Welcome!

Mexico City has an advertising campaign for this summer's World Cup games.  I have seen  the signs in Metrobus and subway stations and on the walls of underpasses.  One of the signs is this one...

 It says,

"In Mexico City all nations are welcome."

It seemed to me (and Alejandro agreed with me) that the message is a subtle dig at a certain country that has not earned a very good reputation for welcoming foreign visitors.

At the bottom of the sign is the phrase, "La pelota vuelve a casa." (The ball returns home.)

It seems to be Mexico's slogan for the games and refers to the fact that Mexico is the only country to host three World Cups.

Longer Vacation?

A controversy has erupted over the school calendar in Mexican schools.  Generally, Mexican schools do not close for summer vacation until the middle of July, and classes resume the beginning of September.  Recently, the Secretary of Education announced that the academic year would end on June 5th instead of July 15th due to the World Cup and a heat wave.

The news perhaps caused glee among many students, but it has resulted in an unexpected backlash from teachers and parents.  Teachers are upset that they will not be able to cover the required curriculum if the school year is cut by forty days.  Parents are angry that the quality of their children's education is being sacrificed for a sporting event, and working parents were scrambling to change plans to care for their children during an extended summer vacation.

The "heat wave" is not a valid excuse.  Yes, it has been hot here, but that is normal for this time of year.  It was much hotter two years ago, and classes were not cancelled.  Furthermore, by June, the beginning of the rainy season will moderate the temperatures.  In fact, yesterday a front has passed through and the high temperature in Mexico City was a comfortable 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

How does the World Cup affect the schools?  Yes, Mexico expects millions of foreign visitors, but in what way would that impact classes?  Besides, the World Cup games are only being held in three Mexican cities.

A couple days ago, in response to the furor, the Mexican President backtracked and said that the proposal was not yet final.  Then, yesterday, it was announced that the school calendar would remain as originally planned with classes held until July 15th.  So, the voice of teachers and parents overrode the plans of the Secretary of Education.

    

Green Pillars

To walk from the apartment to the nearest Costco, a distance of a little over a mile, takes about a half hour.  The last portion of the walk takes me parallel to a tangled network of highways that includes the elevated "Anillo Periférico" (Peripheral Ring).  Fortunately, there is a bridge where pedestrians can cross over this mess.

Last week, on my latest walk to Costco, I noticed that the columns supporting the elevated highway were covered with plants... vertical gardens, surely connected to irrigation tubes that keep the vegetation watered.

Had I not noticed these urban gardens on my previous walks here?  Or are they brand new, a part of the city's manic rush to beautify the city prior to the World Cup?  I really don't think it is possible to turn this concrete jungle of highways into a beauty spot, but (if they maintain these gardens) there is certainly nothing wrong with adding some more oxygen to the air.

Art Deco in the Historic Center

 When thinking about Mexico City's Historic Center, most people think of colonial architecture... colonial palaces and churches dating back several centuries.  But in fact the area has a wide variety of architectural styles, including art deco, a style which become popular internationally in the 1920s and 30s.

I was recently reading an article from old edition of "Km. Cero", a free magazine that is handed out by museums and some stores in the Historic Center.

The article listed some of the examples of art deco to be found in the Historic Center.  I decided to walk around the area and see if I could find the buildings in the article.

The first one I found was the Villarcayo Building on Donceles Street. Although it has seen better days, it still appears to be occupied as an apartment building.

The curved balconies, doorway and decorative features all mark it as a part of the art deco movement.

I noticed this banner on the building which says that it is in the process of expropriation by the city government.

From what I read on the internet, expropriation occurs when the residents have requested the process because the building deteriorated and poses a structural risk.  But because the building is of historical and artistic value, I doubt that it would be demolished.  It will be interesting to see what happens to it.

A variation of art deco is a style known as Streamline Moderne whose aerodynamic lines are reminiscent of an airplane or ocean liner.  One example is the Thermidor Building on the corner of Palma and Venustiano Carranza Streets.

The ground floor is occupied by a branch of the coffee shop chain "La Parroquia" and the upper floors are the NH Collection Hotel, part of a chain based in Spain.

A walk east along Venestiano Carranza Street through a congested commercial district away from the tourist area of the Historic Center brought me to this building.

The building originally housed a chocolate factory called "La Cubana".

The facade features art deco geometric lettering and decorative details.

My walk took me past a couple of buildings which were not on the list, but which to my uneducated eye appeared to be art deco.

The original downtown branch of the Liverpool Department Store

An office building built by Lebanese-Mexican businessman Miguel E. Abed.

Later, a quick check on the internet confirmed that both are examples of art deco.

At this point I was getting tired, and the overcast sky threatened rain.  So I took the Metro and Metrobus back to the apartment.  The rest of the list of art deco buildings will have to wait for another day.

  

Orchid Show

When I was at the World Cup exhibit at the Franz Mayer Museum, I ventured into the museums tranquil colonial courtyard.

There I found an orchid show / contest sponsored by the Mexican Orchid Association.  Here are some of the beautiful blossoms on display.

"World Cup" Exhibit

In a little over a month the World Cup will begin.  This year, three nations, Mexico, Canada and the United States will host the games.  The opening match will be played between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City's Azteca Stadium on June 11th.

In honor of one of the world's biggest sporting events, the Franz Mayer Museum, Mexico City's museum of decorative arts, is holding a special exhibit displaying memorabilia from World Cups in the past.  It focusses on the games that were held in Latin American countries.  I am not really a big soccer fan. (Oops, sorry.  Everyone except people from United States calls the sport "football", not "soccer".)  However, I found the exhibit interesting, and I learned a lot about the event.

The very first World Cup was held in 1930, and the host country was the South American nation of Uruguay.  

The official poster of the 1930 World Cup

Uruguay was eager to get the World Cup because it was the centennial of their independence, and they wanted to present themselves to the world as a modern, progressive nation.

They constructed a new stadium for the event with a capacity for 90,000 spectators.  At that time it was the largest in the world outside of the United Kingdom.

Thirteen countries participated, and Uruguay won the championship.

The next Latin American country to host the Cup was Brazil in 1950

The team jerseys of Brazil were white and blue.

After a humiliating loss to Uruguay, the shirts were considered bad luck, and the colors of the team jerseys were changed to green and yellow.

In 1962 the event was hosted by Chile.

In May of that year, Chile was struck by a catastrophic 9.5 earthquake which claimed 50 thousand lives.  The calendar and schedule of games had to be modified since 4 of the 8 stadiums to be used had been severely damaged.

A poster showing the flags of the 16 nations which participated that year.

In 1970, just two years after Mexico City hosted the Summer Olympics, the World Cup was held in various cities in Mexico.

Tickets for events and games at the 1970 World Cup

The Mexico City games were held at Azteca Stadium, the same stadium where the Mexico City games this summer will be held.

In 1978 the World Cup was held in Argentina.

It was a controversial choice because the country was ruled by a military regime that was murdering thousands of political opponents.  The games were compared to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Hitler's Berlin.

The military government hoped that the event would legitimize their rule.  Instead, it drew international attention to their brutal dictatorship.

In 1986, the World Cup returned to Mexico for the second time.

However, there was doubt whether or not the games would go on as scheduled.  The year before, Mexico City suffered a disastrous earthquake.  But the stadiums in the city had not suffered damage, and the games went on as planned.

The mascot of the games was Pique, a sombrero-wearing jalapeño pepper.

In 2014 the World Cup returned to Brazil, the country that had won five championships, more than any other nation.

For the first time, the selection resulted in widespread protests in the host country, as many people demonstrated against the government expenditures of building new stadiums.

This summer, for the first time in World Cup history, the games will be held in three countries... Canada, the United States and Mexico... and in 16 cities.  Forty eight nations will be participating.  Mexico is the first country to host the games three times.  The games in Mexico will be held in three cities... Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.

Mexico City poster

Guadalajara poster

Monterrey poster

Mexico City is expected to draw 5.5 million international visitors during the event.

I am actually glad that I will be in Europe for a portion of that time.