Painting in Progress

 Last week I was passing through the "Glorieta de Insurgentes" to transfer from the Metrobus to the subway.  A "glorieta" is a traffic circle, and this one, along Insurgentes Avenue, is a large circular area lined with shops.  The Metrobus and subway stations here on the border between two touristy areas, the "Zona Rosa" and "Roma Norte", make it an important transportation hub, especially for visitors staying in the area.

There are numerous passageways leading out of the "glorieta" onto the intersecting streets.  I noticed painters at work by one of those passages.

I then realized that all of the passageways leading out of the circle had been painted or were in the process of being painted.  It was obviously one of the beautification projects for the World Cup, and the theme of most of the murals was "fútbol".

"Let's Go Mexico!"

This mural is a reference to the ancient Mayan myth of the "Hero Twins" who saved humanity from darkness by defeating the gods of the underworld in a ball game.  Here the twins are portrayed as "axolotl", the amphibians that have, as I have previously mentioned, been adopted by the city as their mascot.

As I have said before, Mexico's slogan for this year's World Cup is "The ball returns home".

Something I Won't Use

I am admittedly a dinosaur.  I have no idea how a "chatbot" works, and, given the fact that it's probably created with artificial intelligence, I have zero desire to use one!

Mexico City has created a "chatbox" for visitors coming here for the World Cup.  I have seen advertisements for it in both Spanish and English in several Metrobus stations.

The "chatbox" is called Xoli and it is represented as an axolotl, one of the salamander-like creatures that still exist in remaining canals of Mexico City.  It seems that the government is going all out making this endangered species the city's mascot.

Anyways, I do not need artificial intelligence to tell me where I should go in Mexico City.  Gracias, but NO.

More History in the Metro

 Over the past month I have shown you two different tile plaques that I noticed at the entrances to subway station.  They commemorate figures in Mexican history.  I'm beginning to wonder if these plaques are a recent project, because last week I saw another one that I had not noticed before.  This one deals with the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs.

The picture is based on a native pictorial manuscript known as the Codex of Tepetlaoztoc.  It was created after the conquest by skilled Aztec artists as a petition to the Council of the Indies, the administrative body of Spain's colonies in the New World.  It denounced the exploitation of the indigenous people by the Spanish overlords.  Text in Spanish was added to the manuscript so that it would be understood by its recipients.

The caption on this plaque says, "After the fall of Tenochtitlan, the Spanish divided the lands of the native people, obliging them into forced labor and the payment of large tributes under the pain of punishment and even death."   

A New Plant for the Garden

When I lived in Ohio, I was a slave to my enormous flower garden.  Work would begin in the spring, and every day, weather permitting, I would spend several hours in the garden.  Now that I am in Mexico, my gardening consists of taking care of a handful of houseplants in the apartment.  A lot less work!

Last Thursday I was passing through the "tianguis" (outdoor market) that is held each week by the neighborhood park.  One of the vendors sells houseplants, and I noticed that he had a jade plant.  I had good luck with a jade plant back in Ohio, so I decided to buy it.  It was in a cheap plastic container, but the vendor also had ceramic pots for sale.  I picked out a piece of blue Talavera ware, a style of glazed pottery that is a specialty of the city of Puebla.  The other plants that I have in the living room are all in Talavera pots.  The vendor transplanted the jade plant for me.

The vendor told me that in Spanish it is called an "árbol de abundancia"... a tree of abundance.  I did a bit of research and found that they are also called money plants or lucky plants, and that in feng shui they are associated with prosperity.

The plants are very easy to care for. as long as they are not overwatered.  They can live for decades.  So, my jade plant might outlive me.  

Dancing for the World Cup

Numerous times I have mentioned "Dr. Simi", the rotund, elderly doctor who is the much beloved mascot of the drugstore chain "Farmacias Similares".  You will often see employees dressed as "Dr. Simi" dancing outside of the pharmacies.

Even "Dr. Simi" has caught the World Cup fever.  A few days ago I saw him wearing a soccer shirt similar to the jersey of the national team.

Reading the Book After Seeing the Film

A few months ago I wrote that we went to see the award-winning movie "Hamnet".  It was a superb film.  However, long before I saw the movie, the book upon which it was based was sitting unread on my bookshelf.  I finally got around to reading the novel.

Often film adaptations are not as good as the book.  In this case the movie set a very high bar, but I can say that the book is as good as the movie.

The novel was written by Irish-British novelist Maggie O'Farrell in 2020.  Very little is known about the family life of William Shakespeare, and in this novel the author imagines the relationship between the playwright and his wife and three children.  His only son was named Hamnet which is a variation of the name Hamlet.

It is interesting that not once in the book is the Bard called by his name.  He is referred to as "the tutor" or "the husband" or just "he".  If you didn't already know the premise of the novel, I suppose that it might take you a few chapters to realize the book is about Shakespeare and his family.  The fact that the wife, who is the central character of the book, is named Agnes muddies the waters a bit.  We learned in school that Shakespeare's wife was named Anne Hathaway.  However, we know from documents that her father called her Agnes, and that is the name the author uses.  In spite of that, I think that you would have to be pretty dense not to put the clues together...  the family lives in Stratford-upon-Avon, the husband goes to London and there he has success as the writer for a troupe of players.

I have not read anything else by O'Farrell, but I was thoroughly impressed by her skill as a writer.  There are passages in the book that I found deeply moving.

I am not going to give away the plot.  If you have not read the book or seen the movie, I highly recommend them both!     

The Purple-ization of Mexico City

Throughout Mexico City, walls, fences and pedestrian bridges are being painted purple.  A couple days ago I noticed that the pedestrian bridge that crosses the freeway not far from the apartment was receiving a paint job.

I thought that this was simply a part of the cosmetic beautification program that has been undertaken in preparation for this summer's World Cup.  However, I read that purple has a symbolic meaning; it is the color of feminism.  Mayor Clara Brugada has declared Mexico City to be "the capital of feminism".

The painting project has been mocked by many elements of the city's population.  Some critics call it a waste of money; money that should be used to address more important issues.  For example, the city's drainage system is woefully inadequate, and parts of the city flood every time we have a heavy rain.  Even feminist groups are unimpressed.  They say it is hypocrisy to call Mexico City "the capital of feminism" when violence against women, even feminicide, remains a serious problem.