To most Indians South America is a mysterious and far-away continent,withnohope ofvisitingit in their life time, notwithstanding the fact that they are enthralled by Brazilian football; mesmerized by poems of Pablo Neruda and the magical writings ofgreat writers like Gabriel García Márquez, Jorge Luis Borges, Octavio Paz (served as Ambassador to India for 06 years in the 1960s) and Mario Llosa.
I joined the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), way back in 1980, as a professional trainee. Two of my colleagues were Latin Americans- the stately Carolina with pleasing manners, the daughter of the Colombian President at that time, and, the short and puny Ramirez from Peru, who had a red face andtawny eyes,and with a long name---Jos`e Becerra Ramire`z. Carolina seldom had interactions with us andJos`e could speak only Spanish. Our communications with him were limited to exchange of a few words. But his eyes used to light up when he spoke about his little daughter and his face swelled up with pride and love while referring to his wife, back at home. Perhaps, it was this way that the ancients communicated with each other, before the invention of language!
Towards the end of our training, FAO gave us the choice of visitingany of the developing countries in the world, to acquaint ourselves with agricultural or rural development projects. I had no hesitation in choosing Latin America----Mexico and Honduras to be precise. Perhaps, the apprehension that, I, on my own, might not be able to visit any countryin Latin America in future, prompted me to arrive at that decision. I had always dreamed of visiting CYMMIT in Mexico, the nerve centre of the Green revolution. Perhaps, my two Latin American colleagues also unknowingly influenced the choice. Soon I made my travel plans to Mexico and Honduras.
The flight from Rome to Mexico via Panama was indeed very long and exhausting. When we reached Mexico, I was woken up by the standing ovation the passengers gave to the pilot and crew of the flight for the safe travel. I safely reached the CIMMIT campus, which was away from Mexican City.
CIMMYT
Established in 1971 the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (Spanish acronym CIMMYT for Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo) is a non-profit research-for-development organization that contributes to global food security,by developing improved varieties of wheat and maize and through innovative agricultural practices and thereby, improving livelihoods of small farmers around the world.Though its headquarters are in Mexico, the centre operates through 12 regional offices, as well as number of experimental stations.
I was treated as a guest by CIMMIT. It was a delight to stay in their quaint guest house, with clean sunlit rooms. The next two to three days, I spent time moving around the campus to observe its vast germ plasm collection of wheat and maize(approximately 28,000 unique varieties of maize and 140,000 varieties of wheat), discussing with experts the latest agricultural and breeding practices. CIMMIT was in the forefront, leading the Green revolution that dramatically changed the global food production and food security scenario. As a result, India changed its status from a food-deficit country to one of self-sufficiency.
Green revolution was later criticized for the excessive use of fertilizers and insecticides, depleting the productivity of the soil, shooting up investments and the cost of agricultural operations benefitting only large and rich farmers, hitting the incomes of small farmers who constituted the majority. However, it remains a fact that it did play an important role in reducing chronic hunger across the world.
Meeting with BorlaugIt was a delight to have breakfast in the sunny dining hall in CIMMIT. A wide array of cut fruits, including water melons, cantaloupes, pineapple, bananas and several exotic fruits were displayed on the breakfast counters.
It was while enjoying my breakfast that I met Junagad from India and his colleague Conchita who were working in CIMMIT. They introduced me to the great personality- Dr.Norman Ernst Borlaug, Nobel laureate and father of the Green revolution. We shared the same table.He spoke about his work in developing dwarf varieties of wheat and later on, posed for a photograph with us. Meeting him was a highly rewarding experience.
ChapingoThat evening Junagad and Conchita offered to drive me around. They showed me many interesting sites around. On our way back, we stopped in front of what looked like a chapel.It was dusk and by that time darkness had started descending all around.
To our disappointment the chapel door was closed. Conchita rushed to the back of the building. A few minutes later the heavy doors were thrown open and the caretaker switched on the lights. My eyes took some time to adjust to the breath-taking sight that was revealed before me. Painted on the ceiling and side walls of the chapel were murals in vividcolours, depicting different facets of the fertile Earth (Tierra Fecunda) andthe revolutionary struggles of Mexico's peasant and industrialworking classes.Earlier, I had the good fortune to see the world-famous sixteenth century paintings by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapelin St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican. Whereas those paintings looked divine and sublime, these paintingswerecharmingly raw and earthy.
Conchita explained to me that we were in the chapel at the National School of Agriculture (Chapingo Autonomous University of Agriculture) at Chapingo, near Texcoco, and that the murals were the handy-work of Diego Riviera,the most influential Mexican artist of the 20th century. Those fresco-murals were painted by Diego Riviera between 1923 and 1927.
Diego RivieraBorn in 1886 in Mexico, Diego was trained as a fine artist and he produced many remarkable paintings, several in the cubist style made famous by Pablo Picasso.
He was a dedicated Marxist who believed that all art ought to be life-based, and should have public access. He sought to make art that reflected the lives of the Mexican people.
In 1921, through a government program, he started a series of murals in public buildings.His murals were commissioned by the Ford Motor Company, Rockefeller Center in New York and several other prestigious organizations. Diego immortalized mural painting by creating a world of his own.
Junagad and Conchita invited me for dinner. I had a taste of Totillas and other Mexican dishes. Being hot and spicy, those dishes reminded me of the food,back home.
In Mexico CityAfter my memorable visit to CIMMIT, I wanted to visit some of the important land marks in Mexico City. I moved to a hotel in the Mexican City. My stay there was very comfortable. The most impressive thing I noticed about was its extreme cleanliness. The cleaning woman took nearly 2-3 hours to clean a single room!
Moving around Mexico was not very difficult, as petrol was very cheap at that time.A Japanese couple staying in the same hotel agreed to share a taxi with me. I, therefore, could travel in comfort and safety.
The National Museum of Anthropology (Spanish: Museo Nacional de Antropología, MNA) is the national museum of Mexico, considered to be ‘a national treasure and a symbol of Mexican identity’. It is one of the finest museums I have ever visited. I was indeed surprised to learn that it was located on a street called Calzada Mahatma Gandhi in Chapultepec Park. Atleast the foreigners remembered Gandhi!
Established in 1964,the Museum was designed by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Jorge Campuzano, and Rafael MijaresAlcérreca.
The museum contains significant archaeological and anthropological arte-facts from Mexico's pre-Spanish heritage, such as the famous Aztec calendar stoneand the Aztec Xochipilli statue. The museum also houses, among others,giant stone heads of the Olmec civilization that were found in the jungles of Tabasco and Veracruz, treasures of Mayan civilization, recovered at Chichen Itza and displays of contemporary rural Mexican life. It also displayed Mayan hieroglyphics. It also had a model of the location and layout of the former Aztec capital on the site of which modern-day Mexico City was built.
The building structure was modern, the assignment of space judicious and the lighting subdued and controlled, which in totality gave life to the items displayed. I was wonderstruck by the creativity and artistic talents of their creators. While similar museums elsewhere were dull and lifeless, here it exuded beauty and mystic. The onlooker was instantly transported to the world of Maya and Aztecs.
Guadalupe BasilicaOur next visit was to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe,a Roman Catholic church and the national shrine of Mexico located in the metropolitan area of the city.On feast days, it is traditional that people approach the shrine on their knees, as a sign of their faith.We were told by the taxi driver that one could see tears rolling down the eyes of Virgin Mary, but we could not witness any. Perhaps only the faithful, in their extreme devotion,were able to visualize itin their mind’s eye.
Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared to Juan Diego, a native peasant and one of the first Aztec converts into Christianity, on the hill of Tepeyac, a small upland near Mexico City. During her first apparition in 1531, the Virgin asked Juan Diego to have a temple built in her honour at the foot of the hill. When told about it, the local Bishop asked Diego for a sign as proof. The Virgin told him to pick roses (which were not grown in that area, but which she produced miraculously), and carry them in his tilma (cloak), to the Bishop. He did so, and, when he opened his cloak, the flowers fell.They were over- awed and astonished to see an image of the Virgin imprinted on his garment.
To mark the miracle a simple shrine was built on Tepeyac Hill in 1532, and it soon became a pilgrimage site. A new shrine was erected in 1622, and a more elaborate one in 1709, which was designated a basilica in 1904. The grand basilica that stands today to accommodate a greater number of pilgrims was then erected in the 1970s. Juan Diego's tilma, with the image of Virgin Mary, is displayed inside the Basilica.In 2002, Pope John Paul II declared Juan Diego a saint.
To an independent observer the whole episode may appear to be a case of one faith appropriating another, with the aid of mythsand miracles. The area where the basilica is built had long been a sacred place fornative Mexicans. Interestingly, I read that the young womanwas believed to have spoken to Juan Diego in his native tongue and she was dark-skinned and dark-haired! She made her appearanceto the natives.That way, the local Aztecs could be attracted or alluredto the new faith.It is said that when the Spanish conquered Mexico, locals were forbidden to visit a pagan shrine that sat atop the Tepeyac hill.We see, the world over, one civilization being built over the another, and one faith displacing the other.
It is estimated that every year, around 20 million people visit the basilica.I wondered what drives millions of people to her side? It is believed that Virgin Mary, being the presiding deity of Mexico,keeps her benign eyes on her people, protecting them from evil forces. She appears as a compassionate mother to a vast populace. To the local people she is an intimate part of their daily life.
We know that congregations do help people forget their daily trifles. Perhaps, reinforcing their faith in an entity considered to be above themselves helps them transfer their guilt and worries to it andthat provides them with a sense of purpose, peace, security and contentment.
After encountering the sacred, we returned to the profane.
Archaeological sitesOur final stop was at Chichen Itza(Chichenmeans "At the mouth of the well”;Itzá is the name of an ethnic-lineage group),site of Mayan ruins.To understand its importance, one needs to look into the archaeological history of the region.
The three most dominant and advanced civilizations that developed in Central America prior to Spanish arrival were the Aztecs, the Inca, andthe Maya.
The Aztec Empirewas located in Central Mexico. Aztecs used live in Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City.Aztec civilization flourished until the Spanish conquest in the 16th century and the Spanish settlement of Mexico City.
The Incacivilization emerged in the 13th century in Cusco (Cuzco) in modern-day Peru and lasted until the Spanish in conquest 1572.
The Mayacivilization came to dominate the Central America for a period of about 700 years (CE 250-900).Mesoamerica was one of six cradles of civilization worldwide. Elaborate stone cities were constructed,and later, abandoned by the Maya. Those well-preserved archaeological sites across Mexico offer insight into this mysterious ancient culture. Many of the best Mayan ruins of Mexico are located in the Yucatan Peninsula. There are about 200 public Maya sites in Mexico.
The Maya civilization developed in the area that comprising of present day south-eastern Mexico,all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador. Reports show that their descendants,reside in nearly the same area. Theyreportedly speak more than twenty-eight surviving Mayan languages.
The Maya worshipped various gods related to nature, including the Sun, the Moon, rain and corn and built many oftheir temples and palaces in stepped pyramids.They were decorated with elaborate reliefs and inscriptions. Mayawere advanced in Mathematics and Astronomy. They also excelled in art and architecture.Maya developed complex calendarslike the 365 days -agriculture calendar and the Long Count Calendar, designed to last over 5000 years and alsothe only fully known writing system of that time----the hieroglyphic script.
After 900 CE, however, the Classic Maya civilization declined.The cities they built and their ceremonial placeswere abandoned and were overgrown with jungles. Perhaps, a combination of factors, including endemic internecine warfare, overpopulation, environmental degradation especially drought,and, perhaps infectious diseases, contributed to their collapse. The Spanish conquest finally decimated the Maya civilization.
Historians have recorded the cruelty and untold suffering unleashed by the Spanish invaders on the natives. The native population was said to have suffered ‘an exceptionally dramatic and rapid decline’ following Spanish invasions. The Maya today number about six million people, making them the largest single block of indigenous people north of Peru.
Chichen ItzaAfter knowing the Maya history in brief it was easy for me to appreciate the structures and artefacts left behind by them. Chichen Itzawas a large city built by the Mayan people of the Terminal Classic period. Centrally located in the Yucatan,it was one of the largest Maya cities and is one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico.As someone wrote, it was ‘stunningly well-preserved and imposingly beautiful’.
Chichen Itza is spread over a large area (ruins extent to approximately 25km) spotted with several Mayan pyramids and unique sites. It takes an effort to move around the place.Notable sites include the Temple of the Warriors, Group of a Thousand Columns, Wall of the Skulls and four Sacred Cenotes.
Sacred Cenotes are natural sink holes that could have provided water year-round at Chichen, making it an attractive settlement. Of these Cenotes, the "Cenote Sagrado" or Sacred Cenote (Sacred Well or Well of Sacrifice), is the most famous. Maya sacrificed objects like artefacts of gold, jade, pottery and incense, and human beings into the Cenote as a form of worship to the Maya rain god. There were evidences of human sacrifice.
Of all the stone structures left behind by the Mayans, perhaps the most famous is El Castillo, the Temple of Kukulcan at the centre of the archaeological site.This stepped- pyramid stands about 30 meters (98 ft) high and consists of a series of nine square terraces with a high temple upon the summit.I recall with wondermentthe unique pyramidal structure standing so high in all its glory, at the centre of the site. I was indeed fortunate to see and admiresome of the wealth left behind by a great culture.
Some people point out the similarities between the Indian and Mayan civilizations, like worship of many gods, achievements in art and architecture, advanced knowledge of astronomy etc. While Indian Civilization is long and continuous, Mayan dominance lasted only nine-hundred and odd years. Negotiating the distance between the two continents could not have been managed at that time with limited transport facilities and resources. Obviously, more studies are needed in this direction.
TequilaExhausted after walking around the various sites,I decided to have a taste of Tequila, the national drink of Mexico. Tequila is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant (Agave attenuata), which primarily growsin the area surrounding the city of Tequila in Mexico.
Agave PlantThe agave plant is native to Mexico. The agave family includes over 200 species.Tequila’s origins can be traced back to almost 2000 years back, when the drink was used for religious ceremonies.
For hundreds of years the plant has had a variety of culinary and medicinal uses. Even the fibres of the leaves are used to make twine, clothes, shoes, soaps and even sweeteners!It is a ‘Kalpataru’(wish fulfilling tree), akin to coconut tree, back at home.Its sharp spines can be used as pins, sewing needles, as well as arrowheads. I saluted the ingenuity of the native population in discovering so many uses of this humble plant. I happily carried a needle and thread made out of it with me as a momento!
With the completion of visit to Chichen Itza, we ended our exhilarating tour of the Mexico City.
A glimpse of present-day MexicoMexico, is the third largest country in Latin America, after Brazil and Argentina. It ranks fourth in the world in bio-diversity. Mexican economy is projected to expand by 5% in 2021 and 3.2% in 2022. Its economic growth averaged just above 2 percent a year between 1980 and 2018. Covid-19 badly affected the people and economy of Mexico, as in other neighbouring countries.
Drug cartels and the drug trade fuel rampant violence in Mexico, with thousands of homicides every year. The war against drugs is still continuing, with American financing and support.I often thought about the plight of women and children caught in the cross fire between drug cartels, after losing their bread winners.
Mexico is considered the backyard of America. America has a significant population of Hispanics. Even then, its wealth and prosperity has not permeated across the borders. With an eye on its vast resources, only the rich have invested in huge plantations and tourist complexes, moving the profits away from Mexico. In an unequal society lies the seeds of many ills!
The ImpactWhat did I carry back from this visit? I, of course,developed a renewed interest in Latin America.‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ --book by Gabriel García Márquez is said ‘to require reading by the entire human race’-- so I too read it. I enjoyed reading the poems of Pablo Neruda. Che Guevara’s‘Motor Cycle Diaries’ opened my eyes to a new vision about the Incas and the Maya.
Although not a fan of football, I used to watch the world cup matches played by Brazil and Argentina with great interest in my younger days. I read with interest efforts made by the Latin American countries for protecting their rich biodiversity.I found the political developments in the countries in Latin America wherein Capitalism and extreme leftism fought for supremacy, deeply disturbing.I recall that the widow of ex-President of Chile Salvador Allendehad visited our university, just after his assassination, when I was a young student.
I visited Mexico nearly 40 years ago. The images of Mexico remain deeply engrained in my mind, so much so that I am able to recall every single moment of the visit, as if it happened only yesterday. Although my visit was short, I still have the vision of endless wheat fields, theplumed stone serpent, quietly reposing in the dim lights of the Archaeological Museum, pilgrims thronging the Guadalupe Basilica for a glimpse of the Virgin, the wonderful murals of Diego Riviera andthe wonders of the stepped- pyramids in sprawling Chechen Itza site.
I realize that my visit did not come to an end; It was only the beginning
