Aguascalientes Part 6b: Laughing at death in Museo de la Muerte

Monsters on parade. How'd you like to answer a knock on your door and find these characters, arm-in-arm and reeking of tequila, asking you "where's the party?" I had to chuckle when I came across this little tableau in Aguascalientes' Museum of Death. There's so much going on with this group that it's hard to know where to look first. The central devil-figure is horrific enough, but why are his hands gripped in the teeth of flaming-eyed critters on either side? For that matter, why are those critters literally crawling with snakes and lizards of various sorts and sizes? There's something so cheery about this group that it's hard to be scared of any of them. A lot of the material in the museum is very funny, which goes to the heart of Mexico's relationship with death. It is a part of life and not something to be unduly feared, but instead appreciated and even mocked.

"OMG!!"  I dubbed this unnamed figure the "Oh, my god!" statue. The expression of astonishment, consternation, and dismay expressed by this skeletal figure can be understood immediately by anyone. While this is a modern creation, similar expressions can be found on clay figures from the Shaft Tomb Culture dating back to 300 BC.

The dead like to party too! Grinning skeletons crowd around an overflowing banquet table. Food, drink, and a festive atmosphere are a part of Mexico's traditional Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) fiesta each November 2. It's hard to be solemn or gloomy when all about you are enjoying themselves so much.

Music and dancing are also part of the scene. This pottery ensemble contains a number of skeleton couples dancing wildly. I could almost hear the mariachi music and the raucous laughter. The sculptor has captured the joyous motion of the dancers perfectly.

A day at the amusement park for the skeleton family's kids. The figures throw their hands out, just as living people do on an exciting amusement park ride. This child's toy functions by turning the crank at the side.

My attention was caught by this large, rather goofy mask. The tongue drapes down while the bugged-out eyes stare in wonder. Above the eyes, the toothy jaws of a grinning skull adorn the forehead.

The skeleton family that moulders together, stays together. This is another vignette where there's a lot going on. The central figure is the father, who clutches a scythe, always Death's hand-tool-of-choice. A baby skeleton hangs against his bare ribs, its arms around his neck. Meanwhile the father keeps a protective hand on the shoulder of a boy who seems about to run off to play. Accompanying the boy is a skeletal dog, looking equally ready for a romp. Another adult figure stands to the left of the father, also holding a scythe. This may or may not be the mother. The figure's head droops, perhaps drunkenly, while its arm is thrown over the father's shoulder. The hand clutches a bottle. The father's face is turned away. Is he expressing disapproval of his drunken companion, or is he hungrily looking at the bottle? You decide.

A Tree of Life inhabited by skeletal musicians. Perhaps these are the guys playing for the dancers seen previously. The instruments appear to be mainly brass and drums. Tree of Life sculptures began appearing shortly after the conquest. They were used to evangelise the indigenous people by telling biblical stories. By the 20th Century, Trees of Life were appearing that bore no relationship to religion. However, this one contains a figure at the bottom center who may be an angel wearing a hat decorated with a cross.


The skull as a medium of art

A ceramic skull is decorated with painted flowers and other designs. As you saw in my last posting, people have been using skulls as decorative mediums since at least the era of Teotihuacan (100 BC - 650 AD) and perhaps even earlier. This is a modern creation, but the elongated skull seems to hark back to the Maya practice of deliberately deforming the skulls of infants to mark them as members of the nobility.

Another flowered skull wears a toothy grin. This pottery skull has been beautifully painted. The sign indicates Patzcuaro as its place of origin. Patzcuaro is famous for its Day of the Dead fiestas.

A surreal example of skull decoration. The colours of this red, green and white pottery creation are those of the Mexican flag. This guy looks like he just won the lottery, or watched his mother-in-law fall headfirst into a mud puddle.

An actual skull, with its eyesight returned. The sculptor has achieved a startling result by taking a real skull and filling in the eye sockets with flesh-toned plaster and wide-open eyes. The eyelashes enhance the effect. I half expected the skull to say something cheery as I went by.

A hooded gremlin protectively hugs a large skull. He seems to be saying "it's mine, all mine!" As you can see from the above examples, humor forms a large part of the Mexican attitude toward death. It seems to me that this is a much healthier frame of mind than the north-of-the-border tendency to look upon it all as depressing.

This concludes Part 6b of my series on Aguascalientes. Next week we'll take a look at José Guadalupe Posada and his famous catrinas. I'll show a number of examples of his 19th and early 20th Century engravings that satirised Mexican society of the time. I hope you have enjoyed this posting. If so, feel free to comment either in the Comments section below or by emailing me directly.

If you leave a question in the Comments section, PLEASE leave your email address so I can respond.

Hasta luego, Jim

Aguascalientes Part 6a: The unique National Museum of Death

Beautifully wrought Aztec Eagle Warrior, depicted as a skeleton in the Museum of Death. Although created by a modern artist, ancient Eagle Warriors would have appreciated the image. The House of Eagles, their headquarters next to the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City), was adorned with life-sized skeleton figures. The Eagle Warriors were the most important among the elite warrior cults of the highly-militarized Aztec society. The warrior above wields the fearsome machuahuitl, the basic Aztec hand weapon. It was a long, narrow wooden paddle with grooves along each edge containing razor-sharp obsidian blades. Against any of the Aztecs' pre-hispanic opponents, the machuahuitl was deadly. Against Spanish steel armour, it was relatively ineffective. The statue is displayed in Aguascalientes' Museo Nacional del Muerte. This museum is unique in Mexico in its focus on the complex and interesting way that Mexican culture views death. The Mexican views are radically different from those generally held by folks from "north of the border".


Museo Nacional de la Muerte

The National Museum of Death occupies what was once a 17th Century Convent. The museum opened in 2007 and contains more than 2000 artifacts, ranging from pre-hispanic to modern. Aguascalientes has a long history associated with skulls and skeletons. It is the birthplace of José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913), creator of the famous catrinas, which have become wildly popular and are now found everywhere in Mexico. Catrinas are skeleton figures dressed in various costumes and portrayed in scenes of everyday life. The word comes from the Spanish term catrin, which refers to a dandy who imitates the lifestyles of the wealthy. In addition to Museo Nacional del Muerte's display of Posada's work, there is a separate museum in Aguascalientes devoted expressly to the work of this native son. Unfortunately we did not have time to visit the other museum.

The displays are contained in rooms surrounding this courtyard and its two-story atrium. Some of the walls behind the arched portales are covered with murals which I will show in a later posting. Posada became famous as a political cartoonist who satirically portrayed the affectations of Mexico's 19th Century nouveau riche. To do this, he drew skeletons wearing the latest European styles. Today, you can find catrinas shown as housewives, dentists, motorcyclists, golfers, and endless other  variations. I have even seen a catrina gynecologist examining a skeletal patient.


Death in the Pre-hispanic Era

A Colima Dog, found in a burial site of the Shaft Tomb Culture of Western Mexico. Ceramic dogs often appear in the burials of the Shaft Tomb Culture, especially in the area of Colima, Mexico. The culture gets its name from the unusual burial sites they created between 300 BC - 400 AD. These are found in a geographic area that follows a rough arc from Michoacan, up through Central Jalisco, and down to the coast of Nayarit. Shaft tombs were built with a vertical shaft as much as 20 m (65 ft) deep. At the bottom of the shaft, one or more bulb-like chambers were carved out of the soft volcanic soil. Bodies left in the chambers were sometimes arranged like the spokes of a wheel, with the feet at the hub. Large amounts of grave goods were buried with the bodies, and these are our primary source of information about the culture, since they typically did not build large above-ground structures such as pyramids or palaces. The grave goods often included several of the ceramic dogs, which are called Xoloitzcuintle. The nahuatl word is a reference to Xolotl, a dog-god who guards the dead and accompanies them on their journey through the nine levels of the underworld.

Teotihuacan skull inlaid with turquoise and obsidian. Teotihuacan was the greatest city of Mesoamerica, at least until the heyday of Tenochtitlan almost 1000 years later. The later cultures, including the Aztecs, held the ruins of Teotihuacan in awe, referring to them as the "Place where the gods were born." Between 100 BC and approximately 650 AD, Teotihuacan influence was pervasive in the area stretching between Guatemala and the Southwest United States. Turquoise, considered a sacred material, was mined in the Santa Fe, New Mexico area and traveled over long-distance trade routes to Teotihuacan. The ancient city was a multicultural capital, with neighbourhoods set aside for representatives of various groups, including the Zapotec kingdom of Monte Alban near present-day Oaxaca. The practice of decorating skulls with turquoise thus spread to the Zapotecs, and from them to the Mixtecs. After the Aztecs conquered the Mixtecs, they demanded skulls like this as tribute, and then adopted the practice themselves. While it is not clear what sacred purpose the Teotihuacans had in decorating skulls like this, the Aztecs used them in their worship of Tezcatlipoca, one of the most important gods in their pantheon. He represented (among many things) rulership, war, jaguars, the night sky, and hurricanes.

Tzompantli, or skull rack. These can be found widely in ancient sites, from Tollan, the capital of the Toltecs (north of Mexico City), to Chichen Itza, the great Maya city in northern Yucatan. Great copycats that they were, the Aztecs built a tzompantli next to the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan. Above you see a stone representation of the actual wooden racks on which hundreds of skulls were impaled on long horizontal poles. The tzompantlis in Tollan and Chichen Itza stand next to ball courts. The Mesoamerican Ball Game is strongly associated with human sacrifice. Aside from whatever religious significance the tzompantlis had, they were clearly intended to display power and achieve intimidation.

Mask of the Three Ages. This complex terracotta work by an Aztec artist portrays the three ages of life: youth, old age, and death/rebirth. Along with most Mesoamerican cultures, the Aztecs viewed the world--and life itself--as a succession of cycles. They believed that death is simply a transition point, a bit like Alice stepping through the Looking Glass. These ancient peoples closely observed nature and saw cyclical patterns in the seasons and in the movements of the heavens. They developed a complex system of mathematics in order to calibrate these changes accurately and thus predict the future. This had practical functions, such as determining the correct dates for planting and harvesting, as well as ritual and mystical purposes. The Maya developed the abstract concept of zero at a time when Europeans were still living in mud huts and wearing bear skins. Their long-count calendar system was so sophisticated that it could accurately specify a particular day millions of years in the past or future.

Zapotec funeral urn. This clay piece was unearthed in San Jose del Mogote, Oaxaca, and is from the late Pre-classic Era (400 BC - 100 AD). The elaborate head dress is typical of Zapotec sculpture. They left tombs in and around their mountaintop capital of Monte Alban that were filled with beautiful sculptures such as this, as well as exquisite jewelry. The Mixtecs, who later took over the area, often re-used the Zapotec tombs for their own burials. There is disagreement among archaeologists about whether the figures represent deities or actual rulers. There is also uncertainty about the function of the urns, since the Zapotecs didn't cremate their dead. Most have been found empty although one was full of bird bones.


Death and Cosmic Duality

Expressions of cosmic duality.  The Mexican culture is strongly influenced by the thousands of years in which sophisticated societies existed here prior to the Spanish arrival. One way in which this is expressed is the concept of duality. According to Ricardo Valenzuela Ruiz, "There is a ceaseless, cyclical oscillation of polar yet complementary opposites. Duality takes the form of an endless opposition of contrary yet mutually interdependent and mutually complementary polarities which divide, alternately dominate, and explain the diversity, movement, and momentary arrangement of the universe." The statues displayed above express this duality in a variety of ways, but primarily through the juxtaposition of life and death.

A partly skeletal baby with Olmec features. The forms in which duality appears are endless, but life and death are very common expressions. The concept of duality is of one of an integrated whole rather than two separate and independent halves. Life cannot exist except in its relation to eventual death. Similarly, the masculine and feminine are two parts of a whole and, when united in the act of sex, may actually create life in the process. The concept of wet cannot be understood without also understanding its duality of dry. The same is true with hot and cold, light and dark, etc. The halves of each duality are interdependent and complementary.

Duality is expressed here as a double-headed figure. Not only does the skull head share a body with the living one, but the living figure is female and the skull half is male, yet another duality. They share the same painted designs on their body, which expresses a unity.  The two halves of the dual figure jointly caress a serpent. Snakes have been very powerful symbols all the way back to the Olmecs, the earliest Mesoamerican civilisation. Snakes are often depicted with two heads in the ancient art, or with a human form emerging from the snake's mouth.

Half human skull, half jaguar, this sculpture is still another expression of duality. Like the snake, the jaguar is another powerful and very pervasive symbolic figure. It is the third largest of all big cats, behind only the African lion and the Indian tiger. The jaguar is a powerful and stealthy hunter that stalks its prey in the night. Its nocturnal behaviour was believed to give it a strong connection with the underworld. In fact, the jaguar was believed to pass freely between the worlds of life and death. It is no wonder that various Mesoamerican royalty and warrior cults wore jaguar masks and skins to emulate this extraordinary creature.

This completes Part 6a of my series on the Museo Nacional del Muerte. I will do two additional postings on the museum. In the next, we'll take a look at the humorous aspects of death, from the Mexican point of view, and see some startling examples of the skull as an object of art. The last museum post will show some of the work of José Guadalupe Posada, the creator of the famous skeleton figures called Catrinas.  I hope you will enjoy this series within my Aguascalientes series. If you would like to leave a comment, please do so either by emailing me directly or by leaving your remarks in the Comments section below.

If you leave a question in the Comments section, PLEASE leave your email address so I can respond.

Hasta luego, Jim

Aguascalientes Part 5: Templo San Antonio, an architectural jewel

Templo San Antonio is almost jewel-like in appearance. Begun by the Franciscans, the church later came under the control of the Augustinian Order. I considered combining this set of photos with those other sites but decided to let Templo San Antonio stand alone because it is so spectacular in architecture and in its interior decoration. When Carole and I stopped by here on our way back from the Railroad Museum, we were dazzled.  The church has been described as architecturally indefinable because it mixes the styles of Gothic, Neoclassical, Baroque, Moorish, and Russian. Another writer called it a perfect expression of the Porfirato, the 35-year dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz (1876-1911). That was Mexico's "Gilded Age," when lavish constructions like this could be financed out of the pockets of the wealthy elite.

The Temple's exterior

View of the Templo looking north along Calle General Ignacio Zaragoza. This area used to be full of orchards and was at the very edge of the city when it was originally laid out in the 17th Century. In the later years of the Porfirato, the city expanded and this site was chosen for the new church. The work on the Templo began October 22, 1895 and it received its official blessing in 1908, only two years before the start of the Revolution. The years of construction were the glory years of the Porfirato. In 2008, the church and the surrounding neighbourhood were refurbished for the 100th anniversary of its original opening. When we visited, the street was very attractive, with a border of potted plants and trees and a broad brick sidewalk.

Bronze statue of a man reading a newspaper. As we strolled along Calle Zaragoza, we encountered this fellow. Statues like this, seated on public benches, are popular in Mexico. It's all part of the country's quirky sense of humor. Often, I have seen a man sharing a bench with such a statue, apparently unaware that he was mimicking the activity portrayed by the artist. The style of wrought-iron furniture seen above is also universally popular. It can be found in the parks and plazas of the biggest cities and the smallest towns. Usually, the coat-of-arms of the municipality is displayed on the backrest of the bench.

Three towers decorate the roof of the Templo. The tallest tower is in the center and contains a clock which--surprisingly--shows the correct time. The exterior of the church was built with yellow cantera, which nicely picks up the glow of the morning sun. The stone was quarried in Cienega Grande, also located in the State of Aguascalientes. The electric lamps extending out from the onion-dome are among many which brilliantly illuminate the church at night. The small cupola on the very top contains a lantern. The only bells are those which hang in the central tower. They were imported from the United States. The Franciscans originally entrusted this project to the architect José Noriega, but he showed a lack of interest. They then turned to a young man named Refugio Reyes Rivas (1862-1945). This involved a considerable leap of faith because the new man was self-taught, held no formal degrees in architecture, and this was his first big project.

The huge dome was considered unsupportable and some authorities predicted disaster. The dome is reminiscent of St. Paul's Cathedral in London and is massive and immensely heavy. The engineer Camilo Pani predicted a collapse as soon as the scaffolding was removed. Young Refugio Reyes was confident in his calculations and methods of construction, He had good reason. Between the ages of 14 and 19 he had worked for the railroad in Zacatecas. The rail officials thought he was a promising young fellow and taught him how to calculate the strength of materials, a very important factor in building railroad bridges. It was also important for building churches, as it turned out. In the end, when the supports were removed, the building stood firm and the dome was unscathed. Lining the railing below the dome you can see a series of decorative stone urns. My architectural expert, Russel Versaci, tells me that these are called finials.


The Interier of the Templo

While the exterior is dramatic, the interior is truly spectacular. It seems that every inch of available space is covered with paintings, carvings, or other decorative arts. There is a sense of lushness here that definitely recalls the Gilded Age. Lining the walls on both sides of the nave are a series of large portraits of San Antonio (St. Anthony) painted by Candelario Rivas, one of Mexico's great religious muralists. They show San Antonio performing various of his many miracles. Each painting is contained within a circular frame, itself highly decorated.

San Antonio and the Miracle of the Mule. St. Anthony of Padua (1195 AD-1231 AD) was known as the Saint of Miracles because he is said to have performed so many. He was particularly compassionate toward heretics and greatly desired to convert them. The story goes that one heretic set him a test, saying he would convert if St. Anthony could get the man's mule to bow before the Eucharist. The heretic tried to rig the test, however, by starving the mule for three days and then tempting it with a bucket of food to distract it from the saint. The mule ignored the food and went to bow before St. Anthony who is shown holding the sacrament. The frame of the painting contains  leafy floral decorations and, at the top, a small face peers out. This is typical of the Baroque style.

San Antonio and the Christ Child behind the altar. The tall columns surrounding San Antonio are topped by Corinthian capitals and show a definite Neoclassical style. Anthony of Padua was born Fernando Martins de Bulhóes  in Lisbon, Portugal. His family was wealthy and sent him to study in the Cathedral school. That led to further studies with the Augustinians. However, Anthony found himself attracted to the simple life and evangelism of the Franciscans, an Order that had only just been established. He joined them and devoted himself to study and reflection. After he distinguished himself through his preaching, Anthony came to the attention of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order. Francis assigned him the job of teaching promising new friars. His wonderful voice and deep understanding of the scriptures led to many speaking assignments over his brief life. After he died at 35, his tongue was preserved as a relic to commemorate his preaching gifts.

Above the altar is a stained glass window depicting the Crucifixion. Jesus is surrounded by a sunburst. Gathered about him are legions of angels and saints painted in postures of adoration. The cornices around the altar area are another example of Neoclassicism. During the first year of the Templo's construction, a funding crisis occurred. Into the breach stepped Antonio Morfin Vargas, a landowner and industrialist. His factories produced tobacco and cigarettes and he managed the profitable Hacienda La Cantera. All this made Morfin Vargas a very wealthy man. He picked up the $200,000 peso cost of the project, a very considerable sum in those days. A pious man, he felt his financing of Templo San Antonio was a way to give thanks for his good fortune. And, of course, he would have seen it as an excellent way to cement his place in Aguascalientes' society.

The interior of the dome shows the same intense level of decoration. The huge chandelier hanging from the dome seems a bit dwarfed by its surroundings. The Templo was officially blessed in a ceremony held December 8, 1908. During the ceremony, an odd and uncomfortable situation suddenly arose. The pews were packed with politicians, including the current and several former governors, the mayor of Aguascalientes and several members of the national legislature. All of them were members of the ruling Liberal Party. More than thirty years before, Benito Juarez and the Liberals had stripped the Mexican Church of much of its lands. This deeply angered Catholic officials who, at the time, controlled as much as half of the arable land in the nation. That same Party still ruled the nation under Porfirio Diaz. Although the Juarez era's anti-clericalism had been dropped, the lands had not been returned. Some in the Church felt they still had a rather large bone to pick with the Liberals. The politicians trapped in the pews cringed as the priest lashed out at Juarez and his Party for seizing those lucrative Church properties. Everyone pretended not to hear, but there must have been a lot of squirming in those seats.

Not only the walls, but the ceiling of the nave are covered by paintings and ornamentation. Light is provided by windows above the cornices and in back of the organ as well as from the large, multi-level chandeliers suspended from above. After the Blessing Ceremony, the Templo was celebrated in the press as a great achievement. Morfin Vargas was extolled for his role in bankrolling it. The unschooled Refugio Reyes was immediately established as a major figure for Aguascalientes' architectural future. However, even before the completion of Templo San Antonio, Refugio Reyes did not lack for work. As he was supervising work at the Templo, Reyes was also constructing another building for the Franciscans. Additionally, in 1902 he began work on Aguascalientes' Church of the Immaculate Conception. It was a work that broke with Catholic architectural tradition by not using a design where one nave crossed another with a dome in the center of the cross. Reyes seems to have been something of an iconoclast.

Detail from the ceiling of the nave.  Other work by Refugio Reyes includes the National Bank of Aguascalientes in 1905, and the Bank of Zacatecas in 1906. Also in 1906, he completed the towers of Aguascalientes' Sanctuary of Guadalupe and took steps to reinforce the Sanctuary, which had threatened to tip over on its side. In 1910 he built the Hotel Paris which is now the site of Aguascalientes' State Congress. These are only a few among the long list of the works through which this self-taught master left his mark upon Aguascalientes.

The loft in the rear of the nave contains the pipe organ. The ceiling above the organ is also packed with floral designs and religious scenes. The arches, except for the crosses contained in the series of small squares, show a Moorish influence. We left the Templo San Antonio somewhat overwhelmed by the experience. Anyone visiting Aguascalientes should make it a point to visit this remarkable church, created by an even more remarkable man.

This completes Part 5 of my Aguascalientes series. I hope you have enjoyed visiting this jewel of a church. If you would like to leave a comment, please use the Comments section below or send me an email. If you see "no comments" below, it just means no one before you has commented. Click on that and it will take you to the Comments page.

If you leave a question in the Comments section, PLEASE leave your email so I can respond.

Hasta luego, Jim

Aguascalientes Part 4: The Railroad Museum

An early 20th Century steam engine is displayed at Aguascaliente's Railroad Museum. The engine's nickname was "La Burrita" (the Little Burro). One of the many pleasant surprises during our short stay at Aguascalientes was a morning stroll from the Plaza de la Patria up Calle Francisco Madero to the Railroad Museum. Carole, who is not especially enamoured of mechanical things, was a bit dubious but willing to give it a go. The museum turned out to be a fascinating slice of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. It will surely delight railroad aficionados, but there is plenty here to interest even the casual visitor. The museum is located at Parque Tres Centurias, about 10 blocks east of Plaza de la Patria. There was no charge when we visited.  For a Google map showing how to get there, click here.

Bronze statue of Cornelio Cerecero Terán, El Mechanista Elegante (The Elegant Engineer).  He was the last engineer who operated La Burrita which, in turn, was the railroad's last engine powered by steam. La Burrita traveled the rails until 1964 and was much in demand because of her power and reliability. Corneilio Cerecero Terán was famous not only because of his association with La Burrita, but because he was considered exceedingly handsome and well dressed, hence the nickname El Elegante. He is also remembered as a poet. I find it charmingly typical of Mexico that a rough-and-ready railroad engineer would write poetry in his spare time. In the great days of steam railroads, engineers were considered the elite of the working class. They were well-paid and they operated the largest and most complicated machinery of the time, outside of steam ships. The industry itself had transformed Mexico (and a good deal of the rest of the world) and was vital for the transportation of goods and people. Just as a youngster of today might dream of becoming a jet pilot or astronaut, young boys of that day dreamed of riding the rails at the helm of a great steam engine like La Burrita.

A line of boxcars stands beside the old platform. Some of the cars have been transformed into offices for the museum staff. This whole area used to be Aguascalientes' railroad station. The rail sidings, engines and various kinds of cars, baggage buildings, and the passenger station are now all part of the museum. In 1880, President Porfirio Diaz authorised the Bostonian Company to begin construction of a railroad between Mexico City and Ciudad Juarez. The first rails were laid in September 1880 and the line was finished in March of 1882. The first station in the State of Aguascalientes was established at the Hacienda Chicalote, about 14 km (8.7 mi) outside the City of Aguascalientes. The second station was built about 20 m (65.6 ft) from the museum's Passenger Station and was simply a shack built of laminated pasteboard. The land on which it was constructed was, at the time, part of Hacienda Ojocaliente. The old hacienda has since been swallowed up by the city.

The plush traveling car owned by the dictator Porfirio Díaz stands beside the baggage building. Rich and powerful people of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries traveled in cars like this. Owning such a car would be the equivalent to owning a private jet today. They were divided into sumptuous lounges, offices, and bedrooms so that their occupants could travel in the style they felt they deserved. For some reason the Diaz car was not open the day we visited, so I had to content myself with peeking in the windows. The glass reflections prevented any good photos of the interior.

Massive couplings connect one car with another. Looking at this, I recalled the movie "Unstoppable" with Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. During the film, the Chris Pine character accidentally gets his foot caught in just such a coupling and barely manages to avoid being run over by the train.  I enjoy trying to figure out how things work, so I puttered around examining the cars while Carole drifted through the rest of the area. In addition to the Railroad Museum, the Parque Tres Centurias contains large, shady gardens full of flowers and fountains. It is called the Three Centuries Park because elements of it reflect the 19th, 20th, and 21st Centuries.

A colorful caboose sits on a siding. These cars were for the crew and were attached at the end of a train. This one contained sleeping bunks, a pot-belly stove, cupboards for food, and space for off-duty crew to relax.

A hand car stands ready to go with the push of a lever. These little human-powered cars were used by track repair crews and other workers to cover short distances. Pushing down on the seesaw-like lever powers the car. One man could operate the car, but it would be much easier with two men, alternately pushing up and down on either end of the lever. A car just like this played a central role in the 1959 Gary Cooper movie "They Came to Cordura."

A statue of Julio Cerecero Terán stands holding a signal lantern while throwing a rail switch. Julio was El Elegante's brother and served as a member of his crew. A typical steam train had a crew of four, not including people like dining car staff, porters, and concessionaires. In addition to the engineer, they included the fireman who was responsible for operating the boiler that produced the steam. The conductor was in overall charge of the train and, in addition, handled passengers. The brakeman released the handbrakes on the cars, assisted the other crew and the passengers, and monitored the engine and cars. It appears from this statue that Julio may have been a brakeman.


La Burrita

La Burrita and El Mechanista Elegante stand frozen in time. Steam train engines were the technological marvels of their time. In the 21st Century, it is hard to comprehend a machine like this. Today everything seems to be driven by computers of various sizes and controlled by wireless signals sent through the ether, The steam engine above is completely mechanical and is driven by steam, a two hundred-year-old technology. While the stations would have been connected by telegraph, and eventually telephones, there was nothing electronic about this great beast of a machine. It represents the peak and, ironically, the endpoint of steam train technology.

Plaque fastened to the side of La Burrita's boiler.  She was manufactured in Schenectady, NY in December 1937 by the American Locomotive Company. There were only 12 like her in all of Mexico. Her main route was between Aguascalientes and Irapuato to the south.

The "business end" of the locomotive contains a bell and a cowcatcher.  Stencilled on the front, above the cowcatcher, are the words Seguridad Ante Todo (Safety Before All). The engine stands at least 4 meters (12+ ft) tall and everything about it seems massive. The number on the circular plate of the boiler is 2708 and it became a famous as La Burrita's designation. The brass bell mounted on the top of the boiler assisted, along with the whistle, in signalling and as a warning device.  The protruding cowcatcher at the bottom got its name as a device for protecting the front of the train from cattle that may have wandered onto the tracks, as well as other obstructions.

A cowcatcher, as used during the Revolution. This iconic photo from the Revolution shows four soldiers wearing broad sombreros. They are sitting on the cowcatcher, rifles at the ready. Next to them stands a mechanista, one of Cerecero Terán's predecessors. While this is a posed photograph, it is likely that in some cases soldiers rode in just this position to guard against obstructions or sabotage of the tracks. The soldiers were identified in the photo as followers of General Emiliano Zapata, known as Zapatistas. They carry a variety of weapons. The German Mauser on the left was probably captured from the Federal Army which used them extensively. The Winchester (far right ) was very common early in the war and may have been brought from home when the soldier signed up. Another revolutionary, General Pancho Villa, pioneered the large scale use of the Mexican train system to move troops. Since Aguascalientes was the hub of the national rail network in north-central Mexico, it became a key transit point--and strategic target--for various armies.

La Burrita's huge wheels drove her along the tracks. She was classified as a Hudson 4-6-4. This designation refers to the arrangement and size of the wheels. In front are two axels with 4 small wheels. They are followed by three more axels, seen above, with six big wheels. The big wheels are are attached to the levers which actually drive the train. Behind the big wheels are two more axels with four small wheels. Thus, 4-6-4. The system for designating trains like this was developed by Fredrick Methvan Whyte in the early 20th Century. The 4-6-4 arrangement was introduced in 1911 and continued to be manufactured until the 1940s. A engine using the 4-6-4 arrangement held the world speed record for steam trains in 1936, achieving a blazing 124.5 mph.

A brass train whistle juts forward from the top of the boiler. The whistle is attached to the steam dome, which provides dry steam to the cylinders for locomotion. Whistles were developed very early in steam train history as safety and signalling devices. In 1832, a stationmaster in England suggested some form of audible device after a train collided with a cart crossing the tracks. A local musical instrument maker was commissioned to construct what became known as a "steam trumpet." The whistles were blown as a warning when approaching crossings, and to provide various messages to railroad workers, a little like morse code. The size and construction of various whistles affected their sound, leading to nicknames such as "banshee" and "hooter." They were originally operated by pull cords or levers and could emit different sounds according to the style of the person operating them. Particular engineers could be identified by the way they blew their whistles. Sadly, all that originality disappeared when electronic methods of operation were introduced.

The cab of the engine was the point from which the train was controlled. The engineer and the fireman were stationed here throughout the journey. Early engines were followed by an open car full of wood and later coal. This fuel would be shovelled by the fireman into the mouth of the blazing compartment that heated the water and produced the steam. Later steam engines were fired by fuel oil that was piped into the fire compartment. No doubt the firemen were greatly relieved to avoid all that shovelling. Under the 2708 designation, you can see the notation "211 tons," the weight of the engine.


The Station

The Old Warehouse was where baggage and cargo were assembled for loading. Notice the old push-style baggage carts lined up next to the loading dock. This was one of the very first buildings of Aguascalientes to be built with cement. Although the city had been a way-station for travellers and silver caravans since the 16th Century, railroads put Aguascalientes on the map as never before. It was a natural hub for lines going north to Juarez (and from there into the US), south to Mexico City, east to the ports of Vera Cruz and Tampico on the Gulf, and west to Durango and the Pacific coast ports. Even today, the city enjoys a competitive advantage from its central position, although rail transport doesn't enjoy the monopoly it did in the face of competition from air transport and long-distance trucking.

Covered baggage carts line the edge of the Parque Tres Centurias' gardens. This version is covered against the weather and can be sealed against thieves. Apparently they were meant for baggage that needed to be held for later shipment. Interestingly, after reviewing scores of Google images of old railway carts, I could find none that resembled these.

This Passenger Station was begun in 1910 and finished in 1911. Built in California colonial style, it was the work of G. M. Buzzo, an Italian and cost 130 thousand pesos at the time. The structure was typical of railroad architecture of that era in that it was constructed using prefabricated materials. Notice the decorative designs just under the second story cornice. The front of the station is 52 m (170 ft) long, while the platform is 182 m (597 ft). The building has been beautifully restored, considering its age and the amount of traffic it saw.

The lobby of the Passenger Station contains comfortable benches and an elegant stairway. Displayed around the lobby are old photos and other objects from the glory days, including a collection of steam whistles of various kinds. The offices of the railroad officials were on the second floor. The overall impression is of spaciousness and a functional elegance.

The blackboard sign above announces Arrivals and Departures of Trains. Listed are the numbers of the trains and their routes. On the right, the times of arrivals (llega) and departures (sale) would have been chalked in after "H" for hora (hour). On April 18, 1915, General Pancho Villa arrived at the station with his army, following his defeat by General Álvaro Obregon at the Battle of Celaya. Villa had been badly beaten and was in a hurry to get back to his home base near Chihuahua. However, the army trains got tangled with the civilian ones. Villa was infuriated and summoned Central District Railway Superintendent Catarino Arreola Rochin. The General demanded that the Superintendent straighten out the mess within 24 hours or face the consequences. Maybe it just couldn't be done in that time, or perhaps the Superintendent was sympathetic to Villa's enemies. In any case, it wasn't done. Arreola Rochin was summoned once again before Villa and summarily executed by firing squad. One suspects that, given this incentive, the tangle was rapidly sorted out.

A mural in the Passenger Station shows railroad workers labouring under a Masonic Eye. The triangle with an eye and a half-circle sunburst under it is known as the Masonic Eye, but the symbolism goes back to the Middle Ages. The Masonic Lodges played an important political role in 19th Century Mexico, so it is not surprising that their symbol shows up here. Generally this painting can be interpreted to mean that the Eye of Providence (or of God) watches over the work of the railroad. The people in the painting are engaged in a variety of tasks. They carry loads, operate machinery, and study blueprints. This symbolises the fact that the railroad was a group project that required the skills of many and was not the product of any one person, however high up the scale he may have been.

Statue of a Mexican hero. Jesús Garcia Corona (1883-1907) was a brakeman on the rail line between the mining town of Nacozari, Sonora and Douglas, Arizona.  On November 7, 1907 he was resting at the Nacozari stop when he noticed that some hay piled on the roof of a rail car had been ignited by sparks from the engine's smokestack. This was alarming enough, but Garcia knew that the car was loaded with dynamite. Without a second thought, he leaped into the engine cab and put the train into reverse. He made it six miles out of town before the dynamite exploded. It destroyed the train and killed Garcia but the town and its population were saved. To honour his sacrifice, the town was renamed Nacozari de Garcia, the American Red Cross posthumously gave him the Hero of Humanity award, and a famous song was written about him.  R.I.P. Jesús.

This completes Part 4 of my Aguascalientes series. Even if you aren't a railroad buff, I hope you enjoyed the photos and stories above. If you have any comments, please either leave them in the Comments section below, or email me directly. If it says "no comments" below, it means that no one has yet commented. Just click on that and it will open the Comments page.

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Hasta luego, Jim