Uxmal

Esta ciudad ocupa un importante sitio dentro de la historia de la cultura maya, tanto por las relaciones políticas que prevalecieron durante los siglos del posclásico en la península de

Yucatán como también por abrigar algunos de los ejemplos más conocidos de la arquitectura Puuc.

PUUC: el estilo Puuc busca a través de sus edificios de dominante horizontal concentrar los acentos plásticos en estructuras de geometría lineal perfectamente clara. Buscan el ángulo recto.

Uxmal• Edificada en una región

caracterizada por la vegetación de corta altura, Uxmal organiza estructuras horizontales formando grandes cuadrángulos con dilatadas explanadas interiores donde dos pirámides contrapuntean el paisaje de la urbe.

Uxmal- palacio del gobernador

• Sobre una amplia terraza se extiende la presencia sublime de uno de los edificios más espectaculares de toda Mesoamérica: el Palacio del Gobernador. Se trata de un cuerpo horizontal de 98 mts de longitud, integrado por crujías internas cubiertas con bóveda de saledizo.

• In 1841, Stephens wrote of the Governor's Palace: "There is no rudeness or barbarity in the design or proportions; on the contrary, the whole wears an air of architectural symmetry and grandeur." The House of the Governor has brought similar responses from art historians and architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright, who considered this the finest example of ancient American architecture. Jeff Kowalski, author of The House of the Governor, believes it was built around AD 900 by the Uxmal

ruler Lord Chac, and that it stands as the symbol of "a pivotal moment in the history of Maya architecture."

• Parte trasera del Palacio

• Uxmal: Buried Chaac, House of the Governor • Local guides point out these buried masks at the north corners of the Palace of the Governor as evidence of an

intricate water collection system. The only source of water at Uxmal was rain, and therefore the rain god is featured over and over again, with obsessive passion. This mask, in the northeastern corner, is still fully intact, while the mask of the northwestern corner is only partly preserved

Uxmal – Cuadrángulo de las monjas

• En el cuadrángulo de las monjas, la presencia del espacio abierto central dentro del núcleo arquitectónico conformado por cuadro edificios horizontales donde la poesía depende del marco del patio abierto al centro. Al fondo, el Cuadrángulo de las monjas visto desde la plataforma del Palacio del Gobernador.

• Looking down on the Nunnery Quadrangle from Temple IV of the Pyramid of the Magician. The South, West and East Buildings of the Quadrangle occupy the midground. The House of the Birds with its arched entry is in the foreground, while the Cemetary Group can be seen to the left in the far distance.

• Nunnery Quadrangle, North Building • "The North Structure of the Nunnery is some 270 feet long and has a complex arrangement of geometric

elements, mask panels, and figural motifs adorning its façade. The exact meanings are elusive, but the images generally concern themes connected with the supernatural legitimization of dynastic authority and the display of captives taken in battle."

• Nunnery Quadrangle: East Building • Decoration on the east building consists of a simple mat-weave background, stacked

Chac masks, and two-headed serpent bars arranged in trapezoidal structures.

• Nunnery Quadrangle, West Building Detail

Casa de las Palomas

• House of the Doves • The archaeoastronomer, Victor Segovia, believed that the openings in the roof comb had astronomical significance, and may

have served as a sort of observational instrument.

Juego de pelota

• Juego de pelota, con la Casa de las Tortugas atrás

Uxmal – pirámide del adivino

Uxmal – pirámide del adivino

• East Side, Pyramid of the Magician

• "Legend tells that this temple-pyramid was built by a powerful dwarf magician, who was hatched from an egg by his sorceress mother. Under a threat by an Uxmal king he was ordered to build this temple within a fortnight, or else lose his life."

• Piramyd of the Magician, West Side • The lofty stairway on the west side, with a 60 degree

angle of inclination, is flanked by large masks of the rain god in a stepped series, one behind the other, creating a propelling energy to the top, with its dramatic entrance to Temple IV.

Uxmal – edificio norte

Edificio norte del Cuadrángulo, visto desde los aposentos del edificio Oriente.

Bibliografia

• X. de Anda,Enrique. Historia de la Arquitectura Mexicana. Editorial Gustavo Gili. México, 1995. 253 págs.

• Manrique, Jorge Alberto (coordinador general). Historia del Arte Mexicano. Salvat Mexicana de Ediciones, México, 1982.