Market Day

Yesterday our destination was Mexico City's Jamaica Market.  We took the Metrobus and the subway to get there.  The market is located just up the steps from the subway station.

The large market at first seems like any Mexican market building with stalls selling a wide variety  of food, clothing, and household goods, certainly a colorful and interesting place.

The butchers' stalls, however, might not be for the squeamish.

Every part of the butchered animal is used.

"Mole paste"

Just add broth and heat and you have sauce.

This particular "mole" contains pine nuts.

A plethora of piñatas

But if you have read my past entries about this market, you know that what makes Jamaica Market so special is the vast number of flowers for sale.  There are a total of 1500 flower vendors here.

Now that Day of the Dead is over, not a single marigold was to be seen.  However, the poinsettia plants are already making their appearance.

Before we left the market we stopped at one of the food stands for a snack.  Earlier on this trip I had tried out "Carnitas Paty", a very popular place known for its "tacos de carnitas" (braised, chopped pork) and its "tepache" (a beverage made from slightly fermented pineapple rinds).  

Annette is an adventurous traveler and was eager to try both.  However we both ordered "maciza", the cuts of pork from the loin, legs and shoulders (the parts of the pig that we "gringos" normally eat) rather than tongue, stomach, snout or other pieces of the piggy.

Annette really enjoyed her marketplace snack.

Before we left we had a chance to meet Paty, the proprietor of "Carnitas Paty".

(photo taken by Annette)

A Day in the "Centro"

Mexico City's "Centro Histórico" is so full of history, art and architecture that it would take days to see everything.  But today I showed Gail and Annette some of the highlights.  We had a very full day even though we scratched the surface of this fascinating district.

The weather was partly cloudy.  There was a brisk breeze which was at times chilly but which cleared out the smog.  It was one of those days where one would not believe that the city has an air pollution problem.  It was a perfect day for sightseeing.

After a hearty breakfast at a nearby restaurant, we took the Metrobus and the subway to reach the Zócalo, the city's main plaza.  Our first stop was the National Palace, a building which dates back to colonial times when it was the palace of the Spanish viceroy.  Today it houses the offices of the President.  Tourists come here to see the murals in the courtyard of the palace.  They depict the history of Mexico, and were done by the famous painter Diego Rivera over the course of several decades.

Nearby is the archaeological site where the base of the main Aztec temple has been excavated.  We did not enter the site or its museum, but we had a good view from the walkway above.

Next to the excavation site is the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico, an enormous church which took over 200 years to build.  The interior is filled with ornate altarpieces.

By this time it was time to take a break, so we stopped Parroquia de Veracruz, a Mexico City branch of a well known coffee shop located in the gulf coast city of Veracruz.   They are most famous for their "café lechero".  A small amount of very strong coffee is served in a glass.  The waiter then fills the remainder of the glass with steamed milk.  It is done with a bit of dramatic flair.

Rejuvenated after our coffee break, we headed down busy Madero Street, the pedestrianized heart of the "Centro".

Along Madero Street is the colonial mansion known as Iturbide's Palace.  It is now a venue for special art exhibits.  I have written here about the two visits that I have already made to see the current show, an incredible collection of Mexican folk art.  I did not mind at all making a third visit with Gail and Annette.  I knew that they would love the exhibit.  We probably spent a couple hours there.

We next stopped for a quick peek inside Mexico City's main post office, a grandiose structure which was completed in 1907.

By now it was time for dinner.  We went to a nearby restaurant called "Los Girasoles" (The Sunflowers), an elegant place featuring fine Mexican cuisine.  It was a contrast to last night's supper at a taco joint. 

Annette ordered "cochinita pibil", a pork dish from Yucatán.

My cousin Gail ordered chicken with the traditional "mole poblano" sauce.

I had chicken breast stuffed with "huazontle", a Mexican vegetable that is somewhat similar to broccoli, and covered with a goat cheese sauce.

(photo taken by Gail)

Everyone was very pleased with their meal.

  
By this time it was after dark.  We took an evening stroll past the illuminated Palace of Fine Arts.

We walked to the Metrobus stop, and fortunately the bus was not too crowded.  We made it back to their hotel and my apartment after a busy but enjoyable exploration of Mexico City's historic heart. 

Their First Taste of Mexico City

My cousin Gail (whom you have met previously from our trip to Switzerland this past summer) and her college friend Annette arrived today for a short visit to Mexico City.  Annette lives in New York City and flew in on a direct flight from JFK.  My cousin flew from Cleveland by way of Atlanta.  Both of them have traveled extensively, but neither of them have ever been in Mexico City. 

I was worried about Gail's flight because Mother Nature decided to pick this day for our first northern Ohio snow storm.  Fortunately the weather was not as severe as it was in Chicago where many flights were canceled.  Her flight left about a half hour late, but her layover in Atlanta was long enough that she had no problem in making her connecting flight to Mexico City.

Both Gail and Annette flew on Delta, and arrived at Terminal 2 of the Mexico City airport.  I took the Metrobus to the terminal and waited for them.

Annette's flight arrived first, and Gail's followed about an hour later.  We took a taxi to the hotel where they are staying.   Conveniently it is located just a few doors away from my apartment.  I gave them some time to settle into their rooms, and then we went out for their first meal in Mexico City.  

There is much more to Mexican cuisine than tacos, but "taquerías" are ubiquitous, so we had to go out to a taco joint at least once on their trip.  We walked a couple of blocks to a branch of the well-known taco chain called "El Huequito".  

Annette ordered a bowl of Aztec soup and a "taco al pastor", perhaps the most typical of Mexico City tacos.  Annette likes spicy food, so she enjoyed trying out the salsas, even the hottest ones.

Gail ordered an "alambre", a plate of grilled meat with onions, peppers and bacon, and served with homemade corn tortillas.  I don't think that Gail is a big fan of extremely spicy food, but she was not adverse to trying out some of the milder salsas.

They both enjoyed their first meal in Mexico City, and they were both surprised by how inexpensive it was... especially Annette who is used to New York City prices.  In fact, many Mexicans would consider "El Huequito" rather expensive for a taco joint, but none of us paid more than $10 U.S. for our supper.

They both were very happy with their first evening in Mexico City.

Still Standing

Yesterday I needed to go the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City.  If you have been following my blog for several years, you may remember that before I started renting the apartment where I am now, I would stay at an Airbnb in Condesa.  

Whenever I am in Condesa I feel a bit of nostalgia as I pass by restaurants where I used dine, parks where I used to stroll, even the laundry where I used to take my clothes.  There is also a bit of sadness because Condesa was hit hard by the earthquake of 2017.  

I began renting my present apartment in the Nápoles neighborhood in April of 2017.  An earthquake hit five months later on September 19.  I was not in Mexico at the time.  Nápoles came through with very little damage; Condesa was not so fortunate.

The apartment building in which my former Airbnb rental was located suffered substantial damage.  On subsequent trips I would make it a point to pass through the old neighborhood.  The building was still partially occupied, and I would sometimes chat with the doorman who remembered me from my previous stays.  He said that there was debate among the residents over whether to tear the building down or to repair it.   The last time that I spoke with him, last April, he said that the building was going to be demolished and rebuilt.

When I walked down leafy Amsterdam Avenue the other day, I found that the building was still there, but barricaded and covered with netting.  It looked as if perhaps preparations were being made for demolition in the near future.  

  
However, apparently there was a change in plans.

The sign on the barricade says, "This property suffered damage from the earthquake of the 19th of September of 2017.  It is in the process of reconstruction."

While walking through the neighborhood I saw several other buildings in the process of repair.  I just hope that they are making those buildings capable of withstanding the next "big one"... which, going by past history, would be about thirty years from now.

500 Years Ago

The media has been focusing on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, but the day before that, Mexico marked an equally important date.  Five hundred years ago, on November 8, 1519, the Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés (usually spelled Cortez in English) arrived at the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán where he was welcomed by Moctezuma (known in English as Montezuma). 

(image from the web)

Within the course of two years, Moctezuma would be dead, the Spanish would have conquered the mighty Aztec empire, and Mexico City would begin to rise from the stones of Tenochtitlán.

To commemorate the anniversary, a descendant of Moctezuma (he traces his lineage back 16 generations to a daughter of Moctezuma) embraced an Italian who is a descendent of a daughter of Cortés.  They stood on the spot, just south of Mexico City's main plaza, where their ancestors had first met.

(image taken from the web)

Cortés is today viewed by most Mexicans as the "bad guy", the man who brought to an end more than 2000 years of native civilizations.  However, modern Mexico is a blend of the indigenous and the Spanish.  As one monument in Mexico City says, the Conquest was neither a victory nor a defeat; it was the painful birth of the mestizo Mexico of today.

A Return Visit

On Sunday Alejandro took a much needed break from taking care of his father and spent the day with me.  We went to the Centro Histórico where he wanted to see the wonderful exhibit on Mexican folk art which I wrote about earlier on this blog.  

After spending a couple hours here, he was of the same opinion as I, that this is one of the best exhibits to be held here at the historic colonial mansion known as Iturbide's Palace.

Here are a few more photos of items in the show.  (With the thousands of items of folk art on display I could fill dozens of blog entries with photos and still not show it all!)

A superbly executed replica of an ancient Mayan carving done on a large slab of limestone.  The stone carver works at the Hacienda Ochil in Yucatán.  I  have been to Ochil numerous times.  I have seen his workshop, and in fact I think that I have seen this piece.


There is a large section of textiles which I did not mention in my previous post.

 One room is filled with traditional women's attire from different regions of Mexico.  These dresses are all hand-embroidered.  The two at the front are from Yucatán.

This hand-embroidered tablecloth is from the state of Hidalgo.

Would you believe that this intricate piece is created out of feathers?  Feather work is an art form that goes back to pre-Hispanic times.

A small portion of a large display of Mexican pottery.

Handcrafted wooden toys, such as this bus filled with passengers, are whimsical works of art.

I will not mind returning yet again to this exhibit in a couple days when I take my guests here.  I am sure that they will be blown away by the beauty and variety of Mexican folk art.

A New "Mole"

On Friday after visiting the Anthropology Museum, I had dinner at one of the branches of "El Bajío", a chain of restaurants that specialize in traditional Mexican cuisine.  The food there is usually quite good.

The waiter told me the specials for the day which included "mole Xico" (a sauce which comes from the town in Xico in the state of Veracruz).  He was surprised when I told him that I had been to Xico and had the "mole" there.  He went on to describe another "mole" called "tlatonile" which also comes from the state of Veracruz.  That was one that I had never heard of.  The waiter said that it is made with a rare variety of wild peppers called "comapeños" that grow in the cloud forests of the mountains of Veracruz.  It is only when the restaurant gets a supply of "comapeños" that the restaurant offers "tlatonile" on the menu. 

He suggested that the chef could make up a special dish with two pieces of chicken breast with "mole Xico" on one piece and "tlatonile" on the other.  I went along with his suggestion.

  
The dark "mole" to the left is "mole Xico".  It is similar to other "moles", but unlike the rather spicy Oaxacan black "mole" that I had a few days ago, this was quite mild.  The orange "mole" to the right is "tlatonile".  It too is very mild.  They were both very good, but "tlatonile" was especially good and had a unique flavor.  After finishing the chicken breasts, I had to sop up the remaining "mole" with the freshly made tortillas that were served with the dinner.