For Valentine's Day

You may remember that at Christmas time I wrote that Mexico City's main plaza, the Zócalo, was decorated with a floral display of poinsettias.  Yesterday I was downtown, and I saw worker busy setting out flowers just in time for Valentine's Day, which here is often called the Day of Love and Friendship.

Outlines of hearts had been drawn on the pavement of the Zócalo, and the workers were filling those in with potted flowers and plants.  

A webcam view of the plaza at sunrise this morning, taken from http://www.webcamsdemexico.com, shows that the Valentine's Day display is complete.

Front Page

Most of the front pages of the newspapers here in Mexico City were about the guilty verdict (on all ten counts) handed down in the U.S. to drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

"El Chapo directly to life imprisonment"

"That's all folks!"

"The biggest narco boss loses in the U.S."

"No escape!"

In other news...

After much speculation, it was announced that ex-President Enrique Peña Nieto (his term ended December 1 of last year) and his wife, former telenovela actress Angélica Rivera are indeed filing for divorce.  (Wonder if we will eventually see a similar story here in the U.S.?)

And the Mexican cinema chain, Cinemex, will finally be showing "Roma" in thirty theatres across the nation from February 14 until February 24 as part of its annual special presentation of all the films nominated for the Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The New Superfood - Tacos!

I had to take a photo of this sign painted on the side of a taco restaurant in the neighborhood of Colonia del Valle...

Benefits of the Taco

Tortilla

rich in calcium, fiber, potassium,

less calories than an apple.

Cilantro

aids digestion, eliminates gas,

low in cholesterol, and good for stress.

Meat

rich in proteins, iron, sodium and iron.

Onion

purifies the blood, improves circulation

and lowers cholesterol.

Lime

rich in vitamin C, is diuretic,

helps digestive function.

Pineapple

rich in vitamin C, is diuretic,

natural detoxifier

(If your experience with tacos is solely through Taco Bell, you may not know that Mexicans squeeze a bit of lime juice onto their taco, and that pineapple is an ingredient of "tacos al pastor".  Also, no Mexican would put shredded lettuce on a taco.)

This is all very well and good, but this does not take into account all that cholesterol-laden grease.  I don't think that my doctor would advise a constant diet of tacos as a superfood! 

Pick Up Your Dog Poop!

I had to laugh when I saw this sign on the wall of an apartment building in the neighborhood of Colonia del Valle...

The sign reads... "If he can't, do it yourself!  In the park and in the street there are people and children.  For the well-being of all, pick up your dog's excrement.  Be a good citizen.  We all come out ahead."

Tamales!

Sunday afternoon we took a long walk, and we came across a tiny storefront restaurant selling tamales.

Tamales, the steamed corn meal treats with savory or sweet fillings, go back to pre-Hispanic times.  In fact, the name of this restaurant, "Tamalli" is the Nahuatl (Aztec) word for tamales.  We had never heard of this place before, but it is a relatively new chain with six locations throughout Mexico City.  

We decided to stop and have a snack. (Fortunately, no one else was there at the moment because there is only seating for two.)  I assume that most of their business must be carry-out.

I have mentioned this before, but the singular of tamales is not tamale... as we "gringos" say... but rather "tamal".

Alejandro ordered a Oaxacan "tamal" filled with "mole".  I ordered a Chiapan "tamal" with chicken and "morita" chiles.  Tamales from central Mexico are always wrapped in a corn husk.  Those from southern Mexico, such as the ones we ordered, are wrapped in a banana leaf.

Be sure to unwrap the "tamal" before eating.  You do not eat the banana leaf or corn husk!

Our tamales were very tasty.  Unfortunately there is no location close to my apartment.  Well, maybe that's a good thing, because I would be tempted to come here all the time!

Does Anyone Know?

During one of my walks through the city, I passed through a city park that had several bushes with these large, trumpet-shaped, yellow flowers.

Does anyone know what kind of flowers they are?

While speaking of flowers, on the same walk I came across this spectacular bougainvillea that was at least six stories high climbing a tree next to an apartment building.

Poinsettias continue to bloom...

And I continue to see more jacaranda trees in bloom.

Wow! What a Film!

Last night Alejandro and I went to see the Academy Award nominated motion picture "Roma".   As the credits were rolling at the end, Alejandro said simply, "Wow!"  Over the years I have enjoyed countless movies.  Some were outstanding, but only a few have been indelibly engraved on my mind.  I think "Roma" will be one of those.  It is a masterpiece. 

We went to see the movie at a small, art cinema called Cine Tonalá which is located in the Mexico City neighborhood of Roma.  We arrived early, so after Alejandro parked the car, we took a short walk.  Just two blocks away is the childhood home of the director Alfonso Cuarón and across the street is the house where much of the movie was filmed.  

The movie is not for everyone.  If your taste in movies runs exclusively to superheroes, car chases and non-stop mayhem, you probably will not care for "Roma".  The movie is a semi-autobiographical film in which Cuarón recreates his boyhood.  The central character is Cleo, the family´s maid / nanny, played brilliantly by Yalitza Aparicio in her film debut.  Cleo is based on Cuarón's own nanny Liboria, to whom the film is dedicated.  The movie begins by meticulously recreating the daily life of an upper middle class family in 1970s Mexico City and focusses especially upon the chores of maid Cleo.  Some have found this slow or boring, but to me it was fascinating.  Even though the movie takes place nearly fifty years ago there were so many details to which I could relate, especially since I spend so much time at Alejandro's home.  Trying to park the car in the narrow entryway of the house, the laundry hanging on the line, the metal stairs going up the roof, the melancholy whistle of the street vendor selling sweet potatoes, even the constant chore of sweeping up dog ca-ca, all resonated with me.  I am not going to give away the story line, but gradually the plot develops and builds to three scenes which are shattering in their intensity.

I am glad that I saw the movie at the cinema rather than on the small screen streaming through Netflix.  Obviously there were no English subtitles at this showing in Mexico City, and I admit that I did not catch all of the dialogue.  (But Alejandro said that even he did not catch everything.)  Although the movie is in black and white, seeing it on the big screen I felt that I was more emotionally drawn into Cuarón's world and that the climactic scenes were more wrenching than if I had watched it on television. 

I will be back home in Ohio later this month, and I will be watching the Academy Awards and rooting for this superb movie.