The Battle for the Zócalo

The CNTE (National Coordinator of Education Workers) is a militant teachers' union that represents a minority of the teachers in Mexico.  In the years since I have lived permanently in Mexico City, they have staged two major protests in which they have taken over the city's main plaza, the Zócalo set up a tent city, and blocked major thoroughfares.

Last month, with the opening of the World Cup only weeks away, they attempted to take over the plaza once again.  This time they were met by a phalanx of police and barricades blocking entrance to the Zócalo.  The police used tear gas and fire extinguishers to disperse the protesters.

(image taken from the internet)

A couple of days later I went downtown.  Metal barriers were still blocking the Zócalo, and policemen stood all along the perimeter.  On the plaza construction was underway to build a "fan zone" where soccer fans could watch the games for free on an enormous screen.

A couple of photos of the construction work which I took from behind the barriers.

Then three days ago the union returned and once again tried to take the Zócalo.  Once again, they were met by riot police who pushed them back with tear gas.

Having been unsuccessful in taking control of the Zócalo, the teachers then set up their tent encampment on several streets streets leading to the plaza.

(image taken from the internet)

In an earlier post I showed you a photo of one of the towering statues of soccer players that have been set up along Paseo de la Reforma.  Two days ago, the teachers toppled three of the sixteen foot high images, tore off their uniforms and burned them, and scrawled graffiti on the naked mannequins.

As a former educator, I say that this behavior is a disgrace to the teaching profession.

In Chapultepec Park

 Alejandro stands among cutout figures of soccer players lining a path in Chapultepec Park.

Before There Was Soccer

 I thought that this billboard in one of Mexico City's subway stations was interesting.

It says, "Before soccer existed, Mexico was already playing ball."

All of Mexico's pre-Hispanic civilizations, beginning with the Olmecs and continuing through the Mayas and Aztecs had a form of ballgame.  The Mayas called it "pok-ta-pok" and the Aztecs called it "tlachtli".  The exact rules of the game are not known, but it is known that it was played with a solid rubber ball.  Ball courts are found in archaeological sites throughout the country.  It is generally thought that the players kept the ball in motion by striking it with their hips.  Hands and feet were not allowed.  However, there is some archaeological evidence that players used wooden sticks or racquets in some cultures.  The ballgame was more than a sport; it was also a religious ritual.  In later civilizations the game even involved human sacrifice.  

It's a Mystery

I am not generally a big fan of murder mysteries, but, since Agatha Christie is considered the Queen of the genre, I decided to give one of her novels a try.  Several years ago, before my move to Mexico, I read "Halloween Party".  I was not very impressed, but I later learned that it was considered one of her lesser works, written late in her life.  I gave the author another try. I picked up one of her most famous mysteries, "And Then There Were None", to put on my bookshelf in the apartment and to read in the future.  I started it a week ago, and at 300 pages in fairly large type it was finished quickly.

The mystery revolves around ten people at a mansion on a small island off the coast of England.  Two of them were servants hired by the mysterious owner of the island and the other eight were invited to spend the weekend there.  One by one the ten people are found dead.  There is no way for them to get off of the island.  The survivors thoroughly search the island and the house for the murderer.  When they find no one they assume that the killer is one of them.  Although there is nothing spectacular about Christie's prose, she weaves an ingenious mystery that leaves one guessing until the very end.  The author said that it was her most difficult novel. 

The story is pleasurable reading, but it does reflect the prejudices of the era in which it was written.   The original title was "Ten Little N*****s" after the name of a 19th century minstrel song.  For a while it was published as "Ten Little Indians", and now its title is "And Then There Were None".  One glaring bit of prejudice that remains is a minor character (not one of the ten on the island) who is referred to as "a dirty Jew".  Beyond that reference, which could easily be edited out, it was an entertaining book. 

Giant Players

The latest addition to the World Cup decorations along Paseo de la Reforma (they weren't there the last time I walked down the boulevard) is a series of large statues of soccer players dressed in the uniforms of various nations.

This one is dressed in the uniform of Colombia.

The jerseys and shorts are actually giant uniforms made of fabric.

June Is Busting Out All Over

(For younger readers, or those not familiar with classic Broadway musicals, the title of this post is a reference to a famous Rodgers and Hammerstein song.)

The year is flying by, and we are now in the month of June.  The photo that I selected for my custom-made calendar is one that I took some years ago when I made a trip to Switzerland, Austria and Germany.  One of the cities that I visited was Munich (or München in German) the capital of Bavaria, Germany's largest state.

The city hall of Munich contains in its central spire a famous "glockenspiel", a mechanical clock with moving figures that represent two scenes from Munich's history.  The top section commemorates the marriage of Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria and Renata of Lorraine in 1568.  Below it, there are figures representing the Coopers' Dance.  According to legend, the city's barrel makers (coopers) danced through the street at the end of the plague in 1517.  There are performances of he "glockenspiel" several times a day, and they attract large crowds of tourists and residents.

The city hall (the "Neues Rathhaus" or New Town Hall) was built in neo-Gothic style in 1874.  The building suffered minimal damage during the Allied bombardment in 1944, and the structure was repaired.  The "glockenspiel" dates from 1908 and underwent restoration in 2007.   

Painting the Town

Here's another example of the city's beautification projects in preparation for the World Cup.  They had just finished painting the wall along the "Autopista Urbana Norte" (Northern Urban Freeway) which passes between the first and second sections of Chapultepec Park.

As I have mentioned before, "¡La Pelota Vuelve a Casa!" (The Ball Returns Home!) is the city's slogan for the games, a reference to the fact that Mexico is the first country to host three World Cups.  It adds "a la capital del fútbol" (to the capital of soccer).  To the right is an axolotl, the amphibious animal that the city has adopted as its mascot.  Just down the highway they were still in the process of painting the mural.