What Are They???

Sometimes there are art installations in front of the Mexico City World Trade Center.  At the present time there are things (somebody, I suppose, considers them works of art) on display in the fountain in front of the entrance.  There are no signs describing who made these things or what they are supposed to represent.

I have no idea what these things are made of, but every time I pass by, all I can think of is that they are rejects from an elementary school papier mâché project!

Who Are They???

As I have mentioned many times, my apartment is just a short walk from the Mexico City World Trade Center.  A part of the complex is a concert venue known as the Pepsi Center.  The frequent concerts... sometimes even on weeknights... draw large crowds and snarled traffic.

Outside the center there are posters advertising upcoming events.  I have to admit that I have never heard of any of these singers and musical groups.

Even as a youth I was never really a follower of the latest music, but Alejandro has never heard of any of them either.  I guess we are just a couple of old fogies! 

 

Mangos!

 

One of my favorite fruits is the mango.  It is hard to get really good mangos in the United States.  The very best variety is the one known as the "mango de Manila" (as the name implies, it was originally brought to Mexico from the Philippines).  However, due to the delicate nature of the fruit, the "mango de Manila" is rarely exported to the United States.

The season for the "mango de Manila" is from April through October.  This week when I went to the market to buy produce, I asked the vendor if she had any.  She did, and I bought several to take back to the apartment.  They are so sweet and juicy.  If fact, I have to eat the mangos over the kitchen sink, and I have to wash the mango juice off my face and hands after eating it.

Mangos will now be on my weekly shopping list when I go to the market!

Poster Pollution

The elections in Mexico are a little over a month away.  I wrote in an earlier blog entry about the political signs posted everywhere, but, since my return from Ohio, the number of signs, banners and posters has proliferated to the point of ridiculousness.  This is especially evident in Alejandro's part of town.  It is not as if his borough is a hotly contested district; the area is overwhelmingly in favor of the ruling, populist party Morena.  But Morena obviously has money to burn with advertising overkill.

 On every utility pole there are multiple posters, one on top of another.  It just looks trashy.

 

Janecarlo Lozano is running for the mayor of the borough where Alejandro lives.  He goes by his unusual first name which is pronounced ha-nay-car-lo, but we jokingly Anglicize his name and call him Jane Carlo.

Someone obviously does not like Yuriri Ayala, Morena candidate for local deputy.

 

The sad thing is that no one removes these posters after the election.  For months and months the neighborhood will be blighted with poster pollution.

Street Art Again

It's been quite a while since I have written an entry about street art in Mexico City.

I was walking around Alejandro's neighborhood yesterday, and I photgraphed several examples which I had not posted previously.

Geometric designs decorating a wall behind a local playground

A mural on a government sponsored athletic and cultural center

Public schools frequently have outdoor art.  The following are on the walls of a junior high school and an elementary school. 

I don't know exactly what this beast is supposed to be. Perhaps it's an "alebrije", a fantastical creature which combines elements of different animals.

Nor am I sure who this person is supposed to be, or if the headdress is a jaguar or a tiger.

There is no mistaking the subject of this painting however.  It is Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god of pre-Hispanic Mexico. 

Pambazos!

On Saturday, Alejandro and I were walking through the "tianguis" (outdoor market) in his neighborhood.  He was trying to decide what he should fix for dinner for the family that day, and he asked me if I would like "pambazos".  Several years ago I wrote about those tasty sandwiches, and Alejandro didn't have to twist my arm for me to say "¡Sí!".

So, instead of buying something in the market to fix for dinner, we went to a nearby, hole-in-the-wall restaurant.

There are a few tables inside, but most of their business is carry-out.  You can see that Alejandro was second in line, but, soon after we arrived, a long line of customers had formed behind us.

The place is called "Doña Tere Pozolería".  The specialty is "pozole", a pork and hominy soup.  (A number of those waiting carried plastic buckets to be filled with soup.)  However, they serve a number of other traditional Mexican foods, including "pambazos".

A "pambazo" is a bun with a filling of chorizo sausage and diced potatoes.  The bread is then brushed with salsa and grilled.  As a finishing touch, some shredded lettuce and "crema" are added.

We purchased eight "pambazos" and took them home for dinner.  They are definitely a "knife and fork" type of sandwich.  They are also very filling.  I had one and a half "pambazos", and I was stuffed.

Not an especially healthy meal, but so delicious!

Welcome Rain

Mexico's dry season usually runs from November until the middle of May.  However, this year the dry season is more than just dry.  Much of the country is suffering from a severe drought compounded by higher-than-normal temperatures.  Many lakes throughout the nation are drying up.  Lake Pátzcuaro in the state of Michoacán is a popular tourist destination, and the island of Janitzio in the middle of the lake is famous for its Day of the Dead celebrations.

This is what Lake Pátzcuaro currently looks like, and you can walk to Janitzio...

(image taken from the internet)

So, we are keeping our fingers crossed that the rainy season, at least here in Mexico City, seems to have started a bit early.  On Thursday, the day that I returned to Mexico, it was drizzling in the early evening.  In the middle of the night, while I was sleeping, it rained more heavily.  It drizzled again on Friday and Saturday, and then, yesterday afternoon, we had a heavy rain.

 
Rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast for this afternoon and early evening again.

With last yesterday's rain, the webcam of the volcano Popocatépetl showed the peak covered with snow this morning.