Museo Kaluz

One of the city’s newest art museums, the Museo Kaluz is at home in a striking 18th-century palace. Once used to shelter Augustinian friars en route from Spain to the Philippines. Later subdivided into more affordable housing, it’s said that the legendary Germán Valdés, AKA, Tin Tan was born within its walls.

In 1943, the property was converted into a hotel, first as a Best Western and until only recently as the luxury boutique Hotel de Cortés. In 2020, the property is to open its doors again to welcome the public to view the collections of mostly 19th and 20th century paintings.

The Museo Kaluz collection includes more than 1,000 works of art from the 18th to the 21st centuries, including many internationally recognized artists. Among them Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, Angel Zárraga, Gerardo Murillo “Dr. Atl, ” and Rufino Tamayo, among others. The museum’s Facebook page frequently posts on comings and goings.

The museum has focused in some large sense on Spanish artists exiled in Mexico during the early 20th century.  Aptly located at the corner of Paseo de la Reforma, a trip to the museum can be comfortably combined with trips to any number of nearby attractions, all of them quite easily accessible from Metro Hidalgo.