And the Winner Is...

Yesterday I went to one of my favorite small museums in Mexico City, "El Museo de Arte Popular"... the Museum of Popular Arts... or MAP for short.  The museum has a wonderful collection of the very best of Mexican handicrafts.

The museum is located downtown in an art deco building that used to be the city's central fire station.

A decorative carving on the corner of the building...  Pre-Hispanic Art meets Art Deco

As I entered the courtyard of the museum, I saw this entry from last year's Parade of Monumental "Alebrijes".  

Since 2007 MAP has sponsored the annual parade of colorful, fantastical creatures known as "alebrijes".  Prizes are awarded to the best entries.  Last October I attended the 2017 parade, and I posted pictures and wrote about it here on this blog.  I said at the time that I thought that the entry pictured above was the best of all and deserved to win.  The detail on it is absolutely amazing.

I was never found out which "alebrijes" won the competition.  But now I know that my favorite won first place, a prize of 50,000 pesos (2500 dollars)!  

Bus Stop Reopened

Several trips ago, I discovered a new way to get to downtown Mexico City from my apartment.  From my nearby bus stop, instead of taking the busy Line 1 Metrobus which runs the length of Insurgentes Avenue, I could take Line 2.  Since Line 2 begins just a few stops to the south of me, chances were good that there would still be empty seats on the bus.  This Metrobus route veers off of Insurgentes Avenue, and I would continue for several stops until I reached the Etiopía stop.  (The stop is located at a traffic circle which was named in the 1930s to show solidarity with Ethiopia after it was invaded by Mussolini.)  I would cross the street and transfer to Line 3.  Since this was the first stop of that line, I could always get a seat.  The route took me north, and I could get off in the heart of downtown by Juárez Avenue near the Alameda Park.

However, beginning in autumn of last year there was a fly in the ointment.  The Line 3 station at the Etiopía traffic circle was closed.  What was the reason for the closure?  Some said that it was because a large government building facing the intersection had been severely damaged in last September's earthquake.  Hopefully that was not the reason.  If the building were in danger of collapsing upon the bus stop, it was also a danger to the pedestrians who are constantly walking along the sidewalk beneath it.  Another reason for the closure might have been that new sidewalks and landscaping were being put in at the traffic circle.  Whatever the reason was, it was then necessary to walk several blocks up the street to the next stop along Line 3.  It was no longer as convenient an option as before.

The renovation of the traffic circle is now completed.  And it finally appears as if something is going to be done about the damaged government building which has been empty since the earthquake.  

There is a barricade around the building and there are long, curtain-like fabrics hanging down the sides of the structure.  Is it going to demolished?  Or is it going to be repaired?  I don't know.

Finally the Line 3 Metrobus stop at Etiopia is open once again.

Yesterday, I was able to take my alternate route to go downtown.

The Real Thing

A couple of days ago I wrote that we are now in the season when restaurants are serving my favorite dish, "chiles en nogada".  I also wrote that the "chile" that I had at "El Bajío" last week did not live up to my expectations, but that I would surely soon be enjoying the dish at our favorite restaurant, "Angelopolitano".

Well, I did not have to wait long.  On Saturday, when Alejandro and I went to the PRONAFIM fair (discussed in my previous entry), we were planning on having dinner there by grazing at the numerous food stalls.  However, by the time we were done shopping at all the handicraft stalls, most of the food vendors had run out of food.  Not only that, but we didn't have much money left.  So, Plan B was to go to "Angelopolitano" (where credit cards are accepted).  It did not take any arm twisting to agree to that!

Once there we ordered a refreshing "agua fresca" of strawberry and ginger.

The restaurant had a special menu just of "chiles en nogada" with various multi-course packages.  We ordered a three course package.

As an appetizer we each had a "sope", a thick, fried circle of corn dough topped with beans, cheese and other ingredients.

Next came the main course, the "piece de resistance"... the superb "chiles en nogada".  The poblano stuffed with meat, fruit and nuts, covered with a cream walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds is a blending of savory and sweet, and nobody in my experience does it better than "Angelopolitano".

For desert I had coconut flan, and Alejandro had corn cake.

I can happily say that I have had my required dose of "chiles en nogada" at one of the finest restaurants in the city!

Going Crazy at the Fair

Alejandro told me about a fair that was being held over the weekend at Mexico City's "Palacio de Deportes" (Palace of Sports).  The event was sponsored by the government agency PRONAFIM.  The acronym stands for "Programa Nacional de Financiamiento al Microempresario"... National Program of Financing to Small Business Owners.  The organization also encourages women in rural areas to create their own enterprises. There were going to be more than 200 stands, and a large portion of them were family-run handicraft businesses.  If you have read this blog for any length of time, you know that I love shopping for handicrafts.  So when Alejandro suggested that we go there on Saturday, I said, "Sí, sí, sí !"

I went wild there.  I had over 1000 pesos on me, and by time we were done, I had 90 pesos left, and we were carrying a bunch of packages.  There was a wide variety of handicrafts from all over Mexico, and I really liked the fact that I was buying directly from the artisans who created the merchandise.

There were a couple of stands operated by member of the Huichol tribe of western Mexico.  They are famous for their beadwork and for their "God's Eyes".

You can see three of their "God's Eyes" hanging on the wall behind the gentleman in traditional Huichol attire.

I was very tempted by the little nativity scenes on the shelf.  But they were quite expensive, and rightly so, since the figures are all covered with intricate beadwork. 

The state of Chiapas was represented with a number of stands.

Amber jewelry

Objects carved from wood

Clothing hand-embroidered by Mayan women

Dolls in the costumes of various states of Mexico

Hand-woven hats from the town of Becal in Campeche.  These hats are made in caves where the humidity keeps the palm fronds pliable.  They are considered the finest hats in Mexico, and are rather expensive.  Alejandro wanted to buy one, but unfortunately the proprietor of the stand did not accept credit cards.

Handmade sandals from the state of Yucatán

Talavera pottery from the state of Puebla.

This weaver from the state of México (yes, there is a state called México within the nation of México) had set up his loom and was creating fabrics on site.

Besides the handicrafts there were a wide variety of businesses making artesanal products such as soaps, foods, and liquors.

Mountain coffee from the states of Puebla and Veracruz

Crystalized candies

Homemade jams, candies, sauces and liqueurs

We were almost ready to leave when we chatted with this family from Jalapa, Veracruz, who sells dolls dressed in traditional attire that they themselves sew.

I have written a number of times about my friend Irma who lives in Ohio, but who was born and raised in Jalapa.  I mentioned my friend, and it turns out that the sister on the left lives just a few blocks away from Irma's old family home, and knew Irma's father and brother.  What a small world!

Flowers and More Flowers

One of the places that I want my friends Nancy and Fred to see when they come to Mexico City in October is the Jamaica Market.  I wrote about this place a few years ago.  It is the largest flower market in the city with supposedly 1,150 stalls selling cut flowers, arrangements, funeral wreaths, house plants and vases and flowerpots.  

On Friday I wanted to return there mainly to be sure of the route to get to the market via public transportation.  I took the Metrobus going down Insurgentes Avenue for a few stops and then switched to the subway at the Chilpancingo Metro stop.  From there it was a straight shot to the Jamaica station.  Ascending the stairs from the subway, the market building was right there. 

Upon entering the building, it is just like any other Mexican market with stalls selling fruits and vegetables, clothing, shoes, household items, etc., etc.  You start to wonder, "Where are the flowers?"

But then you reach the floral section, and it takes up the lion's share of this large building.  The flowers go on and on and on.  The attraction is not just the beautiful blossoms themselves, but the all the activity as well...  trucks unloading their cargo brought in from all over the country, florists creating arrangements and wreaths, shoppers with their arms laden with flowers. (The owners of all those flower stands that you see throughout the city probably come here for their flowers.)

Nancy, I think you are going to find this place amazing.  But I realized that in our tentative itinerary I scheduled our trip to the market for the day before the Day of the Dead.  The market is going to be an absolute madhouse that day!  We can switch our visit to an earlier day that week.  The market will still be bustling, but not as jammed.  And I suspect that you will see more marigolds (the traditional flower of the Day of the Dead) than you have ever seen in your life!

As I wandered around the market I saw these unusual flowers...

I asked the vendor what kind of flowers they were, and he said that they are called "maracas", like the percussion instrument.  In case I didn't understand what he said, he grabbed a couple in his hands and shook them like rattles.  He said that they are shipped in from the state of Veracruz.

As I was passing down an aisle, one of the vendors, a grandmotherly type, asked if I wanted to buy some roses.  I explained that the place where I am staying is some distance away, and that I was afraid that they would wilt.  We chatted for a while.  When I commented on the beautiful colors of her roses, she said that they were the colors the Lord has given us.  She then handed me a small wrapped arrangement  of a single, long-stemmed rose with some white, daisy-like flowers.  "Here," she said.  "They will be fine."  I asked her how much, and she said, they are a gift.  What a sweet lady!  She made my day!  It is little things like that which make me love Mexico City in spite of its faults.

I still wasn't sure that the flowers would survive the trip back to the apartment, so I bought a bottle of water, opened it, and stuck them into the container.  I imagine that I must have been a somewhat comical sight... a gringo traveling on the subway and the Metrobus carrying a rose in a bottle of water!  However the flowers made it back to my apartment intact.

The Lord of the Flowers

Recently the Anthropology Museum has been selecting one piece from their vast collection and highlighting it in special exhibition hall of the museum.  Currently the showcased item is a sculpture from the Mexica (Aztec) Hall, a statue of the god Xochipilli.

Xochipilli was the Aztec god of flowers, as well as the god of music, dancing, painting and pleasure, among other things.  He is usually portrayed as a youthful pleasure-seeker.  It has been suggested by some that he is here portrayed in the throes of ecstasy induced by the consumption of hallucinogenic plants used in sacred ceremonies.

The god's body is covered with images of flowers.

His mother was the Earth Goddess, and, like a flower, he sprouted from the ground.  Upon his birth his body was covered with earth.  The mask that he wears represents the dirt which covered him.

His father was the Sun, and the elaborate cloak which he wears is decorated with symbols which refer to the sun.

The statue was discovered in the 19th century near the volcano Popocatépetl.  It is sculpted from andesite, a volcanic stone.  It was originally painted, and there are traces of red, ochre and white mineral pigments.

The "Chiles" Are Back

Mexico's most wonderful culinary creation, "chiles en nogada", are beginning to appear on the menus of Mexico City restaurants.  August and September are the season for this delectable dish, and it is associated with Mexican Independence Day (September 16th) because the green poblano pepper, the white walnut sauce and the red pomegranate seeds are the colors of the Mexican flag.  

After my visit to the Anthropology Museum on Thursday, I went to "El Bajío", a restaurant chain that specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine.  When I saw "chile en nogada" on the list of daily specials, I was at first surprised, but then I thought, "August is almost here."

The "chile" is a beautiful dish.

I have to admit, however, that I am somewhat of a snob when it comes to "chiles en nogada".  If I had never tasted this dish before, I would have been very impressed with what "El Bajío" set before me.  But, even though it was tasty, it was definitely not the best that I have had.  The stuffing, a mixture of ground meat, fruit and nuts, was very skimpy with the meat, and the sauce was a bit grainy. 

I am sure that before this trip is over, I will be dining at my favorite restaurant, Angelopolitano, where the "chiles en nogada" are absolute heaven!