Xalapa
Artworks inspired by this location:
One thing that sets Xalapa apart from other Mexican cities is that it is clean. In general the Mexican government provides its citizens with a lot of public parks, monuments and public artworks, but usually they don't do a very good job of taking care of them. Not so in Xalapa. The parks in this city are beautiful. Parque Juarez is the main park in the center of town. That's where a lot of the public events take place. The college students are often holding a rock concert, political rally, or educational fair. Street vendors are ever-present, hawking balloons, ice cream, yogurt, cake, tamales, you name it. Underneath the park is an art center called the Agora, where they have art exhibitions and film festivals. Another great park is called Cerro Macuiltépetl. It is an extinct volcano that rises up over the center of town. The hill is heavily forested with semitropical vegetation, and features miles of paths. You can even hike down into the center of the volcano's crater (which is now basically a jungle) or climb to the top of the hill for a panoramic view of the city. Parque de los Tecajetes is another great park, beautifully landscaped with flowering plants and fountains (one of which is pictured in the painting above). Paseo de los Lagos is yet another beautiful area of manmade lakes surrounded by flowering trees. The main tourist attraction in Xalapa is the Museum of Anthropology, considered second only to the one in Mexico city. It has a fantastic display of sculptural artifacts from pre-Colombian civilizations, the highlight of which are the enormous stone Olmec heads (one of which is pictured on the right). Xalapa is not a popular destination for American tourists, in fact few have probably heard of it. Due to its position among the surrounding mountains, its climate is cooler and cloudier than most of Mexico, and there are no beaches to be found. That's just fine by me. See below for information on the nearby town of Xico.
Grounds of the Museum of Anthropology
Xalapa City Hall is bright orange.
On Palm Sunday, the farmers from the area gather on the steps of the cathedral. They display a collection of objects that they have constructed out of woven palm fronds (crucifixes, for example). You buy one of these, take it into the church to be blessed by the priest, then hang it in your home for good fortune.
A typical Xalapeño street
View of the city from above
Balloon vendors in the Parque Juarez
XicoXico is a small town about 25 km south of Xalapa. You can take the bus there. Nearby are the Cascadas de Texolo, a pair of waterfalls. To get to them you have to hike about two miles through rolling hills of banana and coffee plantations. The area around the Cascadas is gorgeous and wild, like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. It's not quite rain forest, but certainly jungly by comparison to American forests. This is a great place for birdwathcing also. I saw several interesting species, including White-naped Swifts and Chestnut-crowned Oropendolas.
Cathedral in Xico
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Xalapa,
also spelled Jalapa (as in Jalapeño), is one of my favorite cities
in Mexico. It is the capital of Veracruz, and also home to the state
university of Veracruz. It is very much a university town, with a young
population, an active arts scene, and a history of being a center of
liberal thought. The city has a population of about 400,000 people,
but feels very much like a small town due to the winding Euro-esque
streets lined with small, brightly-colored buildings. There is an art
gallery on every block, a craft shop on every corner, and you are always
within earshot of live music coming from a bar or club. There are a
lot of good eateries in Xalapa, ranging from the hip and trendy cafes
where the beautiful people hang out, to the cozy taquerías for
the average joe.
