Allô Chatrath

Please click at the following link to see more of these rarely exhibited photos: https://allochatrath.blogspot.com/2020/11/galeria-de-los-danzantes-500-100-ac_21.html For accessing the background text kindly go to Part I of this article: https://allochatrath.blogspot.com/2020/11/galeria-de-los-danzantes-500-100-ac.html

I was lucky to have visited this amazing site in Mexico in 2012. It was a hurried trip and I wish I could have spent more time in Mexico and seen its remarkable archeological treasures. I am sharing this post hoping that more tourists from India would choose Mexico for a visit. Here we find numerous carved stones with distinct human figures in dynamic positions. They have several characteristics in common. They are nude males, the majority obese with a wide nose and thick lips. These features suggest an Olmec influence. The Olmec were the first major civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands on the Gulf of Mexico in the present-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. The name Olmec is a Nahuatl—the Aztec language—word; it means the rubber people. The Olmecs were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco...

‘Desesperacion II’ (Despair) by Argentinian artist Luis Falcini (1889-1973)- on display in the 'Museo Nacional de Bella Arts', Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I planned a trip to Mexio City in October/November 2018 mainly to witness the celeberation of the Day of the Dead. It is sad that we know so little about Mexico- the country and Mexico City. Population of Mexico City at 88.5 lakhs is more than that of New York City and the total population of Mexico City metropolitan areais a whopping 2.2 crores. I am mentioning the poulation with a purpose to which I will come shortly. I had taken a conducteed trip to 5 Central American cities and at the end of which I was to reach Mexico City. And then came thee news which made me nervous. Ms. Claudia Sheinbaum, Mayor. The Lady Mayor of Mexico City had decided to take a very bold step- which none of her male predecessors had dare to take. She decided to stop all piped water supply in Mexico city for 7 days to get the old rusting pipelines replaced. The period included 4 days that I was to be in Mexico City. I received an urgent mail from the Mexico hotel informing me of the impending waterd pr...

I visited four Central American countries in 2018. Guatemala was one of those. I joined a Group organised by Intrepid Travel ( https://www.intrepidtravel.com/en/guatemala/central-american-journey-116317 ). We were advised by the organisers to report at a hotel in Antigua Guatemala and not in Antigua. On reaching there I sent a mail to my friends announcing my arrival in this lovely part of the world. But the response I got was upsetting. Ah, so you are following the footsteps of the Indian millionaire who has now made Antigua his home. What ignorance, I hissed back. It is time to brush up your general knowledge as well as geography, I snapped back. Antigua in Spanish means 'ancient'. Antigua Gutemala is the ancient capital of Gutemala. Decades ago the capital was shifted from here to Guatemala Town, about 25 kms away, because of a devastating earthquake. Antigua, where the Indian millionaire has reportedly taken citizenship is a country in the West Indies. O.K.? ...