The Route of Enterprises

Over the years Paseo de la Reforma has seen numerous displays of fiberglass figures painted by local artists.  Most famous are the "Mexicráneos", the large painted skulls placed on the boulevard for the Day of the Dead.  A display of cow figures was called "Cows on Parade".  Last year there were prickly pear cactuses in commemoration of Mexico City's 700th anniversary.  One year in honor of the World Cup, there were giant soccer balls.  (I wonder if this summer there will be soccer balls once again.)

Right now there is a less intriguing display... simply a bunch of painted spheres forming what they are calling the Route of Enterprises.  Each of the spheres is sponsored by a companies that are based in Mexico or have offices here.  The display is not nearly as large as the others I mentioned.  There are 17 spheres (representing Earth) along one section of the boulevard.

Here are some of the painted sculptures...

Knorr

The German company has a large factory in the State of Mexico.

Danone

The French yogurt company Danone is known as Dannon in the U.S.

Gayosso

Gayosso is one of the major chains of funeral homes in Mexico.

Liverpool

Liverpool is one of the major chains of department stores in Mexico.

3M

3M (the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company) has four factories in Mexico City.

Alpura

Alpura is one of Mexico's major dairy companies.

Whirlpool

Whirlpool has five factories in Mexico.

Grupo Modelo

Mexico's largest brewery (makers of Modelo, Corona, and other brands) shows football fans being responsible and drinking alcohol-free beer.

I was surprised the "Grupo Bimbo" was not represented here.

 

Speaking of Chocolate...

In 1989 writer Laura Esquivel wrote one of the most beloved novels of modern Mexican literature... "Como Agua para Chocolate" ("Like Water for Chocolate").  The title is a Mexican expression that describes someone whose emotions are about to boil over.  The book was a best-seller in Mexico and was translated into 20 languages.

The novel is an example of "magic realism", a literary style that originated in Latin America.  It  weaves elements of fantasy into an otherwise realistic story.   The main character of Esquival's book is Tita, a young woman who has an extraordinary talent for cooking and is able to transmit her emotions to others through her food.  She is in love with Pedro, and they wish to marry.  However, Tita is the youngest of three daughters, and it is the family tradition that the youngest daughter never marry in order to care for the mother in her old age.

In 1992 the book was adapted into a critically acclaimed motion picture.  It won ten Ariel Awards (the Mexican equivalent of the Academy Awards) including best picture.  In the United States it was the highest grossing foreign language film ever released up to that time.

I bring all this up, because HBO has made a series based on the novel and film.  I did not realize that Alejandro has a subscription to HBO, so the last several nights I have been watching the six episodes of Season 1.

First of all, the acting and cinematography are excellent.  Especially outstanding is the performance by Irene Azuela, who plays Tita's mama, doña Elena, a villainess that you love to hate.  The scenes showing the preparation of  food (each episode features a different traditional recipe) are scrumptious and made me hungry.

 

However, the book is a relatively short novel of around 250 pages, and the original movie, which was quite faithful to the book, ran under 2 hours.  Each episode of season 1 of the HBO series runs between 40 and 50 minutes, so I have already put in almost 5 hours watching this series .  And how many more hours will there be for season 2?  Obviously the writers put in a lot of extra stuff to fill in all that time.  The book was set during the era of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, but the revolution is a presence that is mostly in the background.  This is first and foremost a love story, and the tale of Tita's struggle against stultifying traditions that prevent her from attaining her true love.  In the HBO production the Revolution is front and center almost to the point of pushing the love story to a secondary position.  And I must say that the timeline of the historical events seems askew.  The first two episodes were fairly faithful to the book, but then the writers went crazy, adding events, characters, flashbacks and entire story lines that never appeared in the novel.  At times I would not have even recognized this as an adaptation of Esquivel's book.

It is quite telling that Laura Esquival is not happy with the series.  She has stated, "This is not my book."

The second season premieres this weekend, but I don't know if I will even bother watching any more episodes.  HBO also has the original movie, and I started to watch that.  I've seen it several times before, and it seems like an old, familiar friend.  In so many ways it is superior to what HBO has done to this beloved novel.   

 Happy Valentine's Day to all my readers.  In Mexico the day is also called the Day of Love and Friendship.  It is also our third wedding anniversary.  The good thing about getting married on Valentine's Day is that you will never forget your anniversary.  The bad thing is that the restaurants are all jammed.  We will have our celebration tomorrow instead.

Oaxacan Lunch

After visiting the Bimbo Museum, I walked a few blocks down the street to have lunch at the little restaurant run by the Mayordomo Chocolate company.

"Mayordomo" is one of the few Mexican chocolate companies that is not owned by foreign corporations. For example, "Abuelita", probably the most famous maker of table chocolate for making hot chocolate, is now owned by Nestlé.  "Turín", another well-known brand was bought out by Mars.  "Mayordomo", however, remains a family business based in Oaxaca.

The company operates a number of restaurants in Oaxaca as well as two in Mexico City, and obviously they feature Oaxacan cuisine.  

For my lunch I ordered something I haven't had for quite a while... a "tlayuda".  You might call a "tlayuda" Oaxaca's version of a pizza although its roots date back long before there were pizzerias in Mexico.  It consists of a large, thin, crisp corn tortilla covered with toppings.

 There were a number of different kinds of "tlayudas" on the menu.  I chose one with Oaxacan "mole", "quesillo" (a soft, string cheese with excellent melting properties) and chicken.  (I passed the "tlayuda" that was topped with grasshoppers.)  To drink, of course, I ordered traditional Mayordomo hot chocolate made with milk.

I left the restaurant with, as the Mexican saying goes, "una barriga llena, corazón contento" (a full belly and a happy heart).

Bimbo Museum

 In English, the word "bimbo" is derogatory and sexist. But in Mexico everyone knows "Bimbo" as the most widely sold brand of bread.  "Grupo Bimbo", the multinational food corporation that produces a wide variety of baked goods and snacks, is one of Mexico's biggest companies with over 130,000 employees.  It is the largest baking company in the world.  

The company recently opened a museum in downtown Mexico City telling the story "Grupo Bimbo"... yet another museum to add to the list of more than 150 in the city.

Last week I paid a visit to the museum.  Outside the building is a large metallic statue of their mascot, "Osito" (Little Bear).

The company had its beginnings in 1918 when Juan Servitje invented a machine for mass producing "bolillos", the rolls with the crusty exterior and soft interior that are a staple in Mexico.

Servitje and his wife, Josefina Sendra went on to open "El Molino", a successful Mexico City bakery in 1928.

"Bimbo" was born in 1945 when Servitje's son Lorenzo opened a large bread factory in Mexico City.

An advertisement in a Mexico City newspaper announces the inauguration of the Bimbo factory.

The name "Bimbo" was chosen as a combination of the Disney movies "Bambi" and "Dumbo", favorites of Lorenzo's daughter.

"Bimbo" introduced to Mexico "pan de caja", loaves of sliced bread wrapped in celophane.

The original white "Pan Bimbo" is very much like "Wonder Bread".  It surprises me that in Mexico, a country with so many neighborhood bakeries and so many varieties of delicious breads, an imitation of highly processed Wonder Bread should become so immensely popular.  Perhaps it was fashionable to eat like the "gringos" north of the border.

The evolution of "Osito" from 1945 to the present day...

A "Bimbo" delivery truck from 1945

"Bimbo" expanded its line of products to include snacks such as "Submarinos", the Mexican equivalent of "Twinkies", and "Pinguinos", which look just like Hostess Cupcakes.  Their division under the brand name "Barcel" produces a variety of junk foods such as "Takis", rolled tortilla chips with intense spiciness.

"Bimbo" has become a multinational company with operations in 39 countries, including the United States.

Here is a display of all the "Bimbo" brands that are sold in the U.S.  I was shocked to see that well-known brands such as Sara Lee, Entenmanns and Thomas' English muffins are now owned by "Grupo Bimbo".

The Bimbo Museum will certainly never be ranked as a "must-see" attraction in Mexico City, but it was an interesting look at the origins and growth of this industrial giant. 

 

The Elephant in the Park

When I was walking along Cuauhtémoc Avenue, I passed through Jardín Ramón López Velarde, a large park in the Roma neighborhood.  A whimsical statue that I had never noticed before drew my attention, and I walked over to it.

The sculpture is called "The Elephant of Abundance", a symbol of fortune and good luck in several Asian cultures.  It was done by Mexican muralist and sculptor Fernando Andriacci, and it is made of steel and painted with automotive lacquer.  It is a recent addition to the park, unveiled during a renovation of the green space in 2023.

Mexican Gothic

Whenever I traveled along Cuauhtémoc Avenue on the Metrobus, I would see a church in neo-Gothic style that seemed out of place in Mexico City.  It looked like something plucked out of medieval Europe.  Last week I was walking down the avenue and had a chance to take a closer look at the church.  It is called the "Parroquía de Nuestra Señora de los Misterios" (the Parish Church of Our Lady of the Mysteries).

The door was open, so I went inside.  The interior is also done in Gothic style.

On either side there are stained glass windows.  Given the name of the church, it is not surprising that they portray the "mysteries of the rosary", events from the Bible upon which one is supposed to meditate while saying the rosary.

I assumed that the church was of relatively modern construction... first because its style is nothing like the churches of the colonial era, and secondly because its neighborhood, Roma Norte, was not developed until the beginning of the 20th century.  Later I did some research on the church, and, indeed, construction began in 1914 during the Mexican Revolution.  The church was completed in 1943 with the addition of the bells in the spires.