Protesting and Dancing

Protest marches are a daily occurrence in Mexico City.  In fact, Alejandro always uses his GPS, even when driving to a known destination, because you never know what street might be closed due to a march.  I have posted on this blog pictures of at least a couple of protests that I have stumbled upon while wandering around the city.

Last week I went downtown, and I thought it odd that a major intersection along the Paseo de la Reforma was closed to traffic. I soon had my answer.  A march was heading down Bucarelli Avenue toward Reforma.

Some of the protestors were on horseback.

There were even children riding ponies.

It is always difficult, especially for an outsider, to figure out exactly who the protestors are and why they are marching.  This was a leftist group affiliated with the Communist Party called "Frente Popular Francisco Villa".  (Francisco Villa, better known as Pancho Villa, was a figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910.)  It seems that they were protesting political prisoners, in particular a member of their own group by the name of Tomás.

 

"No more political prisoners"

"We are all Tomás."

The marchers came to a halt right in the middle of the intersection by the National Lottery Building.

Several women dressed in traditional garb then started doing folk dances.  It was the first protest march that I had even seen that included a performance of folkloric ballet!

I suspect that they later marched to the Monument to the Revolution.  That afternoon when I headed back to the apartment, the protestors were gone, but the avenue leading to the monument was full of horse poop!