South of the Border April 7, 2019
Mexico City
At the end of our winter adventure, we spent four days in Mexico City, in a lovely, trendy neighborhood called the Condesa Colonia. Being that we were unsure of ourselves here, what with tales of violence and kidnappings and drug cartels in Mexico City, Bruce sprang for a chic apartment/hotel, Casa Mannach. We hoped that a nice area would insulate us from bad things. If you saw the film, Roma, which won several Oscars this year, you'll have an idea of the type of area that we were in - only a little leafier and nicer - and 40 years later!
Having arrived late on Friday evening when it was dark and we were tired and confused, we didn't venture out for food that night, making do with our little bag of peanuts. When we did go out for breakfast on Saturday morning, we knew we were in an upscale area by the plethora of stores selling pet supplies and detox smoothies, not to mention the large nearby Starbucks, and the bright orange, sweet little library on the edge of a beautiful park. Further evidence were the slim young folks, dressed in leggings and carrying gym bags, who hurried along the sidewalks.
The public library where the director welcomed us warmly, saying that this was our library!
We found a charming cafe with tables lined up along the sidewalk, full of families and couples with their dogs on leashes, relaxing on the weekend. Scott Joplin tunes wafted our way from the guitar player sitting on a stool on the corner. The weather was delightful, like a summer morning in Maine. Lovely lavender jacaranda trees, tall overhead and in full bloom, offered shade and filtered the light. Hot pink bougainvillea draped themselves from the roof line of nearby art deco houses. No sign of drug cartels anywhere!
Our breakfast spot in La Condesa Colonia.
With only 4 days in the city, we had to prioritize what we wanted to see. For Bruce, the Anthropological Museum was tops on his list. For me, the famous Diego Rivera murals were must-see items (it doesn't get much better than art and politics together).
We enjoy walking to our destinations, if possible, and often find that the journey offers unexpected delights and insights. That day's adventure was no different. After breakfast, we struck out on foot for the Anthropological Museum, a distance of a couple of miles. Along the way, we passed a large intersection with towering, modern, glass skyscrapers - built with LEED certification! So encouraging to see this awareness of sustainable practices!
Pretty reflection pool as part of an LEED-certified building.
Further along, we encountered a festival of indigenous people, drumming and dancing and performing the voladores ritual, four men spinning their way to the ground, upside down, from a high tower. We had seen this when our cruise ship stopped in Puerto Vallarta in January and were intrigued. It must be a scary activity, but they make it look easy.
Voladores, indigenous Mexican ritual from the Veracruz area.
On the plaza in front of the museum, we were approached by young adults wearing shirts with the insignia, UNHCR (United Nations High Commission on Refugees). We had a good chat with them about our mutual concern for the plight of refugees and asked what was happening in Mexico with migrants coming from the south. As might be expected, the policies of the presidents of both nations, ours and theirs, have been disappointing in this regard. During our time in the city, we met two men who had been expelled from the USA. One was the maintenance man in our building. He is relieved to have landed this job, which has kept him from trying to return to the USA. Another was an Uber driver who had worked as a busboy in Chicago. How many others have not found work?
The Anthropological Museum is an impressive complex of buildings, filled with information and artifacts about the various indigenous groups that lived in the area now known as Mexico, before the conquest by the Spaniards, and up to the present day. There were the Mayans and the Aztecs, of course, plus many others, such as the Olmecs, spread out over the areas as far flung as Oaxaca in the southwest and Veracruz in the east. The museum complex surrounds an open plaza featuring a suspended fountain, raining down cooling water. Such a soothing sound and misty sensation!
The Anthropology Museum water feature
We were reminded of the high degree of sophistication of these early civilizations, with their writing and mathematical and cosmology knowledge, not to mention their artistic styles. What we learned over our brief time in Mexico is that the relationship with the first peoples of this nation are as complicated as those in Guatemala and the US, and probably Canada,too, for that matter. It seems that, despite public interest in their cultures and appreciation for the ancient wisdom, the indigenous are still treated poorly in all of these nations. The next day, in the big public plaza at the center of the city, the Zocalo, we saw a demonstration by a Mayan group trying to get the attention of the current government to improve the human rights of their people.
Silly as it seems now, one of the highlights for us was totally unexpected! In the museum cafe, we ordered what we thought was a simple green salad, though we weren't able to translate every ingredient listed on the menu. When the salad arrived, what should be staring up at us but a huge handful of fried crickets! Bruce pushed aside his texture issues and plowed right into these "chapulines", discovering that they are actually pretty good - crispy, salty and a bit spicy!
The next day we took an Uber to the Zocalo, the massive public plaza in the center of the old part of Mexico City. This is the site of the Palacio Nacional, housing the President's office, as well as the Diego Rivera murals. As we discovered, it's also the site of political demonstrations. The murals in the Palacio Nacional were fascinating, as expected, full of detail illustrating the history of Mexico. Most of them included English translations of the descriptions, allowing us to more fully understand them.
Detail from a Diego Rivera mural in the Palacio Nacional
Back on the Zocalo, we passed a makeshift tent, handwritten posters and a few demonstrators. Being curious and wanting to learn more, I took photos and got into a bit of trouble. From what I could understand from the man who objected and from what I learned when I googled later, this was a group trying to get the attention of President Lopez Obregon in order to press for more services for poor indigenous people.
The Zocalo, the site of demonstrations seeking indigenous rights.
Back on the Zocalo, we passed a makeshift tent, handwritten posters and a few demonstrators. Being curious and wanting to learn more, I took photos and got into a bit of trouble. From what I could understand from the man who objected and from what I learned when I googled later, this was a group trying to get the attention of President Lopez Obregon in order to press for more services for poor indigenous people.
The Zocalo, the site of demonstrations seeking indigenous rights.
After a quiet and delicious lunch in a Lebanese restaurant, we headed out for The Museum of Culture, which offers temporary exhibits on a wide variety of topics. "Visions of Death Around the World" was very interesting. Most colorful and vibrant, festive even, was Mexico's own Dia de Muertos with a display of happy looking skeletons and food and drink for deceased loved ones.
Our last two days were spent just exploring the Condesa and Roma neighborhoods and the botanical garden not far away. The area is filled with lovely parks and fountains. In Parque Luis Cabrera, the international organization, Doctors Without Borders (Medicos Sin Fronteras), has sponsored a series of large photographs and stories of women struggling in war-torn countries. One of the posters pictured Mexican female doctors who are members of this team, serving in a variety of nations around the world, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Honduras, and Nigeria.
Dog walkers were a frequent sight, many handling as many as a dozen dogs. These two walkers are helping their dogs get a drink - or a bath - in a fountain.
Lupine-like plants were in bloom, sending white spikes high into the air.
Just as we were about to leave the park, a small group of smiling young university students, all women as it turned out, asked if they could pose some questions about our coffee consumption. A couple of the brave ones asked the questions (in Spanish) while the others looked on. It was a class in statistics, and we sent them off with all they needed to know about the Webbs' coffee drinking habits.
While wandering around our lovely art deco area, we became aware of a number of buildings that had been damaged as a result of the September, 2017, earthquake. Once we started looking, we noticed cracks along the facades and realized that the buildings were empty. In fact, the multi-story apartment house across the street from Casa Mannach is undergoing extensive repairs, thus the jack-hammers and pounding and coming and going of huge rebar-containing construction vehicles on the narrow street all day long. I had read in Tony Cohan's Mexican Days that, having survived the deadly 1985 earthquake in Mexico City, he always leaves his shoes next to the door of his hotel room when visiting the city - just in case!
Earthquake damaged building near our apartment.
Lovely art deco hotel next to ours with breakfast outdoors.
Pretty pre-school in the Condesa neighborhood.
The Museum of Modern Art was our last venture and a relaxing place to spend some time. I was introduced to the work of Kazuya Sakai, an Argentinian/Japanese artist whose huge, colorful canvases seemed full of joy.
The work of Kazuya Sakai in the Museum of Modern Art.
Our last two days were spent just exploring the Condesa and Roma neighborhoods and the botanical garden not far away. The area is filled with lovely parks and fountains. In Parque Luis Cabrera, the international organization, Doctors Without Borders (Medicos Sin Fronteras), has sponsored a series of large photographs and stories of women struggling in war-torn countries. One of the posters pictured Mexican female doctors who are members of this team, serving in a variety of nations around the world, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Honduras, and Nigeria.
Just as we were about to leave the park, a small group of smiling young university students, all women as it turned out, asked if they could pose some questions about our coffee consumption. A couple of the brave ones asked the questions (in Spanish) while the others looked on. It was a class in statistics, and we sent them off with all they needed to know about the Webbs' coffee drinking habits.
While wandering around our lovely art deco area, we became aware of a number of buildings that had been damaged as a result of the September, 2017, earthquake. Once we started looking, we noticed cracks along the facades and realized that the buildings were empty. In fact, the multi-story apartment house across the street from Casa Mannach is undergoing extensive repairs, thus the jack-hammers and pounding and coming and going of huge rebar-containing construction vehicles on the narrow street all day long. I had read in Tony Cohan's Mexican Days that, having survived the deadly 1985 earthquake in Mexico City, he always leaves his shoes next to the door of his hotel room when visiting the city - just in case!
The Museum of Modern Art was our last venture and a relaxing place to spend some time. I was introduced to the work of Kazuya Sakai, an Argentinian/Japanese artist whose huge, colorful canvases seemed full of joy.
Our experience in Mexico City turned out to be delightful! Tales of crime, while they may be true, are certainly not the whole story of Mexico or its capital city. Despite being the 11th largest city in the world, according to Wikipedia, we found it to be full of old world charm that reminded us of Barcelona, as well as modern sophistication with hip, trendy neighborhoods, beautiful parks, nice restaurants, wonderful museums, and good people!
Bruce and I are back in Maine now, getting settled into our house for the rest of the year. We had a great Latino winter adventure, discovering new places and meeting up with people whom we care about. Now we look forward to connecting with those who are dear to us right here! A big thanks to Jane Andrews and Don Bouchard for sheltering us again on both ends of our travels!
Bruce and I are back in Maine now, getting settled into our house for the rest of the year. We had a great Latino winter adventure, discovering new places and meeting up with people whom we care about. Now we look forward to connecting with those who are dear to us right here! A big thanks to Jane Andrews and Don Bouchard for sheltering us again on both ends of our travels!
