Oscar Winning Film

Last weekend Alejandro and I saw the Brazilian movie "I'm Still Here" ("Aún Estoy Aquí" in Spanish, "Ainda Estou Aqui" in Portuguese).  The movie won numerous awards including an Oscar for Best International Feature Film.  The movie was shown in its original Portuguese with Spanish subtitles.

(image taken from the internet)

The film is based on the true story of Rubens Paiva, a politician who opposed the military coup d'état in 1964.  The dictatorship removed him from his office as congressman, and he returned to his career as a civil engineer.  However, he secretly continued to assist political exiles.  In 1971 he was arrested by police and disappeared.  It was 25 years later that the Brazilian government, once again a democracy, issued a death certificate for Paiva.  He had been murdered at the headquarters of the intelligence agency.

The movie centers around Ruben's wife Eunice.  She was also arrested and spent 12 days in prison where she was interrogated and tortured.  After she is released, her goal was to hold the family together and to discover what happened to her husband.

The film is gripping and is certainly deserving of its Oscar win.  Actress Fernanda Torres who played Eunice is superb.  She won a Golden Globe for best actress in a drama, and received an Oscar nomination.

It should be noted that the U.S. government supported the military dictatorship and the CIA aided the dictatorship's terror campaign against dissidents.   

Turning the Page to April

Regular readers of my blog know that on the first of each month, I show you the picture that I used for that month on the calendar that I have custom-made using photos from my travels.

If you have a very good memory, this picture may look vaguely familiar.  In January I showed you a painting which I had completed , and the calendar photo was the model for my painting.

I wrote at that time that Sayil was a Mayan city in the Yucatan Peninsula that was at its height more than 1000 years ago.  This palace is the most impressive of its remaining ruins.

Music on my Street

Often there are musicians (or perhaps I should say "wanna-be-musicians") who come along my street playing their instrument and hoping for a few pesos from residents and passersby.  They are usually pretty bad and are simply a part of the background noise of the big city.  There are, however, a couple of guys who occasionally show up in the afternoon playing the marimba.  They are very good, and I enjoy hearing them play outside my building.  A while ago, I posted a video of them playing.

Thursday afternoon I was sitting in the office of my apartment working on my blog, when I heard marimba music again.  I looked out the window and saw them right across the street.  Their young companion was with them to collect any donations.  I got up and put a 20 peso bill (about 1 U.S. dollar) in an envelope.  I opened the window and motioned to the kid who was collecting money.  It was a bit breezy outside, and the envelope fluttered down the street.  The kid, however, was able to retrieve it.

Hoping that they would continue playing for a while, I went to grab my camera so I could record their music.

Although my donation was more generous than most, I was not the only person that appreciates their music.  A lady in the building across the street opened her window and threw down a baggie with some coins.  Then I could see two different residents in my building on the floors below me throw some money to them.

I stood by the window for the duration of their mini-concert.  After playing a couple of songs, they smiled and waved at me, and then hauled their marimba down the street to play at another location.

 

After More Than Seven Years

The last major earthquake to hit Mexico City was on September 19th, 2017.  More that seven years later, scars from that tragic event are still visible.

I have previously shown you photos of this government building which was structurally damaged.  Well, it's still there, with no sign of being repaired or demolished.

A barricade has been placed around the building, perhaps to keep squatters from entering and taking up residence, or perhaps to prevent further graffiti on the structure.  Of course the barricade is now covered with graffiti.  I despise graffiti, but what do you expect after sitting abandoned for so many years?

As I was walking through the Condesa neighborhood, I spotted this building.  It probably dates from the 1920s or 30s when the area was developed as an affluent "colonia".  Many homes were built in neo-colonial style.

My first reaction was, "What a lovely, old house.  But it could use some work."  Then I noticed this sign...

"This property is considered 

High Risk.

Entrance is under your own responsibility."

Most likely another victim of the earthquake more than seven years ago.

We're Number Two!

 

Yesterday I wrote about Mexico being ranked as the friendliest country in the world.  Here's another list... Conde Nast Traveler magazine ranked the most beautiful countries in the world.  Now, I don't pay much attention to Conde Nast.  It caters to the upper crust and is too highfalutin for my tastes.  But I was pleased to see that Mexico was ranked as the second most beautiful nation in the world.  The article noted the great variety of landscapes, from deserts to jungles to snow-capped volcanoes and the biodiversity of its flora and fauna.  It mentioned the richness of the country's culture... its festivals, archaeological sites, colonial towns, gastronomy, and handicrafts, and Mexico City, the oldest capital of the Americas.

Here are the top 15 on their list...

  1. Australia

  2, Mexico

  3. Brazil

  4. U.S.A.

  5. China

  6, India

  7. Canada

  8. Indonesia

  9. France

10. Colombia

11. Spain

12. Japan

13. South Africa

14. Thailand

15. Italy

   

The Friendliest Nation

I was listening to the radio at Alejandro's house, and there was a report talking about a survey ranking the friendliest nations in the world.  Mexico was listed as the friendliest out of the 59 countries in the survey.

I later went onto the internet and found the survey which was actually conducted in 2023 by a group called InterNations, an international organization for ex-pats.  More than 12,000 ex-pats representing 171 nationalities responded.  The top five friendly countries were Mexico, Brazil, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.

I certainly would not dispute Mexico's ranking.  I really cannot recall any incidents of rudeness toward me by the Mexican people.  The fact that I speak Spanish certainly helps, but I think that anyone who makes the effort to speak just a few phrases of the language will endear themselves to the people.  It is true that many in Mexico City are upset with the "invasion" of digital nomads coming here.  The increased demand for housing has resulted in higher rents in the more desirable neighborhoods.  Quite a few Mexicans have been priced out of their apartments.  (Fortunately, I am not a part of that problem.  The owners of the condo which I rented for many years, sold it to me at a reasonable price.  I did not displace anyone from their home.)  I have seen a couple "Gringo, go home" signs in the neighborhoods of Condesa and Roma where the greatest number of digital nomads have settled, but I have not personally experienced any hostility.  Most Mexicans are not happy about the current state of U.S. politics, but they have always distinguished between the U.S. government and the individual citizens.

The United States was way down on the list at #24.    

I have to say, however, that wherever you travel. if you show respect and kindness it will probably be returned.  France is at #39, and there has long been the stereotype that the Parisians are arrogant and rude.  However, when I was there I found the people generally quite nice and helpful.  I always said "Bonjour" and used the tiny bit of French that I know.  That seemed to do the trick.

The UK is #32, Switzerland is #46 and Norway is #47.  Those low rankings puzzle me.  Granted, I have cousins in those countries which smooths the way.  However, I found the Brits to be very charming.  And I still remember an experience I had in Norway.  I was waiting for the tram in Oslo, and a group of university students started conversing with me.  They were headed for a night at the bars, and they asked me if I wanted to join them.  I thanked them, but said it was time for this old man to go to bed.

 

A Hobbit Wedding

Last Saturday we were invited to a wedding.  The daughter of one of Alejandro's best friends was getting married.  It was a rather unusual wedding.  The bride and groom had chosen "The Hobbit" as the theme for the event, and guests were requested to dress like characters from the book.

Alejandro ordered some peasant style shirts that he had found online.  At the reception we were given some pointy ears to wear.

  

Alejandro with his friend Juan, the father of the bride

The wedding ceremony was held in a chapel in the forested mountains on the far south side of Mexico City.

As you can see, most of the guests enthusiastically embraced the dress code.

After the ceremony we drove to an outdoor party center in the borough of Xochimilco.  We were afraid that it was going to rain, but all we had were a few drops.  Late in the afternoon, the sun came out.

The bride and groom's dance

Preparing to cut the wedding cake

In what I thought was a very lovely touch, the bride wrote a personalized letter to each and every one of the guests.  She is an English teacher, and her letter to me was written in flawless English.

In spite of the unorthodox theme, it was a beautiful and fun day.