Spring Is Coming

Although the calendar says that it is still winter, here in Mexico City the weather is gliding pleasantly toward springtime.  The nights and early mornings have been less chilly.  In January the thermometer often struggled to make it to 70 F, but now the afternoon highs have been consistently in the mid to high 70s.  And the forecast for the next few days calls for highs in the 80s.  This evening Alejandro and I went out for supper after dark and there was no need to wear a jacket.  

The surest sign that spring is on its way is that the jacaranda trees have started to bloom!

Lunch in Bogotá

Some parts of the Mexico City neighborhood of Roma are very hip with lots of trendy restaurants, cafés and watering holes.  But other parts are more traditional, and the neighborhood is home to many immigrants from Colombia and Venezuela.  As I was walking around Roma a Colombian restaurant called "Pollos Mario" caught my eye.  I had noticed the place on an earlier trip when the exterior was being refurbished.  Now it looks like a quaint Colombian house with a wooden balcony on the upper floor.

I decided to give it a try.  The inside is cute but nothing fancy.

As I looked at the menu I saw that many of the dishes included "morcilla"... blood sausage... which, even though I have never tried it, does not sound appetizing.  I decided upon a dish called "ajiaco".  I later read that it is a favorite in Colombia's capital of Bogotá.

"Ajiaco" is a thick soup made with shredded chicken and chunks of potato.  There is even a chunk of corn on the cob.  It was very tasty.  The "ajiaco" was served with a plate of rice, a small salad of shredded cabbage, and slices of avocado and fried plantain.  Even though the rice looked very plain, it had a nice flavor.  To drink I had "maracuyá" (passion fruit) juice.

It was a filling and very good lunch, and a nice change of pace.

Walking Around Roma

In a little more than a century the Mexico City neighborhood of Roma has gone from being one of the city's most elite districts, to falling into decline, to becoming a trendy center for dining and nightlife.

When I was in Roma last Wednesday I walked around for a couple hours and took pictures of some of the architecture that remains from the neighborhood's glory days when grand houses in colonial or art deco style lined its streets.  Here is a sampling of a few architectural gems in varying states of repair...

These colorfully painted houses remind me of the historic center of Mérida, Yucatán.

Unfortunately, even in this gentrifying neighborhood, there are old houses that are falling into decay.

Beautiful stained glass windows on a home that has seen better days.

One has to wonder if such buildings will eventually be razed and replaced with the modern apartment buildings that are springing up in the neighborhood. 

Or will they be protected from the wrecker's ball due to their historic status?

Many of the old buildings are seeing a second life.

This art deco building is in the process of being renovated, and divided into apartments.

The sign says, "Last apartments on sale".

At least the façade of this art deco structure was saved.

When you pass through the door you are in an outdoor garden center.

It's not surprising in this hub of fine dining that many of the old houses have been reincarnated as restaurants.

Green Roma

On Wednesday I found a rather unusual place in the neighborhood of Roma.  It is called "Huerto Roma Verde"... Green Roma Garden.

Apparently this lot had been empty and abandoned ever since the 1985 earthquake.  In 2012 the space was rehabilitated as a community center with an emphasis on ecology and sustainability.  Workshops on the environment are given here.

There is a garden and a greenhouse where herbs and vegetables are grown organically.
The tower in the center of the garden was built of recycled materials.

There is a recycling center.

This structure, with a palm tree growing in the middle of it is made of water jugs.

There is a workshop where traditional wooden toys are made and sold.

Out on the street, on the walls surrounding the garden, there is some interesting street art.

The whole facility looks rather ramshackled.  Perhaps because it is winter the gardens looked empty and untended.  But if the volunteers who work here are doing their small part to help the environment the project is to be applauded.

Anti-Corruption Victory

I am not a fan of the new Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, but he may have just won a significant victory in his anti-corruption crusade.  Yesterday the headlines in the newspapers told of the arrest in Spain of politician Emilio Lozoya.

Leading up to the 2012 presidential election in Mexico, Lozoya was a member of the campaign team for candidate Enrique Peña Nieto ("Enrique the Corrupt").  Lozoya received a 10 million dollar campaign contribution from Odebrecht, a Brazilian conglomerate that has been involved in numerous scandals.  After Peña Nieto´s victory, the president named Lozoya to be the director of PEMEX, the government owned petroleum company (which has a long history of corruption and abuse).  Lozoya then granted enormous contracts to Odebrecht.  It also came to light that Lozoya had bought a 38 million dollar house in cash.  The official in charge of electoral crimes who was investigating the Odebrecht scandal was then fired by President "Enrique the Corrupt".

After López Obrador was elected President in 2018, a judge ordered Lozoya's arrest.  However, Lozoya had fled the country.  This week Spanish police caught up with him and placed him under arrest.  The Spanish judge described him as a flight risk, and he is being held in jail until Mexico issues an extradition request.

The bottom newspaper in the newstand photo says that Peña Nieto's people are trembling.  Lozoya's lawyers are demanding the investigation of everyone involved in the scandal, which could implicate others in the Peña Nieto administration perhaps even "Enrique the Corrupt" himself.

Let's just hope that President López Obrador doesn't end up bungling this case. 

Another Yucatecan Restaurant

On my way back from my late afternoon visit to the Mixcoac Archaeological Site I stopped to eat at a little place serving Yucatecan cuisine.  It's called Le-Lah-Tho.  I did not think to ask what the name means in Mayan, but I know that "Tho" was the name of the Mayan city which stood where the Mérida, the capital of Yucatán, is today.

The restaurant is located on busy Patriotismo Avenue away from any area frequented by tourists.  I am sure that don't many "gringo" patrons.

The waitress was very sweet.  She warned me that the "habanero" salsa on the table was very spicy.  ("Habanero"... typical of Yucatán... is one chile pepper that is too hot for my palate.)  She later brought a little bowl of pickled, purple onion, another typical condiment, and told me "Esto no pica." (Literally, "This doesn't sting.)

To drink I ordered a pitcher of "jamaica" (water flavored with hibiscus flowers), and I began with "sopa de frijol con fideo"... black bean soup with short, vermicelli-like noodles.

As a main course I ordered Yucatecan tamales.  The tamales are filled with "cochinita pibil" (marinated shredded pork), wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.  It is served with a tomato sauce which the waitress told me "no pica".  She also brought me a small plate to put the banana leaves as I unwrapped the tamales.

The tamales were very tasty.  I had already eaten two of the three before I realized that I should take a picture of one unwrapped.

For dessert I ordered "natillas con X'tabentún"... a custard with a Yucatecan honey liqueur.  I love X'tabentún.  Unfortunately, the waitress came back and told me that they were out of the "natillas", so I had to settle for flan.

The restaurant is a cute, unpretentious place, the service was very attentive, and the food was very good.  It's only a fifteen minute walk from my apartment, so it is on my list for a return visit in the future.

An Archaeological "Mini-Site"

The neighborhoood of San Pedro de los Pinos is just a short walk from where I stay.  It has a very small archaeological site of Aztec ruins called "Mixcoac".  

Quite some time ago I wrote about this site.  At that time it was closed to the public, and I was only able to take a few photos through the fence and from the road running above the ruins.  As of August of last year, the site was opened to the public, so I returned to take a closer look at it.

The Aztec structures which stood here were leveled by the Spanish, and all that remained were the foundations.  It was not rediscovered until 1917 when an historian noticed that the fields here were elevated above the surrounding countryside.  (At that time this area was on the outskirts of Mexico City.)  He matched the suspicious elevation with a map from 1550 that showed the location of Mixcoac.  Excavation was done and the remains of an Aztec temple and a small ceremonial plaza were uncovered.  

By 1960 the city had grown around the site and the "Anillo Periférico" (an elevated ring highway) was built right next to it.  Archaeologists worked to make sure that the road construction would have minimal impact on the ruins.

You can see from this photo how the highway is next to the archaeological site.

A small museum was built, tucked under the elevated "Periférico".

The museum tells the history of Mixcoac and of other archaeological sites within Mexico City.  There are also the remains of some walls that were beneath the highway.

Mixcoac was a site for the worship of Mixcóatl, the Aztec god of the hunt (represented here in the museum).

At the end of October ceremonies would be held here in honor of Mixcóatl.  There would be music and dancing and religious ceremonies (human sacrifices?).  Then the hunters would leave from here to go into the hills to hunt.

Not much remains, and the site is extremely small.  I spent about a half hour here, including time in the museum.  But it is fascinating to find this small remnant of the Aztec world in the middle of the modern city.