Explore the Ancient Olmec Legacy at Parque‑Museo La Venta
Tabasco is the cradle of one of Mesoamerica's great mother civilizations. Villahermosa guards with zeal and pride some testimonies of that ancestral culture: the Olmec. And as an example, in the 1950s the Parque-Museo La Venta (La Venta Park-Museum) was inaugurated—an archeology and nature combination on Laguna de las Ilusiones shores.
In a natural jungle environment, an almost a kilometer journey is made to appreciate the 200 pieces collection from La Venta Archaeological Site, a precolumbian city where the Olmecs settled.
It’s surprising to see the “Cabezas Colosales”, such as the Cabeza del Guerrero (Warrior's Head) that has gone around the world. But there are also stelae dedicated to corn, altars, massive offerings and peculiar figures such as “Mono mirando al cielo” (“Monkey looking at the sky”), which marked the threshold of the Mayan underworld.
To enrich the tour, a nighty sound and light show is presented—it narrates the Olmec culture's importance and the museum construction through poetic fragments by Tabasco-born Carlos Pellicer.
The archaeological pieces share space with a zoo with jaguars, crocodiles, spider monkeys and snakes, to name a few. These specimens are a sample of Tabasco jungle’s great biodiversity, which is why trees and tropical plants trails were recreated in the park.
In a natural jungle environment, an almost a kilometer journey is made to appreciate the 200 pieces collection from La Venta Archaeological Site, a precolumbian city where the Olmecs settled.
It’s surprising to see the “Cabezas Colosales”, such as the Cabeza del Guerrero (Warrior's Head) that has gone around the world. But there are also stelae dedicated to corn, altars, massive offerings and peculiar figures such as “Mono mirando al cielo” (“Monkey looking at the sky”), which marked the threshold of the Mayan underworld.
To enrich the tour, a nighty sound and light show is presented—it narrates the Olmec culture's importance and the museum construction through poetic fragments by Tabasco-born Carlos Pellicer.
The archaeological pieces share space with a zoo with jaguars, crocodiles, spider monkeys and snakes, to name a few. These specimens are a sample of Tabasco jungle’s great biodiversity, which is why trees and tropical plants trails were recreated in the park.
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