Playing Tourist Guide

Last week I had the pleasure of having a houseguest and playing tour guide.  My friend Heather and I graduated from high school more than a few years ago.  We were in Spanish classes together, and her command of the language is still very good.  Heather travels extensively, and I have been telling her that she should come visit me in Mexico City.  When her nephew, his wife and their children planned a trip to Mexico to attend a wedding, she thought this would be a good time to travel south of the border too.  She spent some of the time helping take care of the kids, but we had plenty of time together, and I showed her some of the sights in Mexico City.

On her first full day here, Heather and I traveled downtown by Metrobus and Metro.  We spent several hours taking in the sights in the Historic Center such as the Palace of Fine Arts, the colonial mansion known as the House of Tiles and the Palace of Iturbide.  We continued to the main plaza, the Zócalo, entered the Cathedral and viewed the excavated ruins of the Aztec temple.  Heather even had a "spiritual cleansing" performed with herbs and incense by a "shaman" in Aztec attire.

In front of the Palace of Fine Arts

By the House of Tiles

In the Cathedral

 

The next day we went to one of Mexico City's newest attractions, the Tlallipan Floating Garden, an elevated pedestrian walkway built above the Metro line.

On Saturday, Alejandro was able to join us, and we went to Paseo de la Reforma to see everything that is going on along that boulevard for the Day of the Dead season.

Heather discussing flowers with one of the vendors at the Marigold Market.  The small flowers in the foreground are wild marigolds.

Of course we had to see all the "alebrijes".

By the time we finished with our walk, night was falling.  The holiday lights were turned on.

Heather spent Sunday and Monday with her nephew's family.  I had told her about Dr. Simi, and on one of their walks in the neighborhood, they had a chance to meet the good doctor.  The children were thrilled.

On Tuesday we went to the Anthropology Museum, and I gave Heather the tour of highlights that I always give my visitors.

 The Aztec Sun Stone in the background

Heather was very enthusiastic about everything she saw, which makes playing tour guide fun for me.  I told her that there is a lot more to see in Mexico City, and that we look forward to a return visit.

Scum

 "Scum!"  That's what Nikki Haley called Vivek Ramaswamy in the 2024 Republican Presidential Primary Debate when he tried to interject her daughter into the discussion.  At that time, I bet that even she could not have imagined the level of disgusting vileness to which the billionaire would sink.

Unless you have been marooned on a desert island the past week, you already know about the furor over the political ad which Ramaswamy is broadcasting against his opponent, Amy Acton, in the race for Ohio governor.  In a act of desperation, the Republican candidate got Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, to film an ad in which she called her daughter a liar unfit to be governor.  Of course, the ad does not mention the fact that Arthur lost custody of twelve-year-old Amy and her younger brother in 1978 when Arthur's husband (Amy's stepfather) was indited by a grand jury for physical and sexual abuse.  Arthur and her husband then fled the state, and she remained with her husband until his death.

Both Democrats and many Republicans have condemned the ad as despicable.  Ohio's largest newspaper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, had previously stated that they would not endorse candidates in the principle races this year.  However, the editorial board decided that it could not remain silent about "Ramaswamy's failure to meet a basic standard of decency", and it endorsed Acton.

The only people, besides Ramaswamy himself, who are defending the ads are the orange "pendejo" and his VP, another first rate "pendejo".  Not surprising.

As a former Ohioan, I hope that this incident has doomed Ramaswamy's political ambitions forever!  

"Ofrendas"

 "Ofrendas", the altars which honor the departed on the Day of the Dead, are found not only in homes, but in businesses, restaurants, government buildings and museums.

Here are a few "ofrendas" that I have seen this year...

There are two "ofrendas" in Terminal 1 of the Mexico City International Airport.

In the colonial mansion known as the House of Tiles, which is the downtown flagship of the Sanborns restaurant chain...

At "Los Almendros", a restaurant which features cuisine from Yucatán...

At the Insurgentes Avenue branch of the restaurant chain El Bajío...

The largest and most impressive "ofrenda" that I have seen so far this year is the one in the courtyard of Iturbide's Palace, the headquarters of cultural promotion division of Banamex, the National Bank of Mexico.

This altar is more than 25 feet long and 10 feet high.  It honors the bakers of Mexico, who "sweeten life and death".  There are around 1000 pieces if bread, representing thirty-one varieties of "Bread of the Dead" from fourteen states.

Buying Tickets

There are a number of upcoming events that we want to see.

I've mentioned before that we have gone to Mexico City's Auditorio Nacional to see live simulcasts of the Metropolitan Opera.  This season we were interested in seeing Bizet's "Carmen" and Saint Saen's "Samson and Delilah".  We also wanted to see the Christmas concert performed by the Symphonic Orchestra of "La Minería".  That concert was held last year at the Mexico City World Trade Center, just a short walk from the apartment.  We really enjoyed it, and want to attend again.  However, this year it is being held at the Auditorio Nacional.  So, I took the subway and went to the auditorium to buy tickets in person at the box office.  (Purchasing tickets online through Ticketmaster is considerably more expensive.)

Even though the Metropolitan Opera's website says that the Auditorio Nacional is one of the venues for the simulcast of "Carmen" on November 14th, it is not listed on the auditorium's site.  The lady at the box office said that it was not being shown there.  However, "Samson and Delilah" is being presented at 11:00 AM on Saturday, December 5th.  That same evening, at 7:30 PM is the Christmas concert.  So I guess we will be spending the day in that part of town, eating dinner somewhere nearby in between the opera and the concert.

The Metropolitan Opera's website also lists a Cinemex movie theater in a ritzy shopping mall on the south side of the city as a venue for "Carmen".  So Alejandro will see if he can purchase online tickets for that. 

A Good Question

Something I found on the internet...

 

The Creatures along Reforma

Here are some more photos of the fantastical creations from the Parade of Monumental "Alebrijes".  They will be on display along Paseo de la Reforma until after Day of the Dead.

 

Strange Creatures Along Reforma

The "Alebrije" Parade this year featured around 300 entries.  For those who did not get to go to the parade, or for those who want to get a closer look at the fantastical papier mache animals, all of them of lined up along Paseo de la Reforma.

  

The stretch of the boulevard from the Diana Fountain to the entrance to Chapultepec Park has been invaded by an army of creatures, some menacing, some cute, and some just plain silly.  An "alebrije" typically contains a bizarre mixture of elements from disparate animals.  For example this four-legged creature has the head of an eagle and the wings of a monarch butterfly.

Strolling down Reforma, you are able to study more carefully the craftsmanship of these figures than is possible when they are passing by in the parade.  And since they are standing still, you are able to take better photos.

One more post of "alebrijes"