Day three and once again to the National Palace. Hope springs eternal. As does nope. Still closed. Effing paranoid politicians. So we wandered around the historic centre again and wound up at the Secretariat de Educación, a former Dominican convent built in 1530, now just what the name implies. It's a beautiful series of interconnected buildings decorated extensively with 235 Diego Rivera panels as well as a few by other muralists.
As we entered I saw a guy I recognized from my last visit when he and I had spoken for a bit.
I approached him and reintroduced myself. Don't think he remembered me but it turned out that Raul is a guide for the site and he proceeded to show us through history-packed place for a the next several hours explaining in detail each Rivera fresco and painting - techniques, history and symbolism.Turns out that, until ten years ago, Raul worked in administration but with his knowledge of several languages and passion for the history of the building he was a natural fit for tour guiding. When we finally reached overload, he sent us across the street for some good birria, a spicy stew usually made from goat or mutton.
After lunch we returned to the Secretariat de Educación to resume the tour with Raul and spent another couple of hours admiring the building and contents before again reaching our saturation point. We bid a farewell to Raul and headed home.
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