National Museum of Anthropology

The National Museum of Anthropology is Latin America’s largest museum and one of the world’s foremost examples of museography. Its construction was led by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, who worked with architects, muralists, sculptors, archeologists, ethnographers, and anthropologists to create one of the most beautiful museums integrating the elements that inspired its founding: to preserve and exhibit Mexico’s archeological and ethnographic collections. 

Its rectangular structure holds 22 exhibit halls plus outdoor areas, courtyards, and gardens that make up a complex filled with symbolism. There is the eagle and serpent relief by José Chávez Morado on the facade, the massive umbrella by the Chávez brothers, the bronze snail by Iker Larrauri, and the geometric snake created by Manuel Felguérez on the floor of the central courtyard, where a sculpture of Tláloc, the Mexica god of rain, also stands. Leonora Carrington, Rufino Tamayo, Raúl Anguiano, Miguel Covarrubias, and Jorge González Camarena created murals that adorn the museum. Archeological pieces are shown on the lower floor, focusing on regions in ancient Mexico and the central highlands. On the upper floor, there are ethnographic exhibits featuring the numerous indigenous groups that inhabit the country.