Beautification

It seems that the government is busy trying to make the city beautiful for the influx of foreign visitors that will arrive this summer for the World Cup.  I have noticed that a number of parks are being renovated.  Even the small green space near the World Trade Center received attention, with a number of new flowers, shrubs, and even a small palm tree being planted.

My first thought was, "You better keep these new plantings well watered.  You have at least three months before the rainy season arrives."

Sure, enough, although the plantings are being watered, the watering is very superficial.  Many of the plants are limp, and the palm tree already appears to be dying.

To truly beautify the city, the government would need to tackle the herculean task of eliminating the blight of graffiti, a task which would be nearly impossible.  Graffiti has always been a problem.  In the past, any building which appears to be vacant or abandoned is soon covered with graffiti.

I have no idea how the graffiti vandals got to the upper floors of this vacant building along Patriotismo Avenue.  I suspect that within the year this building will be demolished and another high-rise apartment building will rise in its place.

It seems that in the last year or so, the vandals have become even more brazen, and they are leaving their mark on occupied buildings.

Scribblings on the door of an otherwise well-maintained home down the street from my apartment building.

Even in the forementioned recently planted green space, the metal letters "B J" (which stand for the name of the borough "Benito Juárez") have been defaced with stickers and scribblings.

These punks are nothing but a bunch vandals.  Occasionally there will be one that has some artistic talent.

Often those "graffiti artists" will gain commissions to create legitimate street art.  Sadly, their efforts are more frequently becoming the target of vandalism also.

Many of the city's monuments, such as the iconic Monument to Independence, have been surrounded by metal barricades to protect them when there are protest marches in the city.  Those barricades quickly become a canvas for graffiti, often political slogans.

My question is, will those barricades be removed when the World Cup games begin?

Underpass Art

A few weeks ago when Alejandro and I were walking to the nearest Costco, we came across two mural paintings on the walls of the underpass where the "Anillo Periférico" (Peripheral Ring Highway) crosses over the street.  I recently walked back there to take photos of the paintings.

On one side of the street is a mosaic mural.

A plaque says the the work is entitled "Memories of the Borough" (referring to the borough of Alvaro Obregón where it is located).  It was done in 2012, but unfortunately the artist's name is not given.

The borough is named after a hero of the Mexican Revolution who later became President of Mexico.  I am quite sure that this is a portrait of Alvaro Obregón at one end of the mural.

I am certain that in the center of the mural the Obregón Monument is depicted.  It stands on the site where he was assassinated in 1928.

On the other side of the street is another mural.  This one is entitled "Sentimentos de la Nación" (Feelings of the Nation).  It was created by artist David Celis and was completed in 2025.  

Afterwards, I found several articles on the internet about this mural.  It is the world's largest mural done in a style called "esculto-esgrafiado" (sculptural-sgraffito).  I had to look up the word "sgraffito".  It's an artistic technique in which a surface, such as plaster, is scratched away to reveal an underlying surface.  If you look at the painting close-up you can see that it has a three-dimensional effect with some of the figures standing out from the background.

The themes of the painting are the importance of women and of water.

"The rivers cry for a change of conscience in humanity."

The woman portrayed here is Mexican scientist Paolo Castillo, who contributed to the development of COVID-19 detection tests.

"We are the embrace of feminine and masculine.

The loving equilibrium of day and night,

We are one love."

verse by Mexican rock musician Roco Pachucote

"We alegorically exalt women as human beings,

their ability and strength which boost the development of society."

The slogan on the woman's purse (at the left) says "No to harassment."

"You can live without gold.

Without water you die"

More from Bill's Salsa Kitchen

I still had some dried "pasilla" peppers left over from the last salsa that I made, so I checked my salsa cookbook for another recipe that uses "pasillas".

 I found a recipe for "salsa borracha" (drunken sauce).  It gets its name from the fact that "pulque", an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of the maguey plant, is one of the ingredients.  Instead of "pulque" you can also use beer.  I do not like beer, but there happened to be an unopened bottle in the refrigerator that had been left by the previous owners of the apartment.  So, I decided to use some of the beer and make this recipe.

In addition to 1/2 cup of beer, you use 1/2 cup of orange juice, 4 "pasilla" peppers, 1/4 cup of chopped white onion and 1 clove of garlic.

The peppers should have their stems cut off, and the seeds and veins removed.  I was not as meticulous about removing the veins as I was on my last salsa.  I wanted it to be a bit hotter.  The peppers are then lightly roasted on a griddle.  The garlic is also charred on the griddle with the skin on.  After roasting it is peeled.

The "pasilla" peppers are  broken up and put into a saucepan along with the beer and orange juice.  The mixture is cooked for 10 minutes.

The beer / orange juice / pepper mixture is put in a blender along with the clove of garlic, the chopped onion, and 1/4 cup of water (in Mexico, of course, you should use purified water, not tap water).  Blend it into a sauce.  Salt to taste.

The finished product is dark and has a unique flavor.  Mine came out quite spicy since I did not remove all of the veins.

Yesterday I used some of the salsa, adding it to scrambled eggs and black beans.  It was an excellent combination.

I have already selected another salsa from my cookbook to try next week.

Vaccination Continues

Yesterday, on the front page of one of Mexico City's newspapers, there was an article about the continuing outbreak of measles.  The death toll from the disease has now risen to 31.

The vaccination campaign continues.  The photo above shows a line of people waiting for a shot near the Palace of Fine Arts in downtown Mexico City.

Attention! This Is a Drill

Yesterday morning an earthquake drill was held in the greater Mexico City area.  I left my apartment and walked over to the World Trade Center to watch the drill.  At 11 AM the sirens began to sound.  There were also special instructions given over loudspeakers for the World Trade Center.

 

Outside of the World Trade Center there are meeting points at which people are supposed to gather according to floors.

If you worked in an office on the upper floors of the building, I don't see much sense in trying to leave the building.  You cannot use the elevators to evacuate during an earthquake, and there is no way you can go down forty plus flights of stairs in the minute or less of warning that you would have in the case of a real earthquake.  I would think that you would simply find the safest place (under a desk perhaps?) and trust the building's structural integrity.  The World Trade Center withstood the major quake in 2017 with only minor damage.

Customers and employees of the restaurants and stores at the World Trade Center gathered outside.

Guests and employees of a nearby hotel

Workers at office buildings on Insurgentes Avenue headed out to the street.

The next earthquake drill will be held on September 19th, the anniversary of the catastrophic 1985 quake and, coincidentally, the 2017 quake.
  

"Carnaval"

Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday, or "Mardi Gras" as it is known in French.  In Spanish, the pre-Lenten celebration is known as "Carnaval".  In Mexico City, the revelry cannot compare to the festivities in New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, or some Mexican cities such as Veracruz.  However, in some neighborhoods there are groups known as "comparsas" which dance through the streets in costume.

The "colonia" where Alejandro's family lives, happens to be one of those neighborhoods.  Every year, if I happen to be at their home on the final days before Lent, I will see a "comparsa" parading down the street.  Monday evening, we could hear the band playing as it approached, and we went outside to see them dancing.  The women are dressed in fancy ball gowns, and the masked men wear top hats, poking fun of the wealthy.

Concert at the Palace

Our anniversary weekend celebration continued on Sunday when we went to the Palace of Fine Arts for the first concert of the 2026 season by Mexico's National Symphonic Orchestra.

(selfie taken by Alejandro)

The concert was held in the beautiful main concert hall.  It seemed quite different, however, because the famous Tiffany glass stage curtain was raised and out of sight.

High above the audience, a stained glass dome

Mythological figures decorate the proscenium arch.

 

The first half of the program featured standard works with which I was familiar...  Tchaikovsky's Polonaise from his opera "Eugene Onegin", Dvorak's Slavonic Dance #2, and George Enescu's Romanian Rhapsody #1.

After intermission, the orchestra played a piece by the Mexican composer Manuel Enríquez entitled "Latin American Rhapsody".  It was a medley of tunes from different Latin American countries, some of them familiar such as the tango "La Cumparsita".

The final work was Maurice Ravel's hypnotic "Bolero".

No, they are not in the same class as the Cleveland Orchestra (yes, I am a bit of a snob when it comes to my old hometown orchestra), but it was an excellent and enjoyable performance, and I am sure that I will have no difficulty in convincing Alejandro to attend more of their concerts later this season.