Skulls on the Reforma

After my sad visit to the earthquake ravaged neighborhood of Condesa, the sun came out after a couple days of overcast skies.  I walked to Mexico City's most famous boulevard, the Paseo de la Reforma.

Notice how the median strip of the boulevard has been filled with marigolds, the traditional flower for the Day of the Dead.

I had come to the Reforma to see the public display of the "alebrijes" from last Saturday's parade.  However, before I even got to the "alebrijes", I discovered that, along one stretch of the pedestrian promenades on either side of the boulevard, there was another display for the Day of the Dead.  There were scores of skull figures, all identical in size and shape, but each decorated by a different artist. 

Here are a few of the colorfully and imaginatively painted skulls along the Reforma...

This skull was enclosed within a glass case because it was entirely covered in beads in the style of the artwork of the Huichol tribe.  In the close-up you can make out the intricate beadwork.

This skull honored the rescuers and other volunteers who gave selflessly of their time and energy after last month's earthquake.

A Sad Trip

Yesterday was a chilly, overcast day.  The dismal weather seemed appropriate for where I was going to go, a place that I dreaded seeing, yet a place that I needed to see.   I was going to Condesa, one of my favorite parts of the city.  This neighborhood of tree-lined streets, art-deco buildings, and innumerable restaurants is where I stayed on many of my previous trips to Mexico City.  And this is one of the neighborhoods that was most severely affected by last month's earthquake.

I took the Metrobus north up Insurgentes Avenue for five stops.  I got off, and headed toward Amsterdam Avenue, a pleasant, leafy street that runs in an oval, following the course of the horse track that used to be there in an earlier era.  Amsterdam is very much the heart and soul of Condesa.  At first everything looked just the same as I passed by my familiar haunts.  There was the pastry shop, Gran Vía... the teahouse, Cassava Roots, where I would often get a chai latte... and the little restaurant El Orujo that serves tasty Uruguayan sandwiches.  

Then I arrived at Amsterdam #7, where I had rented an apartment through AirBnB at least a half dozen times.  The building was still standing, but the bags of cement by the entrance indicated that all was not well.

One of the doormen from the apartment building was standing outside.  I walked over, and he remembered me.  We chatted for a while.  The building suffered serious damage, but was still structurally sound.  However, while repairs were underway, the residents had to move out.

It seemed as if my former abode was the portal to destruction, because as I continued down Amsterdam the evidence of damage was more obvious and more distressing.  We all saw on the news horrific images of buildings that had collapsed, but there are many, many more buildings which still stand but which were damaged beyond repair.  They will have to be demolished.

Just three doors down from the apartment where I used to stay was this modern apartment building which was heavily damaged.  I don't know if it can be repaired.

Just a block away was an art-deco building which had recently been spruced up, and a beauty salon had opened on the ground floor.  That building is now gone.

Next door to that is an apartment building with posts holding the entrance up from collapse and a sign saying that it is condemned.

I detoured a block from Amsterdam to Alvaro Obregón Avenue.  There, just across the street from the supermarket where I used to shop, was the one of the larger collapsed buildings that had been shown on news reports.  Around thirty people died here.

The street in front of it is closed to traffic because the rubble is still being hauled away.

Not far away on Sonora Avenue there are more damaged buildings.

Alejandro had told me about this building... Edificio Basurto.  Built in the 1940s, it was one of the most beautiful and emblematic of the art-deco apartment buildings in Condesa.  Although to the casual observer it does not look too badly damaged, it will have to be demolished.

As I continued my walk through Condesa, it seemed as if I had left the earthquake behind.  Then, at the southern end of Parque México, there was another cluster of damage. 

Then, as if to say that Mexico City will survive this tragedy, the clouds broke and the sun shined in Parque México.

In memoriam to

those who perished in the earthquake.

In honor of those rescuers

who saved many from the rubble. 

Sign of the Times

I have seen a number of signs here in Mexico City which express the solidarity and resilience of the Mexican people after the two tragic earthquakes of last September.

This banner on the National Lottery Building is typical...

Mexico is united and standing.

I have never understood that hash-tag thing.  I guess it's a Twitter or Facebook thing.  But #FuerzaMéxico has become the slogan of post-earthquake Mexico...  Strength Mexico!

My Mexican Kitchen

My usual routine here in Mexico City is that on Sundays I buy produce at the "tianguis" (outdoor market) that is held each week just around the corner from my apartment.  Then on Monday I go to the supermarket down the street to pick up any other groceries that I need.

This past Monday, after returning from the supermarket, I spent much of the day in the kitchen.  First I made a batch of salsa using my "molcajete", the stone mortar and pestle that I bought for my kitchen a couple trips ago.   Then I made some "frijoles refritos" (refried beans).  I didn't do it the easy way... opening a can.  I bought a bag of dried black beans, rinsed them, put them in a kettle of water with some onion, garlic and a chipotle pepper, and then cooked them for several hours.  Then I fried them in a skillet with olive oil (traditionally they were fried in lard), and mashed them with a wooden spoon.  (Often refried beans are pureed into a smooth paste, but I prefer mine to have some texture.)  I also melt in some shredded cheese into the mixture.

While the beans were cooking I also experimented with creating a  recipe for "poblano" soup.  I got the idea for the recipe on my last trip when I made a "poblano" sauce to serve over chicken.  I thought that if I used more chicken broth, it would make a good soup.  It is really quite easy to make, and since "poblano" peppers are available in many supermarkets in the U.S., it is something that I could make at home.  "Poblanos" are large, shiny, green peppers that are only mildly spicy.

I chopped a half of an onion, a clove of garlic, and three "poblanos", and sautéed them in olive oil in a kettle.  Then I added two boxes of fat-free chicken broth and let it simmer until the peppers were soft.  Then I put it all in the blender, and added about a third of a package of Philadelphia cream cheese. (Yes, Philadelphia brand is quite popular here in Mexico.)  I set the blender on high and pureed the mixture until it was smooth.  Pour the soup back into the kettle and reheat it before serving.  It was really very tasty.  Alejandro approved of it.

My Mexican Family

I feel so very privileged to have met Alejandro's family, to have spent time in their home, and to have participated in family events.  In fact his mother told me that I am a part of the family... something which frankly brought tears to my eyes.

Last Sunday Alejandro took me over to his parents' home, and we celebrated his mother's eightieth birthday.  Her birthday was actually just before my arrival, and the family had already celebrated the occasion.  But at that at milestone, I think that she deserves two cakes, and having "Las Mañanitas" sung to her twice.

Going Italian

As much as I love Mexican food, it's still nice to have something different now and then.  On Saturday we had returned to the apartment after spending the day in downtown Mexico City.  As I have mentioned before, the neighborhood where I am staying is dominated by chain restaurants, many of them U.S. chains.  We decided to go out to Itallianni's for supper.

You might say that Itallianni's is Mexico's equivalent of the Olive Garden (although there are a few Olive Gardens here also).  There are more than 30 locations in Mexico City and nearly 50 more in cities throughout Mexico.  I did a little research on the chain, and apparently it started out as a chain in the United States, although I don't remember any in Ohio.  Then the restaurants in the U.S. were sold off, and the only one remaining is the original one in Texas.  The chain is still thriving in Mexico however.

The restaurant was just a couple blocks away on Insurgentes Avenue.  When the waiter came for our drink order, I asked if they had sangria.  He said that they had a special sangria made with a Mexican red wine from the state of Querétaro.  We ordered a pitcher of that, and it was very good.

We both ordered a bowl of cream of spinach soup that was very tasty.

For our main course we ordered different pasta dishes.  I had a spicy pasta dish with chicken, carrots and broccoli, and Alejandro had pasta with Portobello mushrooms.

We were both quite satisfied with our meals.  We were stuffed by the time we finished our main courses, and we did not order dessert.  I would say that the food was better than Olive Garden back home.  (Alejandro has been to an Olive Garden in Mexico and didn't care for it.)

When we got the bill we were rather surprised that it came to $47 U.S., a rather hefty amount for a restaurant tab in Mexico.  But then I noticed that almost half of the bill was for the pitcher of sangria.  We thought that was rather exorbitant given the fact that it was a Mexican wine.  Nevertheless, it was a good meal, and I am sure that a similar meal would have cost more in the United States. 

Saturday Afternoon Downtown

After watching the "Alebrije" Parade in Mexico City, Alejandro and I then wandered around the city center.  We passed through the Alameda Park which was filled with families enjoying the beautiful, sunny afternoon.  Many of the children were splashing around in the park's fountains.

In the park there were a couple of enormous "Catrina" figures set up.  "Catrinas" are the elegantly dressed skeletons which have become so much a part of the Day of the Dead celebration.

Ironically, the "Catrinas" were sponsored by a Mexico City funeral home.

Also in the park there was a display by Architectural Digest called "the Gravity Room".

No, Alejandro has not suddenly gained acrobatic or anti-gravity powers.

This was the photo before I rotated it.

No matter how many times I am here or how many photos I already have, I can never resist taking another picture of the iconic Palace of Fine Arts.

We headed down Madero Street, the pedestrianized main avenue of the historic center of the city.  It is always crowded with people especially on weekends.

On the Zócalo, the city's main plaza, an International Book Fair was being held.  It always annoys me a bit when they have events like this on the square.  They spoil the vistas of the National Palace (in the background), the Cathedral, and the other historic buildings that surround the Zócalo.

The Cathedral suffered some damage in last month's earthquake.  The cross fell from one of the bell towers.

The clock tower of the Cathedral had been graced with allegorical sculptures of the Three Virtues... Hope, Faith and Charity.  They were done by the famous architect / sculptor / engineer, Manuel Tolsá, in the early 1800s.  Now there are only two statues.  Hope went crashing to the ground in the earthquake.

We went inside the Cathedral.  It follows the architectural scheme common to cathedrals in Spain in that the choir is an enclosed area in the nave.  For ten pesos they were admitting visitors into the choir.  I had never been in there before, and we were able to admire close-up the ornate carvings of the choir stalls.

One of the Cathedral's two organs

We then backtracked, walking all the way to the Monument to the Revolution. 

But before we headed to Insurgentes Avenue to take the Metrobus back to the apartment, we stopped for a snack at a nearby café... ham and cheese on a biscuit.

Every time we go downtown we have a great time, and Saturday was no exception.