LOOKING AT MEXICO CITY: FLYING HORSES

Although I've been to the Palacio de Bellas Artes hundreds of times over the past 17 years, it wasn't until recently that I actually paid attention to the magnificent bronze sculptures that adorn its front plaza. It pays to arrive early.

The four statues are known as 'Los Pegasos'. Each represents two human figures, male and female (the spirits of drama and music) being carried aloft to Mount Parnassus by Pegasus, the flying horse of Greek mythology. 

'Los Pegasos' are the work of Catalan sculptor Agustín Querol. Finished in 1912, the sculptures were intended to be placed inside the theater, but I guess they were found too distracting, and ended up outside.

These bronzes express an exalted sense of exuberance that is hard to resist. Next time you're at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, take a ride.

WHERE THE TOYS ARE

In a corner of Colonia Doctores, far from any route the average tourist would travel, is the 

Museo de Juguete Antiguo Mexico. This quirky museum, a rambling series of rooms in a crumbling 1960's apartment building, is filled with toys, games, dolls, memorabilia, circuses, cars, boats, planes, trains, and space ships--for starters. The 40,000-plus objects on display are only a fraction of a massive collection belonging to the Shimizu family, whose ancestors came to Mexico from Japan several generations ago. 

"I used to have one of those!" my friend Luisa said, time after time, as we wandered through this hallucinogenic toyland. The owners have a vision that is broader than simply putting a bunch of interesting objects on display. A visit to the museum is an anthropological survey of 20th-century culture seen through a lens of common objects, an outlook it shares with the Museo del Objeto del Objeto in Colonia Roma, and the marvelous new book Miscelánea.

The museum is as much about toys as the delights of obsessive collecting. Objects are creatively displayed and mixed up, as though you had entered the attic of some eccentric grandma. So even if you don't think you have any interest in old toys, you're bound to enjoy a visit to this musem.

The Museo del Juguete Antiguo Mexicano

Dr. Olvera #15, Colonia Doctores (near Eje Central)

Monday to Friday 9-6

Saturday 9-4

Sunday 10-4

http://museodeljuguete.mx