This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.
Visiting Museo Anahuacalli is a fascinating stop on your exploration of Frida and Diego’s Mexico City, combining art and architecture in a bucolic oasis in the leafy Coayacan neighborhood.
You might be wondering if it is worth a visit. I’m here to tell you that if you are into symbolic architecture (is that a thing?) and pre-Hispanic art you should definitely work this museum into your Mexico City itinerary.
Anahuacalli is a Nahuatl word meaning “house of the Anahuac” or “house surrounded by water” (though I didn’t see any nearby water).
Mexican muralist Diego Rivera’s designed and built this museum specifically to display his comprehensive collection of pre-Hispanic figurines accumulated over his lifetime. The figurines were made by Teotihuacans, Olmecs, Toltecs, Nahuas, Zapotecs, and others.
According to his wife, Frida Kahlo, “after painting, what interests him most in life and the only thing that truly fills him with joy and enthusiasm are his idols” (quote from the information panel in Sala 9 of the museum).
Diego and Frida had originally purchased the land that the museum now sits on with the intent of developing a ranch and farm. However, after a visit to San Francisco in 1940 where he began to think more about his legacy, Rivera decided to change his plans and instead build a temple to house his figurine collection “integrated with its natural surroundings, thus unifying past, present and future”.
Museo Anahuacalli’s Unique Architecture
Rivera collaborated with his buddy and neighbor, architect Juan O’Gorman, to design and build Anahuacalli in a way that integrated the building with nature. The design was very much inspired by the ideas of Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic architecture. The project started in 1942 and was finally completed in 1964 with the financial support of Dolores Olmeda, seven years after Diego Rivera had passed away.
The building itself is made of volcanic stone left behind from the lava flow of the nearby Xitle volcano, which erupted violently for 70 years starting in around 245 CE. Because of the materials, wandering through the museum feels like walking through a giant three-story molcajete!
Museum Layout
The building has three planes (or stories): the Underworld, the Earthly world, and the Overworld of the gods. A distinctive feature of the museum is that the ceilings in each of the 23 rooms have mosaics designed by Rivera. The mosaics are full of symbolism, often snake imagery, starting out in black and white on the ground floor of the Underworld and becoming more colorful as you go up to the Overworld.
The Underworld
When you enter the museum on the ground floor, the darkness envelopes you into the Underworld, barely illuminated by fractals of light sneaking their way in through vertical panels of beautiful amber-colored onyx stone. To the left there are a few rooms that are slightly below level, including the southeast corner that descends to a tiny wishing well (aka museum fundraiser).
To the right is a large room with altars displaying larger figurines.
If you are lucky enough to visit the museum during Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) season, you will get to experience the large ofrenda (altar) to Diego Rivera himself in this space.
The Earthly World
Once you are ready to emerge from the Underworld, you walk up a staircase through the “Maya portal” to get to the second floor, which represents the earthly world, boasting high ceilings and large windows.
The highlight of this level is the large bright room known as Diego’s workshop—although he did not live long enough to ever use it as a workshop. To start your tour of the second floor with the workshop, take the stairway that branches off to the left on your way up. The workshop displays large-format sketches (see if you can spot Frida!) for Diego Rivera’s Man at the Crossroads mural at Rockefeller Center. The Rockefellers destroyed the actual mural soon after completion due to its Communist imagery.
The Overworld
Onward to the third floor, the Overworld, to round out the exhibit with more whimsical figurines and colorful ceiling mosaics.
The Terrace
After rising your way through the diminishing darkness of the first three floors, you burst out onto the sunny fourth floor deck with unobstructed views over the whole city, with faint mountains in the distance.
Temporary Exhibits
In addition to two thousand or so figurines on display (of the approximately 45,000 in the collection), the museum also invites artists to prepare special exhibits of their own art that complement the museum’s permanent collection. While we were there, the artist Alma Allen had 25 or so whimsical bronze sculptures created specifically for the Anahuacalli sprinkled throughout the museum.
City of Arts
Beyond the temple itself, another important aspect of the museum complex is the City of Arts (Ciudad de las Artes), with archives, libraries, and workshops for the arts and the community. While the City of Arts was a key component of Rivera’s initial vision, it has really come to life with a 2021 addition. You can wander through the City of Arts area and admire the architecture, but the buildings themselves are not open to museum-goers.
Planning Your Visit to Museo Anahuacalli
Depending on your museum style, you will be either delighted or frustrated (or both) with the lack of information about the figurines. However, this is entirely by design as you are supposed to enjoy the pieces as works of art rather than as artifacts of an ancient past. Some rooms do provide information about the collection within the room and about the space itself. Information is in both Spanish and English.
If you want more in-depth information about the museum and its collection, you might want to consider a guided tour of the museum. A tour would have to be arranged in advance, as the museum itself does not offer guided tours.
The museum has a modest gift shop with the usual tote bags, water bottles and trinkets, and a small coffee shop. On some days the covered space by the entrance hosts local vendors of handicrafts and artisanal products such as clothing, figurines, and unique foods like worm salt.
At the time of writing (March 2023), the general entrance fee is MX$100, with discounts for Mexican nationals, students, seniors, and schoolchildren. Local community members enter for free, which is cool. Even more cool is that entrance is FREE with your ticket to the Frida Kahlo House and Museum—you have one year to use it.
If you want to take pictures in the museum, you must purchase a MX$30 photo permit; they will give you a sticker to wear during your visit.
Note that the museum is not wheelchair-friendly beyond the first floor.
Getting There
The Anahuacalli Museum is a little out of the way and not close to much else of note, so you really have to want to go there and plan your visit accordingly.
The fastest way to get there is by car—so taxi, Uber, or DiDi.
The closest bus lines (24 purple bus up to Chapultepec) are about a 10-minute walk on the Avenida Division del Norte, and just a little bit further is the blue light rail (Tren Ligero).
We took a taxi to the museum after our Xochimilco visit, as it is about halfway from Xochimilco back to the center of Mexico City. Then we took the 24A bus back to our apartment in Condesa (MX$7, exact change required).
Google’s transit directions in Mexico City are pretty solid, although we found the frequency of the purple buses to be not as advertised.
Reflections
So is the Anahuacalli Museum worth a visit? Absolutely.
For Diego Rivera fans, this is definitely a must-see as it gives you a peek inside his mind and serves as his lasting contribution to Mexico City’s landscape.
For pre-Hispanic art lovers or history buffs, this museum provides an amazing collection of art from various parts of Mexico. Many of the figures are whimsical and beautiful.
For architecture fans, the main museum and the City of Arts buildings would surely provide an interesting study in symbolism and the relationship of a building to its environment.
If you do not meet any of those descriptions and are short on time, I would probably prioritize other Mexico City highlights.
