A Short List of Five Museums of Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico

The imposing majesty of the original cultures of Tabasco can be appreciated thanks to its museums, which have become spaces that revalue and give a face to the actors that have participated in the historical evolution of the people.

In Tabasco, museums seek, in many ways, to promote their activities by directing their contents towards specific audiences so that they can participate, be surprised and collaborate in the dissemination of knowledge, a fundamental piece for the conservation of the tangible and intangible heritage of the state.

The following are some particularities of five important museums in the city of Villahermosa, looking for you to come and enjoy them, starting from knowing their contents.

Carlos Pellicer Cámara House Museum

The first museum systematically opened in Tabasco, with a great concern for transmitting knowledge through themes and cultures, was organized in 1952 by Carlos Pellicer, the Poet of America; that is, years ago there had already been the Archaeological Museum of Villahermosa a first approach to the transmission of the pre-Hispanic past of this territory inhabited more than 3000 years ago.

The Carlos Pellicer Cámara House Museum shows the importance of the life and work of the Poet of America to the people of Tabasco. This typical house of the region during the XIX century, located in the Historic Center of the city not only represents remembering the place where he was born but to recognize his poetic work, his love for the historical and archaeological heritage of Mexico in general, and the territory of Tabasco in particular.

As well as his struggle for the ideals of a region: Mexico and Central America, which he represented and for which he raised his voice in many ways. Pellicer, National Prize for Literature in 1964 and scholar of museum organization in Europe, was the leader of the Federation of Mexican Students, president of the Latin American Community of Writers, and president of the Committee of Solidarity of the People of Nicaragua.

In this museum in honor of the poet, besides the history of his life, some personal objects, photographs, recognitions, and furniture of the Pellicer Cámara family, the replica of what used to be his room in the old Archaeological Museum of Villahermosa stands out. Pellicer also created the Frida Kahlo House Museum, the Archaeological Museum of Tepoztlán, Morelos; the Diego Rivera Anahuacalli Museum in Mexico City, and the Museum of Palenque, Chiapas, among others.

La Venta Museum Park

The La Venta Park Museum, the second museum organized in Villahermosa by Carlos Pellicer, safeguards more than 30 monolithic stone sculptures that would have been produced more than 2500 years ago by the Olmec cultural group for the pre-Hispanic settlement we know today as La Venta, located in the municipality of Huimanguillo, Tabasco.

The Olmec culture, which is also recognized as the first civilization of Mesoamerica, makes clear, through its architectural and sculptural work, the knowledge they had about the territory, astronomy, and their closest neighbors with whom they exchanged utilitarian and power materials.

Today we are amazed by the great social organization they must have had to mobilize monolithic stones brought from distant places to make thrones, stelae, and gigantic human faces, which served to legitimize their power and reflect part of their cosmovision. This open-air museum, located on the banks of the Laguna de las Ilusiones, is unique because of the exuberant vegetation that protects it today.

Carlos Pellicer Cámara Regional Museum of Anthropology

Conceived by Carlos Pellicer, next to the majestic Grijalva River, is the Regional Museum of Anthropology that bears the poet's name. Pellicer was not able to carry out the museum work in such a superb architectural building that he planned and that would serve to exhibit the archaeological work that he had brought from different museums in Mexico for that old Archaeological Museum of Villahermosa, which was located in front of the Plaza de Armas and which the poet identified as "A national museum in the province".

This museum gathers the legacy of the four cultures that flourished in this exuberant territory: Olmec, Maya, Zoque, and Nahua, as well as archaeological works from other cultures of pre-Hispanic Mexico that Pellicer had managed to obtain directly from museums and archaeologists such as Alfonso Caso, who was doing research in Monte Albán, or Alberto Ruz Luthier, who was conducting archaeological excavations in Palenque.

Pellicer sought by all means to make museums a space for communication and knowledge, hence his contact with archaeologists was not only limited to obtaining beautiful objects for exhibition but also to informing them about new research results from archaeological findings.

Tabasco History Museum "Casa de los Azulejos"

Another magnificent museum is the Museum of History of Tabasco, located in the Historic Center of the city of Villahermosa. It was established in a building whose elegance takes precedence over many houses built by the inhabitants of San Juan Bautista in the 19th century. La Casa de los Azulejos, as it is known, has rooms covered with Catalan tiles, each one with different designs, which makes it unique.

Its architecture highlights styles such as Mudejar and neo-baroque, and the eleven sculptures on the façade of the house attract the attention of locals and strangers alike, among which the statue of Mercury, the Roman god of commerce, stands out, as well as the image of Cleopatra, in the tile mosaics placed on the cornices of the façade.

This museum tells, through its exhibits, the different historical moments of our entity, revealing at every step the importance and richness of this territory, "the best that the sun shines", from the arrival of the Spaniards, the Colony, the Independence movements, the Revolution and Garridismo, moments that undoubtedly transcended in the national history and that serve as a mechanism that reinforces Mexican cultural identity.

Natural History Museum "José Narciso Rovirosa"

To finish off the tour let's visit the José Narciso Rovirosa Andrade Museum of Natural History, named in memory of the wise naturalist from Tabasco. This museum is very attractive for children because of the exhibition of various scientific replicas that take us through the geological eras to the knowledge of the species of dinosaurs that inhabited the planet.

This magnificent space, full of color and interactive elements, manages to surprise the public with its collections that induce learning. Specimens such as the triceratops, the allosaurus, the tyrannosaurus rex, the giant sloth bear, the quetzalcoatlus, the mammoth, the bison, and the saber-toothed bear fill us with amazement at being able to contemplate so many years after they became extinct.

One of the purposes of this museum is to provide scientific information about human evolution and everything that surrounds us, in addition to working for environmental education and the responsible treatment we should have towards the planet to avoid our extinction.

Therefore, the room dedicated to the wise 19th-century naturalist from Tabasco, José Narciso Rovirosa Andrade, exhibits his contributions to science through documents, objects, and collections and invites us to reflect through a video that draws our attention to the role we humans play in the conservation of planet Earth.

Cathedral of the Lord of Tabasco

According to the Diocese of Tabasco, on April 16, 1884, Bishop Agustín de Jesús Torres Hernández placed the first stone of the new cathedral of Tabasco; however, it was not possible to finish its construction, so the cathedral of Esquipulas continued being the cathedral of Tabasco until 1928 when it was closed during the government of Tomás Garri - do Canabal.

When the Garridismo period ended, the bishop of Tabasco, José de Jesús del Valle y Navarro, began 1945 the reconstruction of the cathedral with the name of Catedral del Señor de Tabasco, in honor of an image named like that and that he donated, concluding the construction in 1970. On May 11, 1990, the cathedral was consecrated and blessed by Pope John Paul II in a solemn mass during his visit to the city of Villahermosa.

Government Palace

The Government Palace of Tabasco is an interesting sample of the architecture of the XIX century; this building was constructed between 1884 and 1894. Its facade is of sober neoclassic style, and two curious towers located in the corners of the building stand out in it.

In the center of the city of Villahermosa are located sites and pedestrian streets emblematic of the social and commercial life of Tabasco, such as the Plaza de Armas, the Government Palace, and Benito Juarez Street, always crowded with Tabasco residents and visitors.

Juarez Institute

Two emblematic buildings of the city of Villahermosa, very distant in time by their construction but separated only by a few blocks: the Instituto Juarez, the origin of the current Juarez Autonomous University of Tabasco, and the Torre del Caballero, from which you can admire the Grijalva River and much of the center of the city.

The history and daily life of Tabasco cannot be understood without the presence of rivers, such as the majestic Grijalva, which rises in the distant mountains of Guatemala and flows into the Gulf of Mexico, giving shape to the city of Villahermosa.

Jalpa de Méndez

Jalpa de Méndez is located in the Chontalpa region, and its name comes from the Nahuatl terms "shal-pan" or "xallii-apan", meaning "place on the sand" or "on the sandy shore". In 1887 the town of Jalpa was named Jalpa de Méndez in honor of Colonel Gregorio Méndez Magaña, Tabasco hero during the interventionist struggles of 1863-1864. Jalpa de Méndez was elevated to city status on March 26, 1955.

Tapijulapa

The Magical Town of Tapijulapa, the "place where the pitchers break", is distinguished by the reddish color of its roofs with French tiles and the impeccable white of its walls, without forgetting the flowers that adorn the balconies of the houses that form streets that get lost at the edge of the hills.

Gastronomy

The roasted pejelagarto (tropical gar), or in a variety of dishes, has become one of the essential elements of Tabasco's gastronomy, and its name is known throughout the country and in some places abroad.