Category: Everything (Potpourri)

Barrios Bravos: Greater Tepito

It has been just over one week since my last blog post. That one, about my decision to leave Mexico City, was my most-read post since I’ve been doing this blog. Judging by the number of views, likes, and comments, it caught many of you by surprise. To borrow an old expression, I’ve been busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest this past month, and these final days will offer no respite.

That said, I plan to continue this blog, more or less in its current form. I still have a thousand other stories to tell. With the “end” in sight, memories of my time here have come flooding into my mind, most of them good, not bad.

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Mexico City has its share of bad neighborhoods. It seems that every delegación (borough) has at least one. Cinder block houses, corrugated sheet metal roofs, stray dogs, reggaetón music blasting at all hours of the day or night….Often, these “barrios bravos” (“tough” or “brave” neighborhoods) are located along Periférico, the ring road that circles the city and is a proper high-speed highway for much of its length. Other times, they descend steeply down into canyons. Green city buses that ply the adjacent streets are subject to frequent robberies. Sometimes, police are afraid to enter. Many times, all that separates one of these barrios bravos from an upscale, gated community is a busy street.

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Green Go Home! Or, Why I’m Leaving Mexico City

Yesterday marked my last day of classes as an English teacher in Mexico City. I have just two weeks remaining as an honorary Chilango before it’s time to return to the U.S., where I face an uncertain future.

Deciding to leave here was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. But I can’t stay, even if I wanted to.

Background: Lost Love

I have called Mexico City home for not quite two years. I first discovered el Distrito Federal in 2002, during a whirlwind Thanksgiving weekend trip, and have been enamored of the place ever since. I met a local girl while traveling in another Mexican city – Guadalajara – in 2011, and decided to move here – for her and for myself both – not quite one year later.

That turned out to be a mistake.

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Passion Runs High in Iztapalapa

I lead an English-language conversation club twice a week. Last Wednesday, I asked one of my students to bring in an article to read to the class. She selected an article about Semana Santa (Holy Week/Easter Week) traditions in the Catholic community. Only half of the class was Catholic, so the article prompted a lively discussion to say the least.

I won’t politicize this blog entry; that’s a subject for another day. One of the topics that came up in our small group discussion was the importance of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, etc. observations among Catholics and Christians in general. As it happens, I’ve spent several of the past Semana Santa weeks in various Spanish-speaking, majority-Catholic countries, and it’s not uncommon to find daily (or nightly) processions through the streets, with locals dressed as Roman soldiers or paying penitence for their belief that Jesus died for their sins. Culturally, it is quite the spectacle.

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Where am I #21

This Sunday we celebrate Easter. Jews celebrate Passover. In Latin America, the entire week is known as “Semana Santa” (Holy Week). A common tradition in cities big and small is the religious procession, with locals costumed as Roman soldiers, Pontius Pilate, etc. They burn incense and carry large parade floats featuring Crucifixion and Resurrection images throughout the streets. Locals stay awake all day and night before the parades to create elaborate alfombras, which are colorful “carpets” made of damp, colored sawdust. The carpets often include images of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, or simple proclamations of peace. The highlight is watching the parade march over your alfombra, essentially destroying it.

As it happens, I often find myself in Latin America during this time of year – and not always on purpose, either. Which Latin American city and country am I visiting in this photo?

whereami21

Gringo Nacho Lucha Libre

Lucha Libre 2 - from cell phone

Last weekend I scratched off one item from my Mexico City “bucket list.” I was somewhat curious about lucha libre wrestling. If you don’t know, it is a stylized version of “WWE” wrestling and is popular in Mexico, Japan, and predominantly-Hispanic regions of the U.S. In lucha libre, wrestlers commonly wear masks. Years ago, the masks were simple, one-or-two-color affairs worn basically to help spectators identify who was who. “Blue Demon” wore a light blue mask and faced off against “El Santo” (“The Saint”), who wore a white mask. Culturally, the masks caught on, and today are worn not just by the wrestlers but by their fans as well. Many masks remain simple in design, yet others are more ornate, and can resemble serpents, gods, or other mythical warrior figures, often borrowed from Aztec culture.

Research revealed that matches take place every Friday night at the Arena México, and I figured it could be a fun Friday event if I could gather a few friends. My buddy Mario – a life-long Chilango who, like me, had never been to a match – was up for it, and we were joined by my friend Sofía as well as by three of her friends. We consulted an arena map before buying, and the prices seemed reasonable for all but the most expensive of tiers. We chose a section slightly right-of-center, and on match night, I couldn’t believe how close the seats really were. A bargain!

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The (Long Awaited) Mexican Food Blog – Part One

Pambazo

This is a pambazo. You can’t really tell from the photo, but imagine a sandwich piled with grilled chorizo (Mexican sausage), potatoes, cheese, onions, lettuce, sour cream, and your choice or red of green salsa – all topped on warm sandwich bread. Sounds delicious? It is. I had never heard of pambazos before two weeks ago. I was hungry, though, and in a bit of a hurry, so I bought one from a neighborhood street vendor, as it took just moments to prepare…and upon taking my first bite I immediately ordered a second.

After experiencing that tasty goodness, I decided to finally crank out this post. I love Mexican food (who doesn’t?!), and have been intending to blog about comida Mexicana for months, but the cuisine is so varied, that as a subject to be written about, I barely knew where to begin. I have decided to save my observations about the customs related to food (restaurant hours, tipping practices, etc.) for a separate post, and for now will concentrate solely on the different types of food – a few of the many varieties from a few of the many categories. Here goes!

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Oscar 2013-14 – predicting the winners

I have been under the weather lately, and even had to cancel Thursday and Friday classes. Because I don’t normally get sick often, the roughly once-every-two-years happening always hits me like a ton of bricks.

Something that happens once every year is the Academy Awards Ceremony. The 2014 show (which honors the previous year’s movies, a naming quirk that has always confused me), is this Sunday. I just watched “Nebraska,” the Alexander Payne (“Sideways”)-directed, father-son road movie that garnered six Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. It is a good little film, but my point is that once again I’ve managed to see just about every nominated film before the live broadcast. The only nominee I’m missing is “August: Osage County.”

Here are my predictions on who will – and who should – win Oscars tonight. I am only an amateur but I seem to have a knack for this sort of thing. Last year I correctly guessed five of the six winners in the Picture, Director, and Acting categories. I hope to improve upon that number in 2014!

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Olympic Fever?

Alpenzoo 14 - view of Innsbruck

Every two years, in February or August, I get caught up in what’s called “Olympic fever.” This is an exciting two weeks during which 100+ countries from six continents compete in a two-week spread of friendly athletic competition. From audience favorites like figure skating and gymnastics to more obscure events such as skeleton and dressage, dozens of sporting events each get their moment in the international spotlight. Many of these events aren’t regularly televised, so for the athletes (and their sponsors), the Olympics are, literally, a high stakes, once-every-four-years event.

This year is different. The XXII Winter Olympiad is winding down as I write this, and yet I could hardly care one way or the other. When you consider that, as recently as 18 months ago, I was determined to travel to Sochi, Russia to witness – firsthand – the opening ceremonies, the ski jump finals, the bobsled run, and other events, it seems strange for me to suddenly be so disinterested. What happened?

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