Snow on the Pyramids?

 Look at these two pictures from the internet.  They are of the Pyramid of the Sun at the archaeological site of Teotihuacan, about 30 miles to the north Mexico City.

Wait a minute.  Is that snow on the pyramid?!  No, last Sunday, the valley of Teotihuacan had one of those hail storms which transform the landscape into what appears to be a snowy winter scene.  Heavy hail storms are not uncommon around here, but this is the most dramatic one that I have seen.  Authorities said that there was no damage to the archaeological site, although there were some reports of damage to homes and crops in the area.  The roads were treacherous.

And meanwhile, here in Mexico City, just an hour away, we didn't even have any rain that day.

One Year of Insanity

Yesterday marked the first year since the Orange Pendejo took office.

This was the front page of one of Mexico City's newspapers...

 The photo shows the march held in Zurich to protest the Pendejo's arrival in Switzerland to attend the economic forum in Davos.

The question is, will the U.S. survive three more years of his insanity?  Will the world survive?

Hot Water

Back in Ohio, my hot water heater was a large cylindrical tank that took up a closet in the hallway.  Here in Mexico, my apartment's hot water heater, often referred to as "el boiler" is smaller and hangs on the wall of the laundry room.

The pilot light on my heater in Ohio was always on.  In Mexico, the flame would be ignited only when I turned on the hot water in one of the sinks or showers.

A couple weeks ago we noticed that the "boiler" was dripping water... not much, just a very slow drip.  We put a plastic container under it to catch the water until we could contact a plumber.  I had the phone number of a plumber that had done a repair quite a few years ago when I was still renting the apartment.  I searched and searched but I could not find the number.  Last Wednesday I finally asked the doorman if he knew a plumber that he could recommend.  He did, and he contacted him.  The plumber was scheduled to come on Friday.

Wednesday evening, while I was washing dishes, I noticed that there was no hot water.  I kept the water running and went to the laundry room.  There was no flame.  The "boiler" appeared to be dead.

The weather continues to be quite chilly here, and I was not about to take a cold shower.  So for the following days I heated a large bowl of water in the microwave and washed myself a bit.

Alejandro was hopeful that the water heater could be repaired.  (It is a typical Mexican attitude, and not a bad one, that it is better to repair something if possible, rather than buying new.)  However, the "boiler" was seventeen years old, and I was of the opinion that we should buy a new one.  When the plumber arrived on Friday, he looked at the water heater, and he said that they do not make parts for that model any more.

He asked me how many bathrooms are in the apartment.  I said two.  He asked if we usually use both showers at the same time, and I said no.  In that case, he said that a smaller "boiler" would be appropriate.  He would go out and buy one and the necessary materials that day, and he would return on the next day to install it.

He arrived promptly on Saturday.  Even though he was here for two or three hours, his labor charge was only 800 pesos, the equivalent of $45 U.S.!

So, we now have a new water heater, and we can once again take a hot shower!

My Avocado Man

Long before I made the move to Mexico City, it was my habit to include an avocado as a part of my breakfast.  Shopping for avocados at the supermarket could be frustrating however.  Many times there wouldn't be any avocados that were ripe enough for immediate consumption.  I would have to do my grocery shopping when I still had three avocados at home.  That would usually give the ones I bought time to ripen.  However, from time to time, my supermarket would have avocados imported from Peru instead of Mexico.  Those Peruvian  avocados would never seem to ripen.  I would complain to the produce manager to buy Mexican not Peruvian, but of course he did not have much say over corporate decisions.

You would think that once I moved to Mexico, buying avocados would be easy.  However, at the nearby Walmart, the most convenient place for me to shop, the avocados too frequently would either be rotten or hard as rock.  My neighborhood does not have a public market, and I would have to walk about twenty minutes to get to the market in the adjoining neighborhood.  

We do have, however, two weekly "tianguis" (outdoor markets).  Every Sunday there is a large "tianguis" that stretches for a quarter of a mile along a nearby street.  The problem with it, however, is that it is very crowded, and you have to walk several blocks before you get to the section of fruits and vegetables.  On Thursdays, there is a smaller "tianguis" that stretches around three sides of the local park.  It is a calmer and more compact shopping experience.

So, now I go there to buy my avocados.  Since the first time, I have patronized the same vendor who has become my "avocado man".  

Every Thursday, he greets me, and we often chat briefly.  He picks out nice large avocados of varying ripeness so I can enjoy them daily.  Very rarely do they have any brown spots at all.  I will also buy one or two seedless "limónes" (limes) from him.  A squirt of lime juice is considered essential to enhance the flavor of the avocado. 

Once the avocados ripen, I put them in the refrigerator, and they last for the rest of the week.  For breakfast I will either slice an avocado and season it with salt, pepper and lime juice, or I will make my quick version of guacamole... smashing up an avocado with salt, pepper, lime juice and a good dollop of ground chipotle peppers.  Yum!

Memories of "Snow Days"

Last week I received an email from a former colleague of mine who is still teaching.  She reported with glee that a heavy snow storm had resulted in the cancelation of classes.  Yes, teachers look forward to those winter "snow days" as much as the students.  The snow had begun in the evening, continued all night, and it was still snowing the next morning when she took this photo that she sent to me.

Here in Mexico City we have been complaining about the cold temperatures.  One morning last week the mercury dipped down to 37 degrees Fahrenheit... pretty chilly when you consider that homes here do not have central heating.  However that picture puts things in perspective.  Our worst winters here cannot compare to the snow and cold up north.

As a native Ohioan, I have seen plenty of rough winters, and during my thirty years of teaching, I experienced quite a few "snow days".  We had a faculty telephone chain to inform us if classes were cancelled due to bad weather.  However, I lived 20 miles from the school where I taught, and I would always leave the house early in the morning, especially during winter weather.  There were a couple of times when I made it all the way to school only to find out that classes had been cancelled.

In 1977 and 1978 the Cleveland area suffered two especially rough winters with historic blizzards.  I'm not sure which year it was, but I remember waiting to receive the phone call.  I finally set out in the car in blizzard conditions.  I had the radio on, hoping to hear my school listed as closed.  I had gone less than a mile when the announcer said that no one should be out on the road.  I turned around and went back home.  As I entered the house, the phone was ringing.  "No school today!"

Good-Looking Potatoes

Last weekend we tried out a restaurant not too far from the apartment with the unusual name of "Papa Guapa" (Good-looking potato).  The decor of the place is very much like an old-time 1950s diner, but as the name implies, the menu features potato dishes.  Definitely not a place to go if you are on a "keto" diet.

The service was slow, but we will forgive them that since they were short handed, and the place was crowded when we first arrived.  Finally our order was taken, and after another wait, our food began to come out.

We both ordered the potato leek soup which was very good.

I also had macaroni and cheese which was excellent.

The main courses, the "papas guapas",  are potatoes stuffed with a variety of fillings.  All of the choices are named after female celebrities.

I ordered a "Papa Hayek" which had a stuffing of chicken fajitas, cheese and a layer of sauteed spinach with "poblano" pepper sauce.  Alejandro had a "Paponna Summer".  The potato was stuffed with roast beef, mushrooms and cheese and covered with beef gravy.

Although it wasn't the healthiest of meals, the food was good.  We will probably return.

Another Wake-Up Call

 

It was during the wee hours of the morning today... at 12:42 A.M. to be exact.  I was alone at the apartment; Alejandro was at the family house.  A blaring alarm went off on my cell phone, and seconds later the outdoor sirens started... "Alerta sísmica, alerta sísmica" (seismic alert).  Another earthquake.  

I don't worry too much about being in the apartment during an earthquake.  The building is build on bedrock, and it went through the severe 2017 quake, a quake that toppled 40 buildings, without any damage.  The alert gives you about a minute's warning.  Since I would have to go done three flights of steps to leave the building, I just stay indoors.  Alejandro judged that the safest place in the apartment would be in the far corner of the living room, an area that is not over the ground-floor parking garage.  So I got out of bed and went to my corner.  I waited several minutes, and I felt nothing.  I went to the window, and although the lights were on in a few apartments, there was nobody on the street.  I called Alejandro, and he said that he felt a very slight tremor.

The quake had a magnitude of 5.0 on the Richter scale, and the epicenter was in the same area of the state of Guerrero that had been hit by a stronger quake two weeks ago.  It was thought to be an aftershock of that earlier quake.

There have been no reports of damage.

Velasco, the Scientist

As mentioned in the last post, the great 19th century landscape painter, José María Velasco, was more than just a painter.  He studied, and had a keen interest in, geology, zoology and botany.  That scientific side of Velasco is the focus of the exhibit now at Mexico City's Kaluz Museum.

Self portrait

1894

 Velasco was also interested in archaeology, and portrayed a number of pre-Hispanic sites.

The so-called "Bath of Nezahualcoyotl" at the ruins of Tetzcotzinco 

1878

The pyramids of Teotihuacan before they had been uncovered by archaeologists

1878

Drawing of the ruins of Cempoala

1893

In 1869 Velasco published "Flora of the Valley of Mexico", a series of lithographs depicting the plant life of the valley.  In recognition of his work, he was admitted to the Mexican Society of Natural History.  The exhibit includes a number of those lithographs, as well as preliminary sketches that he made.

Velasco also published a series of lithographs of hummingbirds native to Mexico.

The National Geologic Institute of Mexico commissioned him to do a series paintings depicting life during past geological periods.

"Flora and Fauna of the Paleozoic Carboniferous Period"

1912

"Marine Life of the Mesozoic Jurassic Period"

undated

  The artist's paint box and palette

This excellent show will be on display until May.

A Favorite Painter

One of my favorite Mexican artists is the 19th century landscape painter, José María Velasco (1840 - 1012).  In his lifetime he was internationally famous, and his paintings won medals at the Philadelphia International Exhibition in 1876 and the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1889.  His large scale canvasses of Mexican geography became a symbol of national identity.

Currently at the Kaluz Museum in downtown Mexico City there is an exhibition called "The Garden of Velasco".

The exhibit focuses on the scientific side of Velasco's work.  In addition to painting, he studied zoology, geology, and botany.   His interest in the natural sciences is evident in the detail of his landscapes.

"Hacienda of Monte Blanco, Veracruz"

1877

Velasco did this painting in collaboration with his teacher Eugenio Landesio.

In the background you can see Orizaba, Mexico's highest peak.

Untitled

1911

"View of Chapultepec"

1883

"The Cypress of the Sad Night"

1885

According to tradition, it was under this tree that the Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés, sat and wept after his army had suffered heavy losses during their retreat from the Aztec capital.

"The Church of St. Sebastian"

1880

The church is nearly hidden by the trees.

"The Forest of Pacho"

1875

"The Volcano Orizaba from the Hacienda of San Miguelito"

1892

"The Valley of Mexico"

1885

To the left you can see Chapultepec Castle, which in those days was outside of the city.  Beyond that is Mexico City, and on the horizon the two snow-covered volcanoes, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl.

"The Valley of Mexico from the Peak of Santa Isabel"

1884

You can see how much of the valley used to covered with lakes.

"The Lagoon of Santa Isabel from the Peak of Tepeyac"

1878

"The Valley of Mexico from the Guadalupe Mountains"

1901

More from the Velasco exhibit in the next post...

Fallen Blossoms

 Less than a week ago I wrote a post in which I said that my orchid had been blooming for over three months and showed no signs of fading.  Well, I guess I jinxed it!

Yesterday when I returned to the apartment after spending a couple nights at the family house, I found that all the blossoms had fallen and that the flower stalk was bare.  We'll see how long it takes for the plant to bloom again.  Hopefully it won't take another two years.

Saturday at the Movies

On Saturday morning we were trying to decide on something to do while our cleaning lady was at the apartment.  At breakfast Alejandro was looking at the listings at the nearby movie theater.  The films that I have been waiting for... "Nuremburg", "Hamnet" and the remake of "Wuthering Heights"... have still not premiered in Mexico.  About the only movie playing that was not a cartoon, action movie or horror movie at that hour was a film called "Song Sung Blue".

(image taken from the internet)

The film, based on a true story, is about a husband-wife team who perform in a local Neil Diamond tribute band.  It really didn't sound that interesting to me, but I do like Hugh Jackman (at least in his non-"Wolverine" roles).  So we walked over to the World Trade Center cinema for the 11:30 showing.

The movie started off as a pleasant, feel-good movie, but about half-way through, it turned into a melodramatic tear jerker... then feel-good again... and then ended as a tear jerker.  It is not an award-winning film, but it was an entertaining way to spend a couple of hours.

As we were headed out of the theater, we saw a movie listed for later that afternoon that sounded interesting..."The Kiss of the Spider Woman".  We bought tickets, killed some time at the Sears department store also in the World Trade Center, and then returned to the movie theater.

No, "The Kiss of the Spider Woman" is not a horror movie.  It is based on a novel written in 1976 by the Argentinian writer Manuel Puig.  In 1985, the book was made into a movie which starred William Hurt and Raul Julia.  (Hurt won an Academy Award for his performance.)  I was not aware that the work had been made into a musical which premiered on Broadway in 1993.  The music and lyrics were written by Kander and Ebb, the team who wrote "Caberet" and "Chicago".  The movie we saw is an new adaptation of the Broadway musical.

The story takes place in a prison cell during the Argentinian military dictatorship of the 1980s.  The cellmates are Valentín, a left-wing revolutionary, and Molina, an apolitical gay man who has been imprisoned for public indecency.  Molina is obsessed with campy, old movie musicals, his favorite being "The Kiss of the Spider Woman".  As a distraction from their grim surroundings, Molina narrates the plot of the film.  And so, there is a movie within a movie, alternating between the hellish reality of the prison and the glitzy fantasy of the musical.

The three lead roles are all played by Hispanic performers.  The role of Valentín is played by Diego Luna, one of Mexico's most famous actors, also well-known as his work in U.S. films. The role of Molina is played by a Mexican-American actor Tonatiuh.  Both of them have alternate roles in the movie musical sequences.  The "femme fatale" of the musical is Jennifer Lopez.  All of the actors were excellent.  I had never heard of Tonatiuh, but his performance was superb.  And even though I am not really a fan of Jennifer Lopez, her singing, dancing and acting were great.

We both thoroughly enjoyed "The Kiss of the Spider Woman".

A New Location

 As I was walking down the Paseo de la Reforma I passed the U.S. Embassy building... or I should say the former embassy.  I knew that a new embassy was being built, but I did not realize that it was already open.

The old building, a chunky, non-descript structure, still surrounded by impenetrable fencing, did not add any beauty or grace to the boulevard.  Although there were still some lights on inside, the building is closed, and a sign on the fencing says that all consular activities had been transferred to the new location.  The old embassy was no longer big enough to handle all its functions.  (When Alejandro applied for his U.S. tourist visa years ago, he had to go to another building several blocks away.)  I read on the internet that the old building will eventually be decommissioned and the property sold.  This is prime real estate, located along the city's most iconic boulevard and tucked between the Sheraton María Isabel Hotel, and the very posh, new Sofitel Hotel.

Along with the old embassy, hopefully, the ugly barricades along the boulevard's pedestrian walkway will disappear.

The new embassy is located in the neighborhood of "Nuevo Polanco" on the site of a former Colgate Palmolive factory.   It is the largest U.S. embassy in the world and the largest United States government building outside of the U.S.  It cost 1.2 billion dollars.

On the internet I found this photo of the building while it was still under construction.  It looks fortress-like in a "brutalist" style of architecture.  I find it imposing but not really attractive.

The embassy did not open until November of 2025, but it was dedicated in December of 2024, while Joseph Biden was still President.  Outgoing U.S. ambassador, Kenneth Salazar, a Biden appointee, make some pointed comments in his dedication speech.  Without naming names he said that the vision of building walls and viewing some people as inferior was not his vision of U.S.-Mexican relations. 

It Made the List

 

I recently read an article about an accolade which was awarded to my adopted home of Mexico City.  The London-based company "Time Out" publishes magazines, city guides and travel books and gives recommendations for 333 cities in 59 countries.  Each year they publish a list of the 50 best cities in the world.  In their list for 2025, Mexico City was ranked as number 7 in the world and number 1 in Latin America.

The rankings were based on interviews with residents of cities throughout the world as well as the votes of Time Out's travel experts.

The city ranked high for its gastronomy, the quality and diversity of its cultural life, its public transport and its green spaces.

I don't put a lot of stock in these lists that magazines put out.  Mexico City has plenty of negatives... number one, in my opinion, being its horrendous traffic.  However, I am happy here in Mexico City, and I would certainly agree that the food and culture offerings here are superb.  It does make me happy to see the city put forward in a positive light.  So many people immediately think of Mexico City as a dangerous place.  Just as in any big city, there are areas that are to be avoided.  But Mexico City is one of the great cities of the world and a first-rate destination for travelers.

The top ten cities on their list were...

1.  Cape Town, South Africa

2.  Bangkok, Thailand

3.  New York City

4.  Melbourne, Australia

5.  London, England

6.  New Orleans

7.  Mexico City  YEAH!

8.  Porto, Portugal

9.  Shanghai, China

10. Copenhagen, Denmark