Upcoming Holiday

Last weekend as soon as we walked into the Parisina fabric store, it was obvious that Mexican Independence Day (September 16th) is on its way.  Just inside the entrance there were bolts of patriotic fabric to make into tablecloths for your holiday entertaining.

 

There were also packages with patriotic plastic tablecloths.

They had lots of holiday decorations, but the majority of them were made in China.  I did find a round banner to hang on my door.  It is the Mexican coat of arms in the national colors.  It was made in Mexico.

They also had small Mexican flags on stands (made in Mexico).  I bought one and have it sitting on my desk.

New Curtains

One wall of the living room in the apartment is made up of floor to ceiling windows.  The sheer drapes at the windows were, I am sure, purchased by the former owners when they bought this place more than fifteen years ago.  Not only are they starting to look shabby, but there are spots where the fabric is falling apart.

We wanted new drapes, and I wanted them before the holiday seasons of Day of the Dead and Christmas when I set up my "ofrenda" and my Nativity scene in front of the window.  So, last weekend Alejandro and I went to the nearest branch of Parisina, a chain of stores that are similar to the now defunct Joanne Fabrics in the U.S.  We had taken the measurements of the window and counted the number of hooks.  Alejandro said that all we had to do was pick out the fabric, and Parisina would make the draperies.

When we arrived, we were directed to an area with bolts of fabric for curtains.  The old drapes are light gray.  I wanted sheers again so that my plants would get indirect light.  I picked out a fabric that was a light cream color.  It is sheer but with a pattern.

We went to a desk where we gave a lady the number of the fabric we had chosen and the measurements.  The draperies will be ready to pick up in 20 to 25 business days, which means that we will have them in mid-September.  What amazed me, and even amazed Alejandro, was the price.  They measure four meters across (around 13 feet), and they cost less than 1000 pesos.  (That's less than 60 U.S. dollars!)

In Memory of Jouralists

The last time I was walking down Paseo de la Reforma, I noticed a monument (or I guess the term used nowadays is "anti-monument") in memory of Mexican journalists who have been murdered or who have disappeared.

Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.  Since 2000 at least 167 have been murdered or have gone missing.  Most of them were investigating corruption, organized crime or the drug cartels.

As a retiree living in Mexico, I do not feel at all unsafe.  But it is a very different story if you are a courageous investigative reporter.  

Get Off the Roof!

After each of the games that the Mexican national team won in this summer's World Cup, more than a million fans came out to Paseo de la Reforma to celebrate fhe victories.  Some of them, probably more than a bit inebriated, jumped up on the roofs of the Metrobus stops along the boulevard, causing some of roofs to collapse.

The last time I was walking along Reforma, I noticed that the signs that were posted on the bus stops afterward are still there.

  "It is prohibited to climb to the roofing.

Fragile surface"

"Danger

Damaged structure

Risk of collapse"

So, if you are stupid enough to climb the roof, you have been warned!

Sports Art

The World Cup is over but many museums in Mexico City still have special exhibits related to soccer or sports in general.  One example is the Museo Kaluz which currently has an exhibition of works by Abel Quezada (1920 - 1991).  Quezada was a well-known cartoonist, caricaturist and painter whose art appeared in newspapers and magazines in Mexico and the U.S.  (His illustrations frequently appeared on the covers of "The New Yorker" magazine.

  Quezada had a deep affinity for all kinds of sports, and this exhibit demonstrates that.

"Reporters Working"  1976

"Portrait of Valenzuela"  1981

(Mexican-born Fernando Valenzuela was a star pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1980s and 90s.)

"The Last Fight of Kid González"  1974

"Portrait of John L. Sullivan"  1976

(Sullivan was a famous 19th century boxer from the U.S.)

"Sudden Death in Ladies' Singles"  1981

"The Leap of Luck"  1988

"Solitary Runner in Central Park"  1978

"Billiard Player"  1971

"Soccer Game" 1974

This cartoon was published after the 1978 World Cup.

In Mexico there are more sports newspapers than in the rest of the world.

In Mexico 12 newspapers dedicated solely to SOCCER are published.

In Mexico 30% of the television time and 45% of radio time is dedicated to transmissions and commentaries of SOCCER.

Mexico is the only country that has soccer philosophers.

The fruits of this masochistic passion...

TUNISIA 3 - MEXICO 1

GERMANY 6 - MEXICO 0

Psychologists ask, "What do the Mexican people need to shake off their complexes?"

More education?

Honesty in the administration?

Confidence in their Revolution?

Better quality in their foods?

No - what is needed is to WIN in soccer.

Frida on the Street

Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City's iconic boulevard, has seen many displays of public art.  Usually these displays involve identical fiberglass figures with each one painted by a different artist.  There have been giant skulls for Day of the Dead, enormous soccer balls one year in honor of the World Cup, prickly pear cactuses for the 700th anniversary of the founding of the city, and even an army of cows.  The latest display consists of figures of the artist Frida Kahlo.  Here are some of the Fridas along Paseo de la Reforma...

Summer Blockbuster

Alejandro and I went to the movie theater at the nearby World Trade Center to see this summer's blockbuster, "The Odyssey".

Long before the movie ever premiered, it generated an enormous amount of controversy over the casting of black actress Lupita Nyong'o in the role of Helen of Troy.  Even though Nyong'o's acting in the movie was excellent, and I get so sick and tired of the right wing's constant shouting of "Woke!", I will admit that her appearance was a bit jarring.  But at the end of the day, the characters are mythological, NOT historical people!  Furthermore, I doubt if ANY of the actors in the movie are of Greek ancestry.

Putting the controversy aside, it is certainly a superb piece of filmmaking.  The cinematography was top-notch (it probably would have been even more impressive if we had seen it at an IMAX theater).  The acting was consistently excellent.   (My favorite performance was that of Anne Hathaway as Odysseus's wife Penelope.)  In spite of the movie's run-time of around three hours, I was never bored or restless.

Obviously, it is impossible to condense the epic poem into a film, even if it does run three hours.  I have never read "The Odyssey", but in school we read in prose form many of its stories.  Without even doing any research, I knew that the director, Christopher Nolan, had taken liberties with the tale.  The witch Circe is not portrayed, as she usually is, as a seductress.  In the movie Odysseus does not spend a year with her, nor does she bear him a son.  In the movie the stories of the Lotus Eaters and of the nymph Calypso, with whom the hero spent seven years, are conflated into one episode.  Eating the lotus flower causes blissful forgetfulness, so the movie viewer can forgive the hero for tarrying so long before returning to Penelope.  In ancient Greece, the concept of marital fidelity did not exist for men, but I suspect that the director made these changes so that Odysseus would not appear to be an unfaithful cad to his modern audience.

The movie is highly recommended.  However, it seems that some are praising this movie as one of the greatest achievements in the history of filmmaking.  Yes, it's great movie entertainment that will probably receive a ton of well deserved Oscar nominations.  But was I profoundly emotionally moved by it?  Did I leave the theatre in raptures?  No.