Bethlehem's a Zoo

It's time to take down the Christmas decorations in the apartment.  But during the last week of the holiday season I added a few more figures to my Bethlehem scene below the tree.  

At the handicraft market on the Zócalo I bought a tiny clay figure of a jaguar.  I placed it in front of the village church.

At the World Trade Center's toy expo there was a showcase full of very realistic miniature animals.  I bought a fawn and an armadillo to add to the scene.

The little boy looks startled to see an armadillo in the middle of Bethlehem!

Toyland

Today marks the end of that holiday season which Mexicans refer to as "Guadalupe Reyes".  It begins on December 12th with the Feast Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe and extends to January 6th with the Day of the Kings (Epiphany).  Today is the day when children in Mexico traditionally receive gifts from the Magi Kings - "Los Reyes Magos" (although Santa Claus bringing gifts on Christmas has been added to the mix).

During this gift-giving season, the World Trade Center for the last 20 years has been the venue for the "Expo Tus Jugetes", the largest toy exposition in Mexico.  The show opened on December 18th and lasts until today for those last minute shoppers who procrastinated in buying toys for the Day of the Kings (or whose children procrastinated in writing their letter to the Kings).

Alejandro and I had no plans to go shopping there since our nephew, now a high school student, is beyond the age of receiving toys.  Nevertheless, before Christmas, we walked over the the World Trade Center to look around.

At the entrance there are always some displays that are good for a funny photo op.

Inside the largest of the exposition halls, there is row after row of every kind of toy imaginable.

Santa's reindeer and helpers dancing to an old Christmas carol from Spain called "Los Peces en el Río" (The Fish in the River).

Last Friday when we were at the family house, Alejandro mentioned the toy expo.  His sister and nephew said that they wanted to go.  So, that very afternoon, we got in the car and drove to the World Trade Center.  Even though our nephew is in high school, I thought that it was really cool that he enjoyed looking at the toys.  I had not intended to buy anything for the family for Day of the Kings.  However, I was carefully observing the things that he and his mom were looking at with interest.  So on Sunday, Alejandro and I returned (for the third time) and bought a Snoopy thermos for Ezra and a Snoopy mug for Sandra.  And just so grandpa wouldn't feel left out, we bought him a Homer Simpson mug.

Zócalo Lights

 Dusk was fallining as I left the Cathedral last week when I was downtown.

Since it was a weeknight, the Zócalo was not insanely crowded.  So I decided to stick around and see the Christmas lights on the plaza.  I only had to wait a few minutes before they turned them on.

Just a block from the Zócalo, the downtown flagships of two of Mexico's major department store chains, Liverpool and Palacio del Hierro are always decorated with lights for the holidays.

As always, Palacio de Hierro does a light and sound show.

This year the music was from "The Nutcracker".

In the Cathedral

Let's backtrack to last week when I went downtown to the Christmas festival on the Zócalo.  After walking around the plaza taking pictures, and shopping at the handicrafts market, I decided to take a look inside the Cathedral to see if there were any decorations for Christmas.

Upon entering the Cathedral, the ornate Chapel of Forgiveness included a Nativity scene.

At the far end of the Cathedral, the incredibly baroque Chapel of the Kings is worth a photograph any time of year.

The main altar was flanked by Christmas trees and had another Nativity scene.

One of the pulpits and a venerated crucifix known as the Black Christ were surrounded by poinsettias.

My dear friend Carol, who passed away in September, was a devout Catholic.  I lit a candle in her memory.

Earthquake Video

Alejandro found a video which has some footage of Friday morning's 6.5 earthquake.  The scenes were all shot here in Mexico City.  You will see the Independence Monument swaying back and forth, a traffic light in the Roma neighborhood falling to the ground, and subway cars rocking crazily.

 

Winter in Ohio

Back in Ohio they did not have a white Christmas, but they definitely had a wintry white New Year.  My former neighbor Sheila sent me some photos from Coe Lake Park in Berea.

 

Lovely to look at, but I'm glad I don't have to deal with the snow anymore!

Earthquake Update

Yesterday morning I reported on the earthquake in southern Mexico.  A 6.5 magnitude quake is quite strong, so I thought that it was extremely lucky and strange that there were initially no reports of damage in Mexico City, nor in the state of Guerrero where the epicenter was located.

More news has come out, and it appears that indeed there was damage to buildings in the region of the epicenter, and there were landslides along the highway to Acapulco.  Even here in Mexico City there was some minor damage.  Photos were posted online showing cracks in buildings.

(image taken from the internet)

There were some scary videos posted of buildings swaying, and the Monument of Independence, a tall column topped by a gold angel, moving back and forth.  A tree fell onto a parked car.  Fortunately no one was in it at the time.  One fatality, indirectly related to the quake, has been reported.  An older man fell and died while rushing down the stairs to evacuate his building.

Thankfully, there was no damage at the family house.  I am now back at the apartment, and there was no damage here either.  Not so much as an ornament fell off the Christmas tree.