The Nativity Reinvented

On By Alfredo LanierIn Blogging, Uncategorized
New Takes on An Age-old story

There have been countless iterations of the story of the birth Jesus Christ since it occurred more than two thousand years ago, I suspect to account for the many logical loose ends in the narrative: An unmarried teenage girl named Mary becomes pregnant by the Holy Spirit and gives birth to none other than the Son of God. A lowly carpenter is cast as the father though it’s not clear they married. Some religious denominations insist Jesus was an only son while others speculate he might have had siblings. Three kings from somewhere in the East, guided by a star, show up and shower the baby with priceless gifts. Neighboring peasants come to worship the baby. Angels flutter above.

Since then, depictions of these events have taken flight further in the minds of artists. During a brief visit to Mexico City, expertly guided by our friend William, a city resident and diligent student of all things Mexico, particularly its capital, we got to visit the Iturbide Palace, a palace built in the eighteenth century and most recently converted into a gallery and showplace now owned by a Mexican bank. There we found a memorable exhibit of 367 nativity scenes, as imagined and executed by artisans from all over Mexico, using a variety of media. Following is a small sample.

Airborne nativity: A ceramic airplane in the shape of a fish, includes among other things, Joseph showing the baby Jesus to one of the three Kings who is sitting on one of the wings. At the base, one of the two women with their arms in the air could be Mary, but who knows?
A tender family scene of Joseph with his arm around Mary with Jesus on her lap.
The Holy Family riding a burro, with three angels fluttering above, along with a star presumably the one that guided the Three Kings to Bethlehem.
Bethlehem Mayhem: A crowd of worshippers fills the scene. Where are Mary, Joseph and Jesus? I spotted them in the church at the top.
An allegorical Nativity made of wax. One of the most amazing pieces in the exhibit.
I counted four kings plus Mary on the lower left-hand corner cradling the baby Jesus, and to her right stands Joseph wearing a hat.
An exquisite depiction of the Holy Family, I believe made of papier maché.
This intricate creation uses wood, paper and cloth inserts inside the windows.
At the two-story lobby entrance to the exhibit, visitors are greeted by a monumental Christmas tree made of dozens of tin figures.

The Palacio de Iturbide, in the historic center of Mexico City, is at Calle Francisco Madero 17, a pedestrian boulevard. The photo at the top of the this post is of Sanborns restaurant, a few steps from the palace.

20 thoughts on “The Nativity Reinvented”

      1. moving2sma's avatar moving2sma

        Thanks for the info…. I’ve never been. Timing isn’t good at all, but if anything could get me there, regardless, it would be this exhibit. Might William be available and willing to escort? If so, please share his contact info (you can email me privately if you/he prefer). And if I’m lucky…. I might even manage a peek at Kim’s casa!

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      2. moving2sma's avatar moving2sma

        Ah…reading again I see William is a friend, not a tour guide. Apologies. I was so intent on the nativities I missed that the first time, and was thinking he was someone you hired to take you around town.

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  3. Hola Al!

    I’ve been wondering how you guys are doing. I guess if you’re still traveling, things must be pretty good.

    Your photos are great! I’ll have to make it over there before the display is over. Diego and I went to the Soumaya (almost wrote “Sumesa,” hehe) on Sunday. They have a great exhibition of computer-aided remakes of famous Michaelangelo sculptures. It was quite incredible.

    Cheers,

    Kim G
    Roma Sur, CDMX
    Where I don’t get out nearly enough.

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    1. The Nativity show is over on February 16. We should give Soumaya another try. We’re not mavens of great art, but the time we visited we thought the collection was a mish-mash that needed some professional guidance. CDMX is amazing but we tried to cram too much in a four-day weekend: Two classical music concerts at UNAM and sitting through Malinche. Great production and special effects, great dancers and singers too, but at three hours it was a half-hour too long and the decibel level was ear-splitting.

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      1. Soumaya is the personal collection of Carlos Slim, so it’s eclectic. We didn’t make it to the top 2 floors, but if you like ancient coins, they did once have a nice collection. Cheers!

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    1. We were in CDMX for only four days and tried to do too much. Next time, a longer stay or fewer things on the plate. I take it you’re back from your travels through East Asia, Mongolia, Jakarta and wherever.

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      1. As a matter of planning, I always try to set out to do too little on trips away. There will always be other stuff that comes along.

        But yes, long back from Indonesia. Currently in the departure lounge for a short solo trip to Latvia and Lithuania, which completes my map of the Baltics. Get those ticked off my list before Putin gets them ticked off of his…

        Then on to Thailand and Laos next month….

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    2. William's avatar William

      Gary, although the Casa de los Azulejos remains a beautiful place, sadly, all of the Sanborns chain has gone downhill as far as food and service. Al, Stew and I ate there during their visit simply because it was close to where we were. The food was OK, but the service left much to be desired.

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      1. That’s a shame. Although not a surprise, I suppose. I’d read that Sanborns are struggling. But I love that the shops still try to flog telescopes, pipes and fountain pens.

        And frankly, corporate casual dining seems to have become a total disaster worldwide. Pretty much all such chains in the UK are struggling to survive, saddled with mountains of debt, on their third bankruptcy since Covid and serving up increasingly inedible fare for forever rocketing prices. We’ve largely given up on this sort of eat out experience.

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  5. William's avatar William

    The exhibition of Nativity scenes is always a highly anticipated annual event at the Palace of Iturbide. Glad that you were here to see it, and that I was able to show you around the city a bit.

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    1. Thank you again for your tour guide services, it helped us break through the fear we had of Mexico City and not knowing where to go or what to do. In retrospect, though, we did try to cram too many things in a four-day weekend. Thanks again for the hospitality and give Alex an abrazo from us.

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