Museo Mural de Diego Rivera (Diego Rivera Mural Museum), Mexico City (must see)

The Diego Rivera Mural Museum (Museo Mural Diego Rivera) stands as a distinctive venue created with a singular purpose—to showcase Diego Rivera's magnificent mural titled "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central" (Sueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central).

Originally, this remarkable mural resided in the nearby Hotel del Prado. However, the devastating earthquake that struck the city in 1985 severely damaged the hotel, leading to the crucial decision to preserve and relocate the artwork to a safer location.

The delicate transportation of the mural necessitated cutting the wall on which it was painted, and a specially designed metal structure was employed to bear its immense 15-ton weight. This supporting structure remains in place to guard against any future earthquakes. Subsequently, the museum building was constructed around the mural, and in 1988, it was inaugurated in its present location near Alameda Park.

The mural's history traces back to 1946 when the architect Carlos Obregón Santacilia commissioned Diego Rivera to paint it for the Versailles dining room of Hotel del Prado. Rivera's chosen subject for the mural was Alameda Central Park, which lay just across the street.

Diego enthusiastically embraced the task and created a breathtaking fresco that narrated the history of Alameda Park, intertwined with that of Mexico as a whole, spanning from the era of Spanish colonization to the assassination of the democratically elected president, Francisco Madero, and the subsequent years of civil unrest.

This monumental painting measures an impressive 4.7 x 15.6 meters and features over 150 significant figures who have shaped the nation's history. Notable personalities such as Hernán Cortés, Benito Juárez, Maximiliano de Habsburgo, Francisco I Madero, Porfirio Díaz, and others find their place within the mural. Additionally, common folk like street vendors and revolutionaries, as well as Rivera's wives (including Frida Kahlo) and some of his daughters, are depicted.

Describing the mural, Rivera himself asserted that it encapsulates the memories of his life, encompassing his childhood and youth, spanning from 1895 to 1910. "All the characters are dreaming, some asleep on the benches and others walking and talking," he remarked.