Explore art, architecture, and living traditions in Mexico City, Puebla, and Oaxaca.

Travel with Rika Burnham through Mexico City, Puebla, and Oaxaca, where pre-Hispanic sites, colonial architecture, museums, and working studios 

Join Rika, an art historian and leading museum educator, for a practice she calls “close looks,” with a guided discussion focused on a singular artwork in the Mexico City birthplace of renowned artist Frida Kahlo. Continue to Puebla for the collections of the Museo Amparo and Museo José Luis Bello y González, followed by the Biblioteca Palafoxiana, the Great Pyramid of Cholula, and the Talavera-covered Church of San Francisco Acatepec.

In Oaxaca, visit the Baroque church Templo de Santo Domingo, the archaeological site of Monte Albán, and San José Mogote. Meet a ceramicist in Santa María Atzompa, dine with her family, and visit the Museo Textil de Oaxaca before meeting a weaving family and a painter and sculptor near Teotitlán del Valle.

Highlights

• Experience an after-hours visit to Mexico City’s Museo Nacional de Antropología, exploring Mexico’s extraordinary pre-Hispanic heritage away from the usual crowds. 
• Enter Mexico City’s Casa Azul before public opening hours for an intimate visit to Frida Kahlo’s home and studio, including a special close-look session led by Rika. 
• Explore Puebla’s historic neighborhoods, markets, and artisan traditions, including the colorful Barrio de Los Sapos and the region’s renowned Talavera ceramic heritage.
• In Oaxaca, enjoy an in-depth exploration of Monte Albán, one of Mesoamerica’s greatest archaeological sites and the ancient Zapotec capital, examining its temples, plazas, and astronomical alignments.
• Meet an acclaimed Oaxacan ceramic artist in Santa María Atzompa and visit her family studio, where she will share her creative process through a demonstration of traditional techniques
• Experience Oaxaca’s living craft traditions through private visits with master weavers and artists, learning about natural dyes, Zapotec textiles, and contemporary expressions of Oaxacan culture. 
• Savor the culinary and cultural richness of Oaxaca through local markets, traditional cuisine, and special dining experiences.