Mexico Guide
Mexico City
Museo Nacional de las Intervenciones
Address: 20 de Agosto and General Anaya
Opening time: Tues– Sun 9am–6pm
Price: M$33, free on Sun
Travelling south on Metro line 2, the first station worth stopping at is General Anaya, from where it is a five-minute walk along 20 de Agosto (exit to the west of the Calzada de Tlalpan) to the Museo Nacional de las Intervenciones . This occupies the old Franciscan Convento de Churubusco, which owes its present incarnation to the 1847 battle in which the invading Americans, led by General Winfield Scott, defeated a Mexican force under General Anaya – another heroic Mexican effort in which the outnumbered defenders fought to their last bullet.
The building itself is a stunner, especially if you arrive at the darkening of day as the lights are coming on in the gardens. The exhibits, all on the upper floor, may not mean a great deal unless you have a reasonable grasp of Mexican history. They're labelled only in Spanish – and not very fully at that – and are dedicated to the history of foreign military adventures in Mexico: skeletons in the cupboards of Britain, Spain, France and the US are all rattled loudly. One section is devoted largely to the Mexican– American wars – with a very different perspective from that of the Alamo. Much of what's on show, however, comprises paintings of generals and flags, and unless you're a history buff you might better spend your time in the pleasant surrounding gardens. Apart from the Metro, the museum is also accessible by pesero ("Gral Anaya") from Coyoacán: pick it up by the market at the junction of Allende and Xicoténcatl.
The Trotsky and Frida Kahlo museums and central Coyoacán are about a fifteen-minute walk from the Museo Nacional de las Intervenciones. To reach them, take General Anaya, opposite the museum entrance, cross División del Norte and go straight ahead for about 500m, by which time General Anaya has merged into Hidalgo. For central Coyoacán and the Frida Kahlo Museum, continue straight on (see the map "Coyoacán & San Ángel"). For the Trotsky Museum, take a right down Madero (signposted, but not easy to spot) opposite Hidalgo 62.