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.

Gentrification

I have written before about the problem of gentrification in Mexico City.  Trendy neighborhoods such as Condesa and Roma are attracting digital nomads, and more and more tourists are choosing Airbnb rentals instead of hotels.  As a result, landlords, eager to cash in on the neighborhoods' popularity, are raising rents.  Longtime residents are being priced out of apartments where they have lived for years and are forced to move to less desirable neighborhoods.  This in turn has led to gentrification with new construction and higher prices in those neighborhoods.

One example of this is the "colonia" known as Doctores.  Although it borders on Roma, it has long been considered a dangerous part of the city.  Actually, the criminal activity is largely confined to auto theft and the chop shops that sell stolen auto parts, but Mexico City residents have long tended to avoid it and consider it a "barrio bravo" (rough neighborhood).  Recently, I was walking along the periphery of Doctores, or across the border on the Roma side of Cuauhtémoc Avenue.  I was struck by the number of new apartment building that had been built or which were under construction.  This area was hard hit by the 2017 earthquake, and I suspect that these new projects are on properties that suffered damage.

An artist's depiction of a new apartment building under construction in Doctores...

  

These brand-new apartment buildings are on the Doctores' side of Cuauhtémoc Avenue and contrast with the surrounding neighborhood.  The first one is conveniently located by a Metrobus stop.

This building under construction is offering apartments at a pre-sale price starting at 2,720,000 pesos (158,000 U.S. dollars), a price that is certainly far beyond the reach of most residents of Doctores.

Getting a Shot

Unlike the United States where anti-science voices are influencing public policy, Mexico has responded to an increasing number of measles (sarampión) cases with a vigorous vaccination campaign.

The outbreak began in the northern state of Chihuahua which borders on Texas, and since then has spread to three other states as well as Mexico City.  Officials are anxious to increase vaccination rates, especially since the world will be coming to Mexico this summer for the World Cup games.

On Saturday, Alejandro and I were walking along the Paseo de la Reforma, and we saw numerous posters advertising that free measles vaccines would be given the next day at the main entrance to Chapultepec Park between 11 AM and 3 PM

Both Alejandro and I had measles when we were children.  His sister, who works in a hospital, also had the disease as a child.  However, she was required to be vaccinated.  A friend of Alejandro's who also works in a hospital was vaccinated as a boy.  But he too was required to get another shot.  We thought that perhaps it would be a good idea if we got a shot to serve as a booster.

So, on Sunday we headed to Chapultepec's main entrance, known as the Gate of the Lions because of the two bronze lions which flank the gate.

A volunteer advertising the vaccination campaign

(She looks rather grim, but actually she was very pleasant when I asked if I could take her picture.)

Just inside the gate, there were tents set up and a long line of people waiting for their shot.

The line moved quickly however, and within ten minutes we had our shot.  It burned at first, but after a few minutes, neither one of us could feel any pain even at the point of vaccination.

A New Salsa

I have made "salsa de molcajete" (salsa ground in a volcanic stone mortar) numerous times.  However, this past week I decided to make something different.  I turned to my book of salsa recipes, and choose one which I had never made before.

I picked a recipe from Oaxaca for "salsa de chile pasilla".  The "chile pasilla" is a dried pepper, wrinkled and almost black in color.  In its fresh form it is known as a "chilaca" pepper.

The other ingredients are garlic and "tomatillos".  "Tomatillos" are a small green fruit in the tomato family.  They are covered with a papery husk, and have a tart taste.

The unpeeled cloves of garlic are roasted on a "comal" (griddle) until they begin to char.  After they cool, they are peeled.

The stems are removed from the peppers.  Each pepper is sliced open and the seeds and veins are removed.

 

The peppers are then soaked in hot water.

Any husks on the "tomatillos" are removed, and they are cooked in boiling water for ten minutes.

The garlic, the "tomatillos", and the peppers, along with the water in which they soaked, are put in the blender.  Add one teaspoon of salt, and blend the mixture until smooth.

The finished product was a salsa with a deep, smoky flavor with just an undercurrent of "picante".  It is delicious, and I will definitely make this recipe again in the future!

A Wavey Building

Much of Mexico City is built upon spongy soil that was once lake bottom.  As a result, many buildings, especially in the Centro Histórico, have settled unevenly and are sinking, tilting or undulating as if riding a wave.  I took a photo of one building that is a prime example of the later.

The structure is located on San Jerónimo Street about six blocks south of the Zócalo.  My first impression was that the building was abandoned, but as I walked down the street, I could see people inside through the windows.  I continued walking and saw signs which identified the building as a public elementary school... "Escuela Primaria España".

The structure was obviously very old, most likely dating back to the colonial era.  However, unlike many buildings in the "Centro Histórico, there was no plaque giving a bit of the history of the place.  Afterwards, I did some research on the internet, and I finally found a thesis written in 2016 by an architecture student at the National Polytechnical Institute.  His thesis dealt with the school, its architecture and efforts to restore the building.  It included a chapter on the history of the building.

I skimmed through the thesis, especially the part dealing with the building's history, and it was not easy reading.  However, I was able to glean that the building was built in the 18th century.  The property was purchased by an order of priests called the "Padres Camilos".  They dedicated themselves to the care of terminally ill people in their final days... very much like modern-day hospice care.  They rented out store and apartment space in the building in order to finance their efforts.

Much later, the building became a primary school.  The name "Primaria España (Spain)" was given to it in the 1940s to honor the exiles who fought against the fascists in the Spanish Civil War, and who sought asylum in Mexico after the war.

In 2014 work began on the restoration of the building.

I have passed nearby by many times, and always looked at its wavey lines.  Now I finally know a little about its history.