At the Fan Zone

Last week I went to the Zócalo to check out the fan zone that had been set up on Mexico City's main plaza.

As I headed down Madero Street toward the Zócalo, I saw feathered serpents (the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl) and axolotls (the salamander-like animals that live in the canals of Xochimilco) decorating the lampposts.

This fan was draped in a Mexican flag and wearing one of those silly hats shaped like a soccer ball.

The Zócalo was surrounded by tall barricades, although there were large TV screens facing outward so that you did not even have to enter the fan zone to watch the game.

You had to walk around to the south side of the Zócalo to enter the fan zone.  There police checked everyone's backpacks, bags and purses.  After passing through security, you entered a festively decorated area that was a hodgepodge of Mexican imagery.

A giant piñata

A skull surrounded by marigolds... symbols of the Day of the Dead celebration

Skeletons dressed as fearsome Aztec warriors

Enormous reproductions of Aztec sculptures that had decorated the Zócalo last year for the 700th anniversary of the founding of Tenochtitlan were brought out of storage.

Coatlicue, the Aztec mother goddess

Tlaltecuhttli, the deity of the earth

Coyolxauhqui, the moon goddess

Entering the central area of the fan zone

On the giant screen, Switzerland was playing against Bosnia Herzegovina.  When I left the fan zone, there was still no score 40 minutes into the first half.  However, when I returned to the apartment, I learned that Switzerland had won 4 to 1.  Hurray for my ancestral home!

 

While I was there, the fan zone was busy, but not extremely crowded.  However, that evening, the Zócalo was jammed... dangerously crowded... with fans who wanted to watch the match between Mexico and South Korea.  Mexico won its second game (1-0), securing its position to continue on in the tournament.

From my apartment I could hear the car horns honking and people shouting "¡Viva México!" when the game was over.  From what I have read, the scene along Paseo de la Reforma was one of chaotic celebration.  The fans (many of whom I am sure were drunk) trampled the flowers planted along the boulevard and jumped on (and damaged) the roofs of the Metrobus stops.

Although I am rooting for the Mexico's team to win the World Cup, I shudder to think of the subsequent chaos if they do!   

The Diminishing Tent City

I wrote earlier that thousands of members of the militant teachers' union CNTE attempted to disrupt the opening of the World Cup in Mexico City by unsuccessfully trying to take over the Zócalo, the main plaza where the "fan zone" was to be located.  After being turned back twice by police, they set up their tent encampment on the streets of the historic center that lead to the plaza.  Last week when I read that many of the protesters had gone home, and that most, but not all, of the streets were open again, I decided to venture to the historic center and see the fan zone.

I got off at the Allende subway station, and found myself at the edge of the remaining tent city.

 Like dogs marking their territory, the protesters had left graffiti on the walls of buildings.

"No to the World Cup of plunder"

I blurred the obscenity, but you get the idea of their opinion of FIFA, the international soccer federation.  Actually, I can't argue with that.  Any organization that would invent a "peace prize" to give to the orange "pendejo" is pretty messed up.

I made it to Madero, the pedestrianized street which cuts through the "Centro Histórico" and leads directly to the Zócalo.

I read an online article from the Mexico City newspaper "La Jornada".  CNTE, which represents a minority of the nation's teachers, is to be censured for more than the disruption and vandalism that they have caused.  Their encampments have had a serious effect on the hundreds of businesses along those streets.  Merchants hoped that with the World Cup they would see an increase in sales.  Instead they have gone day after day with virtually no customers.  One said that it has been as bad as during the pandemic.  Wait staff in restaurants, who depend on tips as a large part of their income, are suffering.  

Now with many of the streets open, store owners and employees are hoping to recoup some of their losses, but those along the streets where the teachers are still encamped are despairing.

One restaurant worker said that he has nothing against teachers, but he sees those with the CNTE in a different light.  "They have no empathy for other workers."

 

Dead Plants

This morning I wrote a post about the renovation of subway stations along Line 2 of the Mexico City Metro.  One of the stations I mentioned was "Revolución" where "green walls" of live plants had been added by the platforms.

I expressed my doubts that the plants would survive for long without any natural light and constant care.  Well, I came upon an article on the internet from the Mexico City newspaper "El Universal" that confirmed my doubts.  Apparently these "green walls" were installed in a number of the stations along Line 2.  The newspaper article reported that many of the plants are already turning brown and dying.  It noted that the plants chosen do not need direct sunlight, but the artificial lighting of the subway stations is not sufficient for them to survive in the long run.  The fact that so many of the plants are dying so quickly is likely due to insufficient watering, lack of nutrients in the soil, and the confined spaces in which they are planted.

Like many projects in Mexico, it might seem like a nice idea, but in fact is ill conceived and not properly maintained. 

A Subway Tour

In advance of the World Cup in Mexico City, some of the subway stations along Line 2 of the Metro were being renovated.  These stations are in the heart of the city and are frequented by foreign visitors.  I had already visited the refurbished "Auditorio" station on Line 7, so I wanted to see the renovations on Line 2.

I took the Metrobus along Insurgentes Avenue to the "Revolución" stop.  From there I walked a short distance to the subway station of the same name.  "Revolución" had been renovated a few years ago, so it was basically the same.  However, on the walls by the platforms there live plants.  Yes, they are live, not artificial.

My question is, how are they going to survive without sunlight?  I don't think the fluorescent lighting is enough.  And will someone be assigned to keep the plants watered?  It's an interesting idea, but I suspect that it will not be properly maintained.

At this point, I should mention that the exteriors of all the trains along Line 2 have been freshly painted.  They have a colorful undulating pattern.  It's not until you see the serpent head at the front and back of the train that you realize that it represents the pre-Hispanic god Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent.

The next stop on the line is the "Hidalgo" station, and it has received the most publicity from the media.  In addition to the sterile fluorescent lighting, it has elegant light fixtures, that give it a European, nineteenth century vibe.

There are even chandeliers!

The renovation created such a buzz, that earlier this month people came to the station dressed in period costumes.

(image taken from the internet)

Not really fitting in with the old fashioned theme are these semi-abstract murals depicting Mexico City landmarks.

The next station of the line is "Bellas Artes".  It is gleaming with marble walls and floors.

This station also has attractive new lighting fixtures.

However, "Bellas Artes" used to have reproductions of pre-Hispanic sculptures.  I wonder what they did with those.

Next up is "Allende" which also has new marble walls and floors.

But construction is still going on at that station.

The government has known since 2018 that the city was chosen for the World Cup.  Why did it wait so long before beginning so many of the beautification and renovation projects?

Growing a Tree

I remember when I was a kid, the big fad was to grow an avocado plant by sticking toothpicks into the pit and suspending it into a glass of water.  My mother tried it, but gave up after a while.

After I made the move to Mexico, I gave it a try.  (I might have even written a blog entry about it.  I don't remember.)  After about a couple weeks, there were no roots sprouting from the pit, and I threw it out.

About a month ago, I decided to try again.  This time I put it in a sunnier location on my enclosed balcony.  After a while a root sprouted from the bottom of the pit.  I accidentally knocked the root off when I was changing the water.  However, in its place several roots appeared.  Then several sprouts appeared at the top, which I assume will grow and eventually have leaves.

If and when I get leaves, I will plant the sprouting pit in a pot.  I have no illusions that I will harvest avocados for guacamole.  My balcony is not large enough for a full-grown tree.  We will see if it makes an attractive houseplant.

 

Another "Fútbol" Mural

Last weekend when we passed through the Glorieta de Insurgentes, we saw yet another mural with a soccer theme that we had not seen before.

This one features an Aztec jaguar warrior, Emiliano Zapata, hero of the Mexican Revolution, and artist Frida Kahlo all playing "fútbol¨.

More for the Bookshelf

A while ago when Alejandro and I were walking along Paseo de la Reforma, we passed through the touristy neighborhood known as the Zona Rosa on our way to catch the Metrobus back to the apartment.  We stopped for a break at a branch of "El Péndulo", a chain of bookstore / coffee shops in Mexico City.  I have been to the one in Condesa several times, but this was the first time I had ever been to the branch in the Zona Rosa.

Whenever I am in a bookstore here I like to see what they have in the way of books in English, and I ended up returning to the apartment with a bag full of books.

My first find was a large, beautifully illustrated cookbook of Mexican cuisine.  While some of the recipes are quite complicated or do not interest me, there are quite a few that look interesting and relatively easy to prepare.  When I am feeling ambitious, I might try some of them out.

The second book is the Lonely Planet guidebook to Mexico.  I have always enjoyed looking through guidebooks ever since my first trip to Mexico as a college student more than fifty years ago.  Back then I traveled with a copy of "Mexico on 5 and 10 Dollars a Day".  (Do any of my readers remember that series of books that obviously are no longer around?  Nowadays, five dollars in Mexico might get you breakfast at an inexpensive restaurant or a meal at a street food stand!)  Over the years I have had many guidebooks to different countries.  Lonely Planet publishes books for destinations all over the world.  I have had a few of their books, but I never had their book on Mexico.  Having played "tour guide" myself quite a few times, I now tend to look at guidebooks with a critical eye.  I started browsing through Lonely Planet's chapter on Mexico City, and I already found a couple bits of misinformation.

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak tells the story of Liesel,  a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany.  In the novel Liesel's love of reading is a symbol of personal freedom.  I saw the movie which came out in 2013, and I thought that it was excellent.  I'm sure that the book will also be excellent.

Finally, I bought "Love in the Time of Cholera" by the acclaimed Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez.  It is one of his most famous novels, arguably second only to his masterpiece "One Hundred Years of Solitude".  I have to admit that I do not remember if I have read the book or not.  I know that I definitely saw the 2007 movie version.  It won't hurt to read it again.