On the Train

Our train trip from Mexico City to Toluca on the brand new "El Insurgente" train took around 40 minutes.  It was a comfortable journey.  Although the seats are not upholstered, I felt as if I were traveling on a train in Europe.

There are two more stops within Mexico City.  First there is "Vasco de Quiroga" which is also the terminus of one of the "Cablebus" lines.  Then the train passes through the ritzy neighborhood of Santa Fe with its high-rise corporate headquarters and luxury apartment buildings.

  

After stopping at the Santa Fe station, the train is soon climbing through the forested mountains to the west of Mexico City.

Through the highest part of the mountains, there is a three mile long tunnel.

The train then descends into the Valley of Toluca and the metropolitan area of the city.

There are several stops in the Toluca area.  First is at Lerma, a large industrial suburb just to the east of the city.  Next is Metepec, a city known for its handicrafts.  From Metepec there are buses that take you to Toluca International Airport.  Toluca Centro is not in downtown Toluca, but buses that take you to the center of the city.  

As we continued on we could see Nevado de Toluca, the fourth highest mountain in Mexico.  

The end of the line is Zinacantepec, a suburb to the west of Toluca.

After having a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant and walking around a bit, we got back on the train to return to Mexico City.

Soon were back in the city and got off the train at the "Observatario" terminal.

All Aboard!

Way back in 2014, construction was begun on an interurban commuter train to connect Mexico City with Toluca, the capital of the State of Mexico.  After long delays, the train route was finally completed on February 2 of this year with the opening of a terminal in Mexico City that connects with Line 1 of the subway.  The train line is called "El Insurgente", after Miguel Hidalgo, the "father of Mexican Independence."  From Mexico City, the train runs west 35.9 miles.  It is electric and can reach a speed of 99 mph.

Last Saturday, Alejandro and I decide to ride "El Insurgente".  We took the newly renovated Line 1 of the subway to the end of the line, the "Observatorio" station.  The subway station merges seamlessly into the new train terminal.

You use the transit card that you use for the Metro or Metrobus.  Going through the turnstile, you are charged 15 pesos from the credit on your card.  When you exit the train you go through another turnstile and are charged depending upon the stop from which you get off.  If you go all the way to the end of the line you will be charged 85 pesos for a total of 100 pesos (less than 6 U.S. dollars).  So, you need to be sure to recharge your card with enough pesos to make the trip.

We barely had to wait at all when a train pulled into the station.

The trains were manufactured in Spain.  Each train consists of five cars and has a capacity of 700 passengers.  The cars were spotlessly clean.  Food and beverages are not allowed on the train.

We boarded the train.

We found window seats facing each other.

Soon we were on our way.

You can see the World Trade Center in the background.

More to come from our train ride...

And Meanwhile in Switzerland...

In New Orleans it is known as "Mardi Gras", in Latin America it is "Carnival", but in the German speaking nations the pre-Lenten celebration is known as "Fasnacht". The biggest and most famous "Fasnacht" in Switzerland is held in the city of Basel.  Oddly enough, it occurs after the beginning at Lent.  It always starts at 4 AM on the Monday after Ash Wednesday, and lasts exactly 72 hours, ending at 4 AM on Thursday.  During those three days, the streets of Basel are filled with parades, music and costumed participants.

My Swiss cousin Walter and his wife Helen attended the event, and he posted photos of the celebration.

One major element of the festivities is satire of local and world events and the mockery of political figures.  As you can imagine, a major target of mockery was a certain "orange pendejo".

I can't read Swiss German, but I can make out that this refers to the "pendejo's" appearance at the economic forum at Davos, Switzerland.

My cousin was concerned about sending these photos to me.  He was afraid that I would get in trouble when I go to the United States if I had them on my cell phone.  I told him that the U.S. is not yet a complete dictatorship, and that I have posted much worse than this on my blog.

Current Events

I would be remiss if I did not mention the events of the past weekend here in Mexico.  You have probably read or heard the news of the Mexican military operation that resulted in the death on Sunday of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the cartel leader known as "El Mencho".  "El Mencho" was the leader of the country's most powerful cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.  The cartel is based in the western state of Jalisco, but has branches throughout Mexico.  

A raid on "El Mencho's" hideout in the small town of Tapalpa was carried out by the Mexican army and National Guard on the 12th anniversary of the arrest of "El Chapo", the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.  The attack resulted in the deaths of several of the cartel leader's security guards and 29 members of the military.  "El Mencho" himself was seriously wounded in the fight and died while being transported back to Mexico City.

The cartel retaliated with violence in Jalisco and several other states.  Buses were commandeered and set on fire, creating roadblocks on highways to impede the movement of police and military.  Numerous businesses were looted and burned, and power lines were cut.  The worst incidents occurred in Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, and the popular beach resort of Puerto Vallarta, where tourists were told to shelter in their hotels.  Schools in several states were closed, and air and bus transportation was disrupted.

In Mexico City it is business as usual.  One would never have known that anything out of the ordinary was going on in other parts of the country.  From what I heard on Tuesday morning's news, it seems that, except for some sporadic incidents in Jalisco, the situation is back to normal throughout the country... roadblocks cleared, public transportation cleared and schools back in session.  Fortunately, I have not heard of any deaths or injuries of innocent civilians.  Some of the news reports would make one think that the entire country is burning and in chaos, and our "pendejo" senator from Ohio, Bernie Moreno, warned that the narcos are going to come after U.S. tourists and residents.  But here in Mexico City it is just another sunny morning.

Let's Go to the Circus!

Not really.  I haven't been to a circus since I was a little kid.  However, the National Museum of Art just closed a special exhibit of art related to the circus.  It was a theme which fascinated many Mexican artists.

"Acrobat"

by Carlos Orozco Romero

1929

"Circus"

by Carlos Orozco Romero

undated

"Circo Ollin"

by Nahui Olin

1935

Carmen Mondragón went by the Aztec name of Nahui Olin.  She did several paintings of the Ollin Circus, a European troupe which often toured Mexico.

"The Tightrope Walker"

by Arturo Estrada

undated

"Circus, Trapeze Performers"

by Arturo Estrada

1968

"The Pink Woman and the Gray Circus Performer"

by Raúl Anguiano

1941

"Circus Performers"

by Raúl Anguiano

1954

"Circus Performers"

by Emilio Rosenblueth

1942

"Clowns"

by Roberto Montenegro

1963

María Izquierdo was the first woman painter from Mexico to gain international recognition (before Frida Kahlo).  She did a number of paintings of circus scenes which are included in the exhibition.

"Acrobats"

1943

"Lion Tamer"

1932

"Circus Scene"

1940

"Clown"

1945

Included in the exhibit are a number of historic photographs from the first half of the 20th century.

 

The English-born Ricardo Bell was the most popular and beloved clown to perform in Mexico.  It is said that he was the only person who could get away with making fun of the President / dictator Porfirio Díaz.

For more than a decade, circus animals have been banned from performances in Mexico City.  The law dramatically changed the face of the circus here.

Garbage Collection

One of the things that surprised me when I moved to Mexico is that garbage is collected daily, even on Sunday.  Back in Ohio, I would take the garbage cans out to the street every Wednesday evening for collection on Thursday morning.

Mexico City recently enacted new rules concerning garbage collection which are displayed on this advertisement on a highway underpass...

Previously, I had always separated organic trash from non-organic.  But now the garbage is to be divided into organic, recyclable and non-recyclable.  Organic trash is being collected on Thursdays and Saturdays.  The recyclables and non-recyclables are collected the other days.  The information we were given was rather vague, and I am not always sure what is considered recyclable.

I have serious doubts as to how successful this new plan is going to be.  In Alejandro's family's neighborhood, the garbageman has told him he doesn't have to bother separating the trash.  With the trucks that they still have, everything gets dumped together.  Here at the apartment, early every Saturday morning, I take my bag of organic trash down to the bin in the basement.  But what I see in the bin is definitely not all organic.

Good intentions on the part of the government, but I don't know if it is going to work.

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?