City of Knowledge, City of Angels

Puebla, Mexico peaked sometime in the 17^th century. It was the capital of New Spain, home to the regal pilgrims of the Spanish Conquest. To call them pilgrims doesn’t capture their wealth. The Cathedral is among the finest in Mexico –with artesans by the thousands participating in it’s heavenly construction.

Puebla is home to the first library in the Americas (the Palafoxiana named for a revered bishop who established Puebla’s commitment to religion, culture and education). This is a city that was born leading with culture and what is happening today is nothing short of a renaissance.

In the last three years eight museums have opened in the City of Angels. Eight! Museums and collections honoring music, the art of marionettes, regional history, international art and contemporary art all built, funded and opened by the Cultural Offices of the state. The commitment to preservation and restoration, education and technology is overwhelming. The Governor and Mayor stand proudly with each opening: they know a commitment to culture leads to a city that flourishes in business, education and knowledge just as it did 500 years ago.

International Pritzker-prize winning architects? Yes.

Hiring Curators from the Middle East to tell a story of Ceramics in Mexico? Yes.

Hiring the best designers for three-dimensional video auditoriums? Yes.

Latest innovations in museum educational technologies? Yes.

Building libraries and starting from scratch? Absolutely.

• At the Casa de la Musica de Vienna you can stand in a Virtual Reality booth and conduct an orchestra in Vienna, Austria—the VR audience responds to the cadence of your baton work.
• At the Museo de Cultura Regional you can hover a model of the volcano and see it evolve over the millennia just before taking a virtual tour of the major churches in the area.
• At the Museo Internacional de Barroco you can experience the best collections of the world in a context of Baroque art and the brilliant theory that we, today in 2017 are in a new era of Baroque sensibility.

Puebla is home to over 300 Universities. The city is polishing off its 500 year old moniker as a City of Knowledge. Puebla is happening – one entrepreneur recently opened a multi-story car museum just a few blocks from the historic Cathedral.

This flourishing is what happens when visionaries Lead with Culture. Similarly, The Dallas Arts District is a burgeoning example of a city with a commitment to public private partnerships making culture happen one block, one museum at a time. 

The Crow Collection of Asian Art is honored to partner with the International Museum of the Baroque. Our partner-exhibition: Clay Between Two Seas is open until August. American Airlines has a direct flight and a seat for you from Dallas to Puebla. This City of Knowledge in the foothills of a guardian volcano (El Popo) waits to share her secrets with you.