Five rooms in an imposing downtown Guadalajara edifice that once housed revolutionary troops opened in its latest reincarnation this week as the Museo de Arqueologia de Occidente (Western Mexican Museum of Archaeology).
“Los Rostros de la Divinidad” (Faces of Divinity) and “Los Mosaicos Mayas de Piedra” Verde) (The Mayan Jade Mosaics) feature 131 pieces from the classical Mayan period that will remain on display throughout the Pan American Games and through December.
The rooms open to the public contain masks, sculptures, pots, plates and obsidian mirrors.
The museum building dates back to 1733 and was occupied by an order of Augustine nuns until 1860. It served as a seminary until 1898 when it was completely remodeled in an classic Italian style. Taken over by General Alvaro Obregon and his troops during the Mexican Revolution, it served as the HQ for the Mexican Army’s five-state Military Region V until 2009, when it was purchased by the Jalisco state government for just over 171 million pesos.
Located in front of Preparatoria Uno, the city’s oldest high school, in the historic center, the museum took four months to furnish at a cost of six million pesos.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Jalisco Governor Emilio Gonzalez and Fausto Genaro Lozano, the commander of Military Region V.
Gonzalez said the aim of opening the museum was “to have a space in which the people of Jalisco and its visitors can find and discover ourselves.”
The Museo de Arqueologia de Occidente is located on Zaragoza 224, between San Felipe and Reforma. The exhibition is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until December 4. Entrance is free.
Source: Guadalajara Reporter [September 30, 2011]