Goodbye Mexico City

I stayed in the Historic Central District when I was in Mexico City last month, and that was a perfect location for touring.  But Mexico City is so big, that I decided to try a different neighborhood this time.  I chose Condesa, which is supposed to be hip and cool (that's me) with a lot of restaurants and bars (that's me, too).  From the description, I thought it would be like Greenwich Village, but it turns out to be more like the Upper East Side.  There are plenty of restaurants, but the neighborhood is quiet, upscale, and residential.  My apartment is on the sixth floor with a terrace and floor to ceiling windows on two sides for a great view.  Downstairs in my building is a Japanese restaurant and there are four other sushi restaurants within a few blocks, as well as two falafel places, several other international restaurants, yoga studios, dog groomers, and a cupcake shop across the street.  There are two parks nearby, one with a large dog park, and while this is the first place in Mexico that I have seen people walking with strollers, there are way more dogs ,and people walking dogs, than babies.

On Sunday I took a bike tour of the city.  Every Sunday, they close the Paseo de la Reforma, the main avenue in Mexico City, to cars.  Our guide said that over 50,000 people ride on the Paseo every week.  The riding is incredibly well organized.  At every intersection there are two young girls with huge banners.  When the light is red, they block the road with the banner so no bikes will go into the intersection while cars are crossing.  When the light changes, they move the banner away.  Usually the Reforma is closed to cars until 2, but on Sunday it was only closed until 1 because they said the air pollution was particularly bad.  I use that excuse and the 7,000 feet elevation, rather than the fact that I had not been on a bike in over six weeks, to explain why I was getting winded on an easy ride.

Besides, the Paseo de la Reforma, we rode through several nice neighborhoods, including Condesa, and several parks.  Mexico City, at least the neighborhoods we rode through, is tree lined and very green.  One park had a replica of Michelangelo's David.  Lincoln Park had Abraham Lincoln across the street from Martin Luther King, Jr.  I took my Claremonster Riding picture in front of Lincoln.

It turns out the the most visited Catholic site in the world, and the third most visited sacred site in the world, is the Virgen of Guadalupe in Mexico City.  Who knew?  How could I not visit it while I was here?  I was going to visit it on Monday, but parts of it are closed on Mondays, so after the bike ride, I took the Metro all the way across the city to visit the Virgen.

On December 9, 1531, only ten years after the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, a native Mexican peasant named Juan Diego was walking on the hill of Tepeyac when Mary appeared to him and told him to have a church built to her on that site.  Juan went to the archbishop who did not believe him.  The archbishop told him to have Mary give him a tangible sign.  Juan Diego saw Mary three more times.  When he told her that the archbishop needed a sign, she told him to bring him the flowers growing there.  Quite surprising because normally nothing grew there in December, and the flowers were non-native Castillian roses.  Juan wrapped the roses in his cloak and brought them to the archbishop.  When he opened his cloak to show the archbishop the roses, the image of Mary was painted on the cloak.  The archbishop finally believed Juan Diego and the church was built.

And now, the rest of the story ...  The hill of Tepeyac was sacred to the Aztecs so it was important to the early Spanish clergy to establish the site as sacred to Catholics.  This very detailed story, with specific dates, does not appear in writing for over a hundred years, and there are no contemporaneous references to it.  In fact, Juan Diego probably never existed although he has been canonized.  Oh well, as my father always said, never let the facts interfere with a good story.

Juan Diego's cloak was on display for years in a small chapel, but is now in a huge, modern basilica.  The complex also include a museum, chapels, dioramas, waterfalls, and fountains, as well as shops selling replicas and religious items.  It kind of reminded me of the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City.  I think there are non-stop masses in the main basilica, and three moving walkways let you pass in front of Juan Diego's cloak.

Juan Diego's cloak

Original basilica

Modern basilica

Lifesize diorama

I have to say that I wandered the complex for over an hour looking for Juan Diego's cloak although I had first gone into the new basilica.  I saw the picture hanging behind the altar but didn't realize that that was it; I thought that was a painting.  After wandering through the entire complex, I went back to the basilica and followed the crowds and found the cloak.  A few people go on their knees from the entrance of the basilica to the cloak, or at least to the seats.

On Tuesday I visited Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo's home and now a really interesting museum of her life and work.  Casa Azul really is blue.



Casa Azul is in Coyoacan, another beautiful, tree-lined residential neighborhood.  Some of the houses even had yards instead of wall up to the sidewalk.  With its fairly small houses, the neighborhood reminded me a lot of older California neighborhoods.

Then I made my last trip back to the Centro to visit the Monument to the Revolution.  This is a massive concrete structure with tombs of the revolutionary heroes in the corners, and a glass elevator that you can take to an observation deck.  Then you can keep walking up stairs between the inner and outer layers of the dome to the very top.  Kind of like climbing to the Statue of Liberty's torch, but this monument is supposed to be Mexico's answer to the Eiffel Tower.

And that is the end of my Mexican adventure.  In the morning I will fly to DC and spend the next two weeks with the grandchildren.  A different kind of adventure.

Last parade in Oaxaca

But first a few sights of Oaxaca.  One day when I walked by the church where all the weddings take place, they were setting up for a photo shoot.  I was sitting on the ledge in front of the church with lots of other people, but they moved us all across the street to get us out of the shot.

The star had her hair and makeup done, and then was ready to begin filming.

I have no idea who the star is, but all of the Oaxacans seemed to know her and tried to take pictures with her.

On the outskirts of Oaxaca are many craft villages.  In each pueblo, everyone does the exact same craft, and each village does a different craft.  Of course, you can buy anything in the markets in Oaxaca, but it is more fun to go to the different villages and wander through the various workshops and watch how they create.  In one village, they make alebrijes - hand painted animals, each carved from a single piece of wood from the copal tree. 

In another, they make "ceramics" from mud.  The "pottery wheel" consists of two plates which the artist turns with one hand while making the pot with the other.

I also went on a tour one day to see the Zapotec ruins on Monte Alban.  These predate the Aztecs by hundreds of years.

Now back to the last parade.  Well actually, the last two.  I was getting a manicure on my last day in Oaxaca when I heard music approaching.  It got louder and louder until I could finally see the band through the door of the shop, followed by a hearse and mourners.  Apparently you need a brass band for funerals too.

Then I went for a walk on my last night and saw two bands getting ready to play in a square, and also some drag queens.  Intrigued I stuck around to see what would happen.  After a while, a cue was given; the bands began to march, and there were dancers and floats.  No signs, so I have no idea why they had this random parade on a Friday night.  It was too small to be the gay pride parade, but trust me, all of the people in dresses are men.  They were also dancing with those giant balls from the weddings but without names on them, and giant figures, but not a bride and groom.  They seemed to be military.  Go figure.

Goodbye, Oaxaca.  I'm off to Mexico City for my last few days.

Oaxaca - the city of love

Well, that's how it seems to me in my first day.  I went for a walk to explore the city, and heard music playing, so I went to check it out.  It turned out to be the wedding of Gaby and Jordy, complete with a brass band, a ten foot bride and groom, dancers in traditional costumes, and men on stilts.

Notice the drone taking pictures over the crowd.

The bride and groom are dressed "conventionally."

After the dancing in front of the church, the ten foot tall bride and groom and the band led the bridal party and guests in a parade for two blocks  ... to waiting buses.  Reception for invited guests only, I guess.

I walked around Oaxaca for several hours, enjoying the center square, markets, and people.  When I headed back toward my apartment, I passed the same church and ... another wedding with the same ten foot bride and groom, dancers, and men on stilts.  But the big ball now says Edith and someone.

They paraded on down the street.  I sat quietly for a few minutes and then another band started playing in the street.  This is so cool, I thought.  Continual music.

After a few minutes, a crowd of people in red t-shirts showed up.  Two of them opened up a sign that said:  Dianarely, will you marry me.  A young man got on one knee and opened a box with a ring.

She said yes, and he threw up his arms triumphantly.

The red t-shirts had a heart on the front with Dianarely and David.  Each one said something different on the back like:  Sweethearts now married and There's going to be a wedding and She said yes.  While the band continued to play, the young couple took pictures for half an hour with their family and supporters.  This is way more involved than asking someone to prom.  Apparently, you always need a brass band for romance.

Today I went to the weekly market in Tlacolula, a huge market that draws people from all over the countryside, many in traditional dress.  There were very few tourists there; this is really a market for the townspeople.  Now I know where to go when you want a new or used machete.  They also buy and sell live turkeys, although it wasn't quite clear to me who was buying or why.  Obviously, they sell lots of food in the market, but people also brought their own food to picnic in the plaza.

There are several small villages outside of Oaxaca that are known for their crafts, with each one specializing in one craft.  After the market, I stopped in Teotitlan which is known for their rug making.  Each rug was more beautiful than the last.  I wish I had floor space so I could buy another rug.  And as I walked by the small church in Teotitlan, what did I see?  A band leading a wedding party on their parade down the street.

Apparently, you always need a brass band for romance.  And there is lots of romance in Oaxaca.

Sights of Cuernavaca

I have spent the last two weeks studying Spanish at an excellent school in Cuernavaca, although the more I study, the less I believe that I will master Spanish before I die.  Cuernavaca was interesting, but I have decided to move on tomorrow to Oaxaca where I will study for the next two weeks.  Some random sights from Cuernavaca ...

On my daily walk one day, there were two workmen in front of me walking home. The man on the left has a shovel over his shoulder while the man on the right is swinging a machete in each hand.

 I saw this sign at the entrance to the market and thought it was a joke, so I took a picture to ask my teacher about it.  She did laugh, but the joke was on me.  For those who do not understand Spanish it says:  The entrance of devils is prohibited between the hours of 9am and 3pm.  The Administration.  Huh?  Who knew that "devil" is the word for a handcart in Spanish?  The markets are too crowded during the day, so handcarts are only permitted in the early or late hours.

Real Mexican food is not all that similar to California Mexican food.  There is not a lot of beans and rice, and almost no vegetables.  (Oh, darn.)  There are lots of different kinds of meat, and everything is served on corn tortillas.  I just thought I should point out that La Casa de Las Papas (The House of Potatoes) was shut tight.  I was happy to see that Mexicans have good taste.

Okay, this one really blew me away.  On my daily walk, I passed a playing field and went in to watch the kids play soccer, but they were playing American football.  At one end of the field, someone was teaching boys to play, while at the other end a girls' team was practicing.  Why?  Why are Mexicans learning and playing American football?  Then the big boys came in and played a game of flag football, complete with referees.  Go figure.

Practically everyone here is selling something, either from a store, their front room, a patch of sidewalk.  I'm guessing someone was going to show up and make this into a sidewalk restaurant.  Otherwise, I have no idea why there were chairs and a table at curbside.

As you can see from the flowers hanging over the wall, parts of the city are quite beautiful.  Unfortunately, income inequality is even worse here than in the US.  The nicer houses are gated, often with barbed wire or glass shards on top of the walls.  My school and my small apartment complex are beautifully landscaped, but both are gated and locked.  I need two keys to enter my complex and another to enter my apartment although the latter is superfluous since no one but my neighbors can get into the complex.  Here is the view of the pool and patio in my complex.

And over the wall to the left is a garbage strewn vacant lot.  There appears to be a family living in the shack at the front, although I'm sure it has neither electricity nor running water.

Finally, an oasis in the middle of the city - a beautiful hotel and restaurant for the tourists, although I must say that most of the tourists are Mexican (presumably wealthy given the prices).  I did not see any American or European tourists.

These photos are pictures I took of unusual sights.  The usual sights are more like the view over my fence.  The poverty and government disfunction is obvious everywhere.  Sidewalks are badly cracked, and the garbage collectors cannot keep up with the mountains of garbage.  The is a public garden with flower beds and pools of water ... except there are no longer flower beds, just random overgrown greenery.  My teacher told me that is used to be beautiful but is now ugly (her words).  The good news for an American is that everything is so cheap.  I had trouble spending $10 for a meal, and diet Pepsi is a bargain at forty cents for a 16 ounce bottle.  My manicure yesterday set me back almost $7.  Of course, with the exception of a staple like diet Pepsi, the quality of most things is lower as well.

Cuernavaca is a fairly modern mid-sized city.  I have been told that Oaxaca is an "authentic" Mexican puebla with wonderful food and crafts.  So I am off tomorrow to see what is there.