Mexico City

Our apologies to those of you who follow our blog and have been wondering what has happened to us. Although we have been back in Denver since the middle of December, we have fallen behind on our blogging, but before we talk about our fun times in Denver, we want to share some thoughts about our time in Mexico City.

How to describe Mexico City? Huge, teeming, traffic choked, and full of wonders.  All of these, but a lot more.

Everyone in MC loves Christmas

Living and touring in Mexico City, we were constantly aware that we were in a city of 28 million people.  We stayed in the Historic Center, near the Zocalo, and at that time of year (December), especially, there always seemed to be hordes of people on the sidewalks and in the streets; some obviously doing holiday shopping, but many just going about their daily activities, but always hordes.

Getting into and out of the Zocalo often was a nightmare.  Once we finally had to abandon a taxi just three blocks from our apartment after nearly an hour stalled in traffic--we got trapped in a market area that seemed to have expanded exponentially for the Christmas season.

Our fallback transportation was the Metro, which functioned quite smoothly, even if it could be incredibly crowded. The Metro is a great bargain; with the recent fare hike, it costs $3 pesos a ride, or about 35 cents. There's a great free app that clearly shows you how to use the Metro most effectively.  We found that a Metro ride will get you to your destination in less than half the time of a taxi and far more cheaply.

Larry, Sue, Mart & Bob

Mexican People and Culture

The Mexican people are invariably polite and kind.  Almost everyone, both in Mexico City and San Miguel, was patient with our attempts to speak Spanish, and often went out of their way to help us.  They are very loquacious—you hear chatter everywhere; but it is not loud or obnoxious, just omnipresent.  It is pleasant, as most speak in a low tone of voice.  Most places seem welcoming and inviting as a result, and an atmosphere of joviality is felt.

Many are beautiful and have such classic features that you want to stop and stare.  If you catch anyone’s eye, they will smile and give you a “Buenos Dias” or “Buenas Noches” and always a “Hasta Luego” when you leave.  We felt quite at home in Mexico.  Like Americans, the Mexican population has gained weight over the last decade or two, and especially in MC you see quite a few overweight and even obese people. Sue fit right in (that's me, not Larry, speaking).

Sun Pyramid, Teotihuacan

The culture is rich and varied.   We North Americans really have no idea of the extent and diversity of Mexico’s rich history and culture. as well as the level of sophistication. During the Dark Ages in Europe, Mexico had a tremendously organized and high level of culture and government; actually, there were several such centers throughout Mexico and Central America.  

Larry & Mart at the top of the Sun Pyramid

Cortes arrived in 1519 and the Spanish invasion changed everything often decimating populations with war and new diseases, always forcing European culture and religion on the indigenous peoples. One of our favorite excursions while we were in MC was to the pyramids of Teotihuacan, about an hour outside of the city. Sue, feeling a little under the weather stayed home, but Mart, Bob and Larry marveled at these incredible ruins and the civilization that was able to create them.

When we were in San Miguel de Allende, we enjoyed listening to music—often mariachi, but there were a lot of different other types as well.  We very much liked the “tuna” groups which usually consisted of a group of eight or ten men, playing various stringed instruments and singing traditional, or at least well known Mexican songs.  We, of course, knew very few of them except for “Cielito Lindo.”  Our favorite was “Piernas de Carolina” to which our most memorable group, Tuna Real, played and danced.  We have a short video of Tuna Real on a previous blog.

Our last night in San Miguel we walked to the Jardin after dinner and found a local university group performing an exciting dance program with multiple costume changes and a variety of choreographies. Much of the dancing included some form of tap, with the men and women often doing a type of call and response with their dancing. The young people were tremendously energetic and talented.  It was intriguing just watching them perform, but also exhilarating and exciting.

Coming to MC, we decided to go see the Ballet Folklorico—and were surprised to see that much of the same choreography and the variety of dances were repeated on the beautiful stage of the Bellas Artes center.  The main difference between the performances was the fabulous, colorful costumes of the professional dancers.

Mart, Sue, Carole & Bob

We did some incredibly interesting things in MC, mostly thanks to Mart and Bob’s friend, Carole Reedy. Fortunately, we can now call Carole our good friend--and we plan to visit her many more times in the coming years, because there are just too many things to see and do in Mexico that we just didn't have the time or energy to take in. 

But some of the other highlights from Carole's tour of the city include: Chapultepec Park and Castle, which introduced us some of Mexico's incredible history. The Soumaya and Jumex Museums which are world class art museums. All of us thoroughly enjoyed the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera homes and studios and the surrounding neighborhoods. The National Anthropology Museum would require perhaps a week just to take in all of its different exhibits covering the many, many civilizations that have flourished in Mexico.

With Nicola

 Besides spending time with Carole, we so enjoyed re-uniting with Erin’s good friend, "in loco parenti," and driver, Rosalio, who to this day carries her phone number in his taxi’s visor and a note she wrote him when she left.   

On one our final days in Mexico City,  we were able  re-connected with Erin’s good friend, Nicola Souter, and enjoyed one of our best meals at Casa Portuguesa. We look forward to seeing her again this summer in Basel, Switzerland.