PUEBLA & NOVEMBER 6 - 12, 2 0 1 7

Join Harvard alumni and friends for a journey into the cultural legacy of and Oaxaca, both thriving cities with remarkable ancient and colonial heritages. During colonial times, rich craft traditions evolved that incorporated techniques brought by Spanish settlers with those of the natives. In both modern Puebla and Oaxaca, the arts are experiencing a robust revival by a large population of talented young artists. This enriching itinerary explores the ancient architecture and contemporary art, the surrounding archaeological sites and craft villages, and the delicious regional cuisine of Puebla and Oaxaca. The program is enhanced throughout by lectures, museum visits, and gallery receptions with scholars, artists, and gallery owners who contribute their knowledge and personal interpretations of the continued creative phenomena that has brought about a renaissance in the arts in the colonial cities of Puebla and Oaxaca.

GROUP SIZE: Up to 30 guests

PRICING: $3,995 per person double occupancy/ $595 single supplement SCHEDULE BY DAY Church of to see its Capilla de Rosário ( ), which has been called B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner the “Eighth Wonder of the World” because of

its ornate and colorful plasterwork. Return to

the hotel or continue to the Museum of

Popular Arts, housed in the beautiful 18th- MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6 century Santa Rosa Convent, which showcases UNITED STATES / PUEBLA an excellent collection of handicrafts typical to the state of Puebla. This evening, dinner is Fly to Puebla via Houston on United Airlines. independent. (Travelers could also fly to City, which Overnight: Quinta Real, Puebla (B, L) is about a two-hour drive from the Mexico

City airport). Transfer independently to the five-star Quinta Real, housed in a restored WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8 16th-century convent, and check into your room. Enjoy a festive welcome dinner in the FOLK CHURCHES OF MEXICO hotel’s splendid courtyard restaurant. Spend the morning visiting the Church of San Francisco Acatepec and the Church of Santa Overnight: Quinta Real, Puebla (D) Maria Tonantzintla. The churches are

elaborately decorated with colorful Puebla tiles

and wood carved by local artisans. The TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 façade of the Acatepec PUEBLA Church is a fantasy of tile, and the interior of Today is devoted to exploring the beautiful the Tonantzintla church is covered floor to city of Puebla, capital of the state of ceiling in fabulous gilded and polychrome Puebla and one of Mexico’s most beautiful faces, cherubs, and foliage. colonial cities. Begin at the Biblioteca Continue to Cholula, which spreads out at the Palafoxiana, at its time considered the finest foot of an ancient pre-Columbian pyramid. library in the New World. Proceed to the Archeological investigations suggest Cholula Amparo Museum, one of Mexico’s top was first occupied by 400 B.C., making it the museums, featuring an excellent collection of oldest city of the Western Hemisphere to be pre-Hispanic and colonial art. At the Casa del continually inhabited. The large quantity of Dean, marvel at restored colonial frescos churches erected by the Spaniards has merited based on Ovid’s Metamorphosis. Sample Cholula with the nickname “The City of outstanding regional cuisine at one of Puebla’s Churches.” Enjoy a walking tour of the town, best restaurants, renowned for its traditional and see its most beautiful structures, including molé dishes. Conclude the afternoon at the Los Remedios Church etched against the sky. Following a relaxing lunch on Cholula’s main FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10 square, enjoy a quick visit to the impressive OAXACA Capilla Real. Before returning to Puebla, visit Drive to the archaeological site of , which one of the finest talavera studios in introduced a new style of pre-Hispanic Mexico and enjoy a special demonstration of architecture of decorating the palace walls the process. Dinner is independent. with incredible stone mosaics. The streets Overnight: Quinta Real, Puebla (B, L) surrounding the ruins are lined with shops

selling textiles, including embroidered dresses,

, tablecloths, rugs, and hammocks, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9 many of which incorporate original Mitla PUEBLA / MONTE ALBÁN / OAXACA designs.

Following breakfast, enjoy a spectacular drive Continue to Teotitlán del Valle, a major through the mountains to Oaxaca (about four Zapotec weaving village famous for its hours from Puebla). En route, stop to visit traditional weaving techniques and coloring Monte Albán, the ancient Zapotec capital with natural dyes. Enjoy a home-hosted lunch located on the northern outskirts of Oaxaca. with a traditional Zapotec family followed by a Following lunch, enjoy a guided tour of this visit to the family’s studio for a demonstration immense archaeological site, once an of the carding, spinning, and dyeing of natural important ceremonial center and one of the wool and weaving on treadle looms. Return to largest Meso-American cities at its peak. Oaxaca with the remainder of the afternoon at

Upon arrival in Oaxaca, check into the Camino leisure. Real. After some free time to relax and get Overnight: Quinta Real, Oaxaca (B, L) settled into your hotel room, stop at Arte de Oaxaca, a beautiful gallery housed in a colonial building. Enjoy a discussion SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11 introducing the works represented by the OAXACA gallery and the development of Oaxaca’s Walk to the splendid Santo Domingo Church, contemporary art community. Then take a celebrated as one of the great art treasures of short orientation walking tour through the country. Among the fine carvings on the Oaxaca’s festive zócalo before proceeding to facade, the figure holding a church is dinner at one of Oaxaca’s most elegant patio Santo Domingo de Guzmán, the 13th-century restaurants. Spanish monk who founded the Dominican Overnight: Quinta Real, Oaxaca (B, L, D) Order. Continue next door to the ancient ex- convent of Santo Domingo, which now houses

a remarkable regional museum that includes a collection with more than 500 objects of gold, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12 jade, amber, coral, and silver excavated from OAXACA Tomb Seven at Monte Albán. Conclude your Following breakfast, transfer by private morning at the Ex-Convento de San Pablo. motorcoach to the Oaxaca airport for return One of the newest cultural attractions in flights back to the United States. Oaxaca, the Ex-Convento was funded by philanthropist Alfredo Harp Helú, who restored parts of a church and built a beautiful learning center and textile museum.

Enjoy the remainder of the afternoon at leisure, or join an optional walking tour to see Oaxaca’s colorful city market and famous chocolate mills. This evening, bid adiós to Mexico during a farewell dinner at one of Oaxaca’s best restaurants, Casa Oaxaca, a spectacular rooftop restaurant overlooking Santo Domingo.

Overnight: Quinta Real, Oaxaca (B, D)