A World's Fair of Sorts

Many years ago, an international fair was held on the Zócalo.  If I remember correctly, it was called the Fair of Friendly Cultures, and it was an annual event.  The enormous plaza was filled with pavilions representing nations from all over the world.  The booths were staffed by people from those countries, many of them dressed in traditional attire.  A wide variety of handicrafts and souvenirs were for sale.  A few blocks away, on the Plaza of Santo Domingo, a culinary tent was set up with food from all over the world to enjoy.  It was a wonderful festival, and I hoped that it would return to the Zócalo.  Unfortunately, I think it went by the wayside with the pandemic.

There have been some smaller events which go by the name of "Feria del Mundo" (World's Fair"), but they have been a shadow of that festival years ago.  I saw an advertisement for one of these "World's Fairs" to be held this weekend... Friday through Sunday.

Even though I figured that I would be disappointed, I went downtown on Friday to see it anyways.  You may recall that I send dolls to the daughters of a friend of mine, and I hoped to find some dolls from different countries.

The fair was held in a building in the Historic Center called "el Palacio de la Autonomía" (The Palace of Autonomy).  

The ornate building stands on the site of a colonial convent.  In the late 19th century, the current structure was built, and it served as the National Teachers' School.  In 1929 an agreement was signed here in which the National University of Mexico was granted complete autonomy, free from government interference.  Hence the name of the building, and the official name of the university... "Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México" (UNAM).  Even though the University moved from the city center to its new campus in the 1950s, the "Palacio de Autonomía" still belongs to UNAM.  Events and expositions are held here.

This "World's Fair" was indeed a disappointment.  Supposedly, there were 40 countries represented, although I don't think there were that many.  The booths were small, and most of the merchandise was clothing or touristy souvenirs.  The  U.S.A. booth was selling cheap fur coats.  What the heck?!

To top it off, I did not see any dolls for sale!

Fortunately, admission to this sad excuse for an international fair was free.   

The one experience that kept my visit from being a total waste of time came as I was about to leave.  There were several stalls selling foods from different countries, and I decided to stop and have a bite to eat.  There was a booth set up by a French pastry shop located in Mexico City, and a variety of sweet and savory pastries were for sale.  I had a chicken roll with bechamel sauce that was quite tasty.  I had a very nice conversation with the owner of the "patiserrie".  He is Mexican, but he studied cooking in Lyon, France.  When he returned to Mexico, he opened a shop in the neighborhood of Lindavista, which is not too far from where Alejandro's family live.

So, at least I ended my trip to the event on a pleasant note.  We might visit this fellow's pastry shop some day, but I am not going to bother with any more festivals that label themselves as "World's Fairs"!