not because of them, but for fear I will never feel them again.
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