When I visited Campeche, Mexico, about 10 years ago, I remember being overwhelmed with color. The houses and storefronts lining the streets of this seaside city are painted with cheery shades of yellow, red, blue and green, all reflecting the bright Caribbean sunlight like a living prism. I learned from talking to locals that the tradition of painting houses started during colonial times when the port was regularly attacked by pirates hoping to score some of the valuable porcelain, marble and linens flowing into Mexico. If your house looked wealthy, it was a natural target. So, the residents opted to use color as a more democratic – and safer – decoration.
Campeche is one of the cities I chose to feature in the new Bing Travel slide show: The Most Colorful Places on Earth. As you’ll see, regardless of country, the tradition of painting houses bright colors often stems from colonial influence. Other times, ship paint was the only paint available to early settlers, so they used what was on hand and it stuck. Regardless, today these cities and towns are all fascinating destinations in their own right – the colors are just a bonus.
If you’ve been to these or any other colorful city, tell us about it below!
Laetitia Casta Claudette Ortiz Julia Stiles Marisa Miller AnnaLynne McCord
No comments:
Post a Comment