Chinampas in Xochimilco
Two weeks ago I visited Xochimilco an area located in the south-east of mexico city. I have not been there in about five years, it is interesting to go back to places you think you know well, because when you go back you realize that your memories about the place can be very different than the way the place really is. It can happen because real changes occurred in the place, or because real changes happened in your memory about the place. Xochimilco is an interesting place to visit because it shows the way mexico city was more than 500 years ago. You can still see Chinampas which are raised planting platforms where the Aztecs used to farm in the old Tenochtitlan, they are like little islands. You can also see Trajineras which are small canoes that the Aztecs used to travel from one Chinampa to another one. It is exciting just to think about it, and happily besides the touristic areas, which are crowded and dirty, there are preserved areas that have been cleaned. There you can travel in canoes, work-out or just observe the beauty of nature, from flamingos to ducks and other bird species. It is truly an oasis in one of the most polluted cities in the world.
The Trajineras in the touristic area each have a different name, and are designed in a unique manner. They used to be decorated with natural flowers which made them beautiful, with small facades at the front of each canoe featuring complex and unique multicolored arrangements. The flowers where replaced at least every five days so there was a new visual landscape to look at. Because of the high cost of maintaining the flower typography tradition, nowadays the Trajineras feature strange fonts that in some way mimic the idea of flowers, but they are certainly not flowers. It was confusing when I first saw the new canoes, my brain kept sending all kinds of signals telling me that something was not right. These transitions in traditions are sad to me, maybe they are good for the environment, I’m not sure… But I’m certain that from a design perspective my favorite real flower typography is vanishing : (
July 22nd, 2006