Museo Antropología Xalapa

Photographs by Joseph Sorrentino

A selection of my photographs are available for purchase on this website:

https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/3-joseph-sorrentino

Seeing Olmec colossal heads in photographs is one thing. But when you stand in front of one, it’s not just their size that strikes you. It’s also their presence, one that exudes both calmness and power. The good place to see them and experience that presence is the Museo de Antropología de Xalapa (MAX) in Xalapa, Veracruz.

The MAX is considered to be the second most important anthropology museum in Mexico (the first being the Museo Nacionál de Antropología in CDMX). The first museum in Xalapa to house prehispanic artifacts that could be viewed by the general public opened in 1943. A larger museum was opened on the current site in 1960, only to be torn down in 1985 to make way for an even larger museum. That museum, designed by Raymond Gómez, a North American architect, opened on October 29, 1986. All of the 2,500 artifacts on display are from prehispanic Veracruz civilizations: Olmec, Remojadas, Tajin, Zapotal and Huasteca.

The building has one long gallery with nine smaller ones jutting off to one side. Three of these are covered patios where prehispanic figures and altars sit among trees and plants. Beautifully landscaped grounds surround the museum.