Sunday March 2, 2003
Come see the heads, the big giant heads!
Parque-Museo La Venta in Villahermosa boasts a
collection of over 30 huge basalt heads and other
sculptures taken from the Olmec city of La Venta, 130
kilometers to the west. There is no equivalent
collection anywhere. The monuments were threatened in
their original location in the 1950s when oil
exploration was increasing in the state, and they
were moved to their current site in 1957.
El Viejo Guerrero
La Venta was at its height from about 900 to 400
B.C., and the Olmec culture is seen as the "mother
culture" of Mesoamerica. Their influence - in the
building of grand cities, the calendar, their cosmic
vision of the universe - was inherited by many later
cultures.
La Abuela
The Olmec sculptures are particularly fascinating.
First, they are massive. Second, the faces seem
sometimes European, sometimes African, rarely Native
American. This has given rise to theories of early
transatlantic contact, but experts feel it more
likely the heads were given their features in an
attempt to make them more similar to the face of a
jaguar, an important religious and mythological
animal to the Olmec.
Cabeza del Guerrero
Over 30 heads, and Tom was intent on taking a
photo of every single one - gotta catch 'em all. The
most impressive and the best-known of the colossal
heads is the Cabeza del Guerrero (Warrior's Head),
nearly 3,000 years old, but remarkably well
preserved. We were going to put a page together with
all 33 exhibits, but we found an impressive website with more
information about the park than we could have put
together.
Grison - the hippie of otters
Combined with the relics is a zoo, which is
partially intertwined with the sculptures. The
animals are all native to southern Mexico. As with
the Tuxtla zoo, some of the non-dangerous animals
move about freely. Leaving La Venta, you come to a
malecón around the beautifully tranquil Laguna de las
Ilusiones.
Laguna de las Ilusiones
We turned away from the park and soon came to the
Restaurante El Asadero, where the waiter gave me a
sample of a local specialty drink, horchata, a rice,
milk, cinnamon, and coconut smoothie. It was
refreshing. The only food for sale by the vendors
outside La Venta was pork rinds and hot dogs wrapped
in bacon fat, so we were pleased to arrive at a real
restaurant. The food was great, and the air
conditioning even better. We returned to our hotel
for cold showers.
Entertainment along la laguna
We went out later to enjoy Carnaval. Tom said he'd
never seen so many foreigners in his life! There was
as much going on tonight as last night, plus they had
fireworks. What a party! I got my shoes shined for
the occasion, much needed at the end of our long,
dusty trip.
Boot rehab by Ernesto
Latin Americans like to wear t-shirts with U.S.
slogans, brands, or place names on them, and we saw
one man wearing a shirt that said Gatrinburg (sic),
Tennessee!
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