Two Ballets in One Week

Last week I went to two performances of the Ballet Folklórico within a couple of days of each other.  When my friend Heather was here we went to a performance on Wednesday evening at the Palace of Fine Arts.  Two days later, when Charles was here, we attended a special Day of the Dead outdoor performance at the lake in Chapultepec Park.  I have been to the Ballet Folklórico countless times, and I never tire of seeing it.  In fact, each time I come away with a renewed love for Mexico.

Two of my favorite segments of the ballet are those which deal with the music and dance from the states of Veracruz and of Jalisco.

Last year Alejandro and I went to the Day of the Dead performance in Chapultepec Park.  We enjoyed it very much, and when we knew that Charles would be here at that time, we asked him if he would be interested in seeing it.

"Death in Mexico is more alive than ever."

This performance is quite different from those at the Palace of Fine Arts.  Seats are set up along the edge of one of the lakes in the park, and the dancers and musicians perform on an island.  We arrived early enough that we were able to get front row seats.

The performance begins with a segment devoted to the pre-Hispanic civilizations of Mexico.

Throughout the show, decorated boats sail across the lake.

A song from the state of Michoacán

The show ended with a mariachi band and the dancing of the "jarabe tapatío" (known north of the border as the "Mexican Hat Dance").

 It was, as always, a spectacular performance.

For both Heather and Charles, the Ballet Folklórico was a highlight of their visit.

Tomorrow is Election Day

 

If you have not already cast your ballot by mail or in early voting, be sure go to your polling place tomorrow.  Don't be complacent.  This is perhaps the most important midterm election in our nation's entire history!

Two Visits to the Market

After my friend Heather departed Mexico City, another friend, Charles, arrived for a few days here before moving on to other parts of the country.  I took each of them to my favorite market, Jamaica Market.  Every time I have visitors come to Mexico City, I include the Jamaica Market as one of the places to see.  (If you have been following this blog for a few years, you have already undoubtedly read about it.)  It is a fascinating place any time of year, but during the Day of the Dead season, it is even better.  It is perhaps the best place in the city for buying Day of the Dead decorations and objects for your "ofrenda".  There are more than 1000 vendors selling flowers, making it one of the city's most colorful places, but this time of year there are also more marigolds than you have ever seen.

So, here a some photos and videos that I took on my two recent trips to my favorite market...

The Jamaica Market is housed in a large building.  As with other public markets in the city, there are stands selling fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, clothing, and household goods.

However, it is the market's gigantic flower section that makes it famous.

In the days leading up to Day of the Dead, there are enormous quantities of marigolds for sale... potted marigolds, cut marigolds, even bags of marigold petals to scatter as a path leading to the "ofrenda".

Marigolds are brought in by the truckload.

Another flower that is used during the Day of the Dead is a variety of celosia known in Spanish as "terciopelo" (velvet).  It's deep red color represents the blood of Christ.

Our friend Charles stands in front of a heap of marigolds.  Charles lives in Puerto Rico, so he is fluent in Spanish.  However he had difficulty remembering and pronouncing the word used in Mexico for marigold...  "cempasúchil", a word that comes from the Aztec language of Nahuatl.

The market was also full of handicrafts and decorations for the Day of the Dead (and for Halloween).  Here Heather stands in front of the large papier mache skeleton.

There are plenty of "catrina" figures (the elegantly dressed skeletons that are a symbol of Day of the Dead).

There are lots of restaurants within the market.  I frequently go to a stand called "Carnitas Paty" where they sell delicious pork tacos.  When Charles and I were there, we had just finished a big breakfast, so we didn't eat any tacos.  However, Charles did try "tepache", a refreshing beverage made from slightly fermented pineapple and brown sugar.  ("Tepache" is another word from the Aztec language that was new to Charles.)  He really liked it.

The Day of the Dead season would not be complete without a visit to the Jamaica Market, and this year I was there twice!

Day of the Dead

This is the eve of the Day of the Dead.  One of the most beautiful and traditional observances of the holiday is on the island of Janitzio in the middle of Lake Pátzcuaro in the state of Michoacán.  Alejandro found this video, and although the printed narration is in Spanish, I thought that you might enjoy it.

 According to local belief, the gateway to heaven is located over Lake Pátzcuaro.  The souls of the departed return in the form of monarch butterflies.  (The monarchs return to their winter sanctuaries in the mountains of Michoacán around November 2nd.)

Neither Alejandro nor I have seen the observance of Day of the Dead on Janitzio, but we hope to do so someday.

Two Days to Election Day

 

(image taken from the internet)

Welcome to November

I turn the page on the calendar, and the photo that I used for November is one that I took when I visited Munich, Germany, some years ago.

Mary's Square, or Marienplatz, has been the city's since 1158.  In the center of the plaza is Mary's Column which is topped by a golden statue of the Virgen Mary.  It was erected in 1638 to celebrate the end of occupation by the Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War.

In the background is the Old Town Hall which dates back to 1310.  It was heavily damaged during World War II and was reconstructed in the 1970s.

Happy Halloween

As I have mentioned before, there are some Mexicans who bemoan the fact that the celebration of Halloween has become injected into the traditional observance of Day of the Dead.  Day of the Dead is not Mexican Halloween.  Nevertheless, despite the objections of purists, I suspect that the two holidays will be forevermore entwined.

  

In front of a nearby nursery school

A black cat in the fountain by the World Trade Center

A vampire in front of a pizzeria

Happy Halloween!

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 the 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 of 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.