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