Yesterday, on the front page of one of Mexico City's newspapers, there was an article about the continuing outbreak of measles. The death toll from the disease has now risen to 31.
Yesterday morning an earthquake drill was held in the greater Mexico City area. I left my apartment and walked over to the World Trade Center to watch the drill. At 11 AM the sirens began to sound. There were also special instructions given over loudspeakers for the World Trade Center.
Outside of the World Trade Center there are meeting points at which people are supposed to gather according to floors.
Customers and employees of the restaurants and stores at the World Trade Center gathered outside.
Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday, or "Mardi Gras" as it is known in French. In Spanish, the pre-Lenten celebration is known as "Carnaval". In Mexico City, the revelry cannot compare to the festivities in New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, or some Mexican cities such as Veracruz. However, in some neighborhoods there are groups known as "comparsas" which dance through the streets in costume.
The "colonia" where Alejandro's family lives, happens to be one of those neighborhoods. Every year, if I happen to be at their home on the final days before Lent, I will see a "comparsa" parading down the street. Monday evening, we could hear the band playing as it approached, and we went outside to see them dancing. The women are dressed in fancy ball gowns, and the masked men wear top hats, poking fun of the wealthy.
Our anniversary weekend celebration continued on Sunday when we went to the Palace of Fine Arts for the first concert of the 2026 season by Mexico's National Symphonic Orchestra.
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| (selfie taken by Alejandro) |
Getting married on February 14th is very romantic, but restaurants are generally packed on Valentine's Day if you want to celebrate your anniversary with a nice dinner. That's why we usually celebrate on the weekend before or after the 14th. However, this year Valentine's Day fell on a Saturday. We were thinking of having our anniversary dinner on Sunday... but, short of going to Burger King, where could we go that wouldn't be jammed on Saturday?
We had a big breakfast on Saturday morning, so it wasn't until about 6 PM that hunger pangs began to set in. We have three very good Italian restaurants within walking distance of the apartment. We decided to try one of them... a little place called "Mangiatore"... that usually is not too crowded. Our timing was good. We were in between the afternoon dinner crowd, and the late supper crowd. The place was busier than usual, but there were plenty of available tables. Later, as we were enjoying our meal, more people showed up.
To drink, we ordered a pitcher of "clericot", a popular wine and fruit beverage that is somewhat similar to "sangría".
As a starter we ordered their signature soup, "crema Marta", a cream soup of mozarella, parmesan and gorgonzola cheeses with sliced grapes. It sounds like a rather unusual combination, but it is very good.
Alejandro ordered spaghetti and meatballs. We know it's not an authentic Italian dish, but rather something created by Italian immigrants to the United States. However, Alejandro said that it was very good.
I ordered the rigatoni in a spicy "arrabiata" sauce. Also very good.
For dessert, we shared a serving of panna cotta, a creamy gelatin with a compote of fruits.
So, we unexpectedly ended up having a very nice supper on our actual anniversary date!
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| (photos taken with Alejandro's cell phone) |
I was looking forward to seeing the latest remake of Emily Bronte's classic novel "Wuthering Heights". It is the story of a doomed love affair between Cathy and Heathcliff, a love that would have repercussions even after their deaths.
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| (image taken from the internet) |
Then I started to read that critics panned the movie. However, there were others who praised it. So, on Valentine's Day, we went ahead to see it. The criticism of the movie by many was entirely justified. I thought the movie was a disaster.
Even though it has been decades since I read Bronte's novel (for a book report in the ninth grade), I could tell that the movie was not faithful to the book. First of all, the film only covers the first half of the book. Secondly, many characters have been eliminated completely... for example, Cathy's brother Hinton is mentioned but never appears. Other characters have been changed. Cathy's father, Mr. Earnshaw, is a kindly man. In the movie, he is a cruel alcoholic who nearly beats young Heathcliff to death. I was willing to accept these changes. After all, none of the film adaptations, not even the classic 1939 movie with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, have been faithful to the book.
But what really turned me off, was what one reviewer called the "smutification" of the novel. In the book, aside from one kiss, the two lovers never consummate their passionate desires for each other. In the movie, Heathcliff and Cathy (now married to Mr. Linton) have sex again and again ad nauseum. There are sex scenes between two of the servants and between Heathcliff and Linton's sister that are strongly sadomasochistic. I felt like I was watching soft-porn instead of a classic of English literature.
The director, Emerald Fennell said that the movie reflects the way she felt when she first read the novel when she was 14 years old. Well, she must have been a very dirty-minded teenager!
Over the years Paseo de la Reforma has seen numerous displays of fiberglass figures painted by local artists. Most famous are the "Mexicráneos", the large painted skulls placed on the boulevard for the Day of the Dead. A display of cow figures was called "Cows on Parade". Last year there were prickly pear cactuses in commemoration of Mexico City's 700th anniversary. One year in honor of the World Cup, there were giant soccer balls. (I wonder if this summer there will be soccer balls once again.)
Right now there is a less intriguing display... simply a bunch of painted spheres forming what they are calling the Route of Enterprises. Each of the spheres is sponsored by a companies that are based in Mexico or have offices here. The display is not nearly as large as the others I mentioned. There are 17 spheres (representing Earth) along one section of the boulevard.
Here are some of the painted sculptures...
