Our time in Mexico City

This was our third time to visit Mexico City and we stayed in the Hipódromo neighborhood, which is between La Condesa and Roma. The Popocatépetl fountain was half a block from the Airbnb apartment we rented.

We enjoyed walking around the Hipódromo neighborhood, checking out the interesting architecture.



Some of the houses were quite grand.



And they were frequently colorful.



We appreciated the details of the gated entries, including this Art Deco ironwork.



Spanish colonial architecture was prevalent throughout the neighborhood, including this former residence that now houses a research institute of the University of Mexico.



This beautiful house faced Plaza Popocatépetl so we walked by it every day.

We saw plenty of arched doorways, including this beautiful doorway and pleasantly accented, receding trim.



And there were no shortage of grand portals with stately doors. The neighborhoods were built in the 1930s and have been extensively renovated in the last 30 years.



A few contemporary houses were also around. This doorway was not originally painted red and blue but we liked the added color.



Avenida Ámsterdam is the former hippodrome so it runs in an oval with a lovely, tree-lined pedestrian path down its center.



Mexican sculptor Jorge Marín has a number of his works in public spaces. This one, entitled Monumental Balance is described by the artist: 

"This work, besides being a study of the body and balance, is an analysis of the human psyche. Plastically we see two bodies in balance on the edge of a swing, however, at a second glance, we realize that the bodies represented are the same and, both, with masked faces, anonymous. Then, the balance becomes a metaphor in three dimensions: personal balance is only possible through an internal confrontation, a personal dialogue reminiscent of the Socrates maxim: "know yourself".

Outside the Hotel Condesa we saw a vintage car only to realize it was an art piece with a wind-up crank. It's rumored that turning the handle played music up until the September 2017 earthquake. We tried to confirm this with the driver, but he wasn't talking.

We saw other evidence of the 2017 earthquake, including damaged buildings like this one. The term damnificados means victims and was created during the 1985 earthquake when 3,500 buildings were damaged or destroyed.



We aren't sure if this building had been condemned or if it is just next to a building that collapsed. We felt for the people living there who had been negatively impacted by the quake.



We spotted this beautiful vertical garden on a building along Callejón de Regina in the historic center of the city.



Looking closer we noticed that a bicycle and tricycle were part of the installation. From below it was as if they were awaiting riders to take them away beyond the horizon.



We visited the Foto Museo Cuatro Caminos for an exhibition on the history of grafiti and street art in Mexico.



Although we felt the exhibition was uneven, we did enjoy this piece by the artist Yael Madrez. She combined Mexican cultural imagery, strong female forms, and super-hero iconography.



Outside we had plenty of opportunities to see street art. Frida Kahlo was everywhere.



Here she appears in this collaborative piece by artists Misst1guett, who painted Frida, and DUEK, who painted the two Diego Riveras.



While this princess looks more like a doll than Frida, we liked the combined Mexican flag imagery, hummingbird and the Chaac-like figure in blue.



Near where we were staying we saw this mural with the hashtag Va por La Roma, Going for Roma, which was a movement started by Aida Mulato in 2016 to paint murals representing Mexican culture. 

Twenty-two murals have been finished thus far, including this one that represents one of the 68 indigenous groups in Mexico. We liked the painted textiles.

Masked figures are a common theme in the murals we saw. This one by Saner. Here is a paraphrased quote by the artist, 

"Why do I paint masks? The main reason comes from not wanting our historical elements of the masks to die. Mexico is fascinated with things from abroad and in turn buries its own beauty. The use of the mask avoids copying the style of the United States and Europe, which is what normally happens everywhere. "

Here's another colorful example of masks.



Mono loco, crazy monkeys mural was painted by Maick Aguilar.



This one looked like a quetzal bird to us.



Here's a legend about this next mural. An anthropologist proposed a game to the children of an African tribe. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told the children that the contest was that the first one to reach the basket won all the fruits. He gave the signal for them to run, and the children held hands and ran together. Afterwards, they sat down as a group to enjoy the prize. When the anthropologist asked them why they had played like this they answered: "Ubuntu! How can one of us be happy if everyone else is sad?" Ubuntu means soy porque somos in Spanish, I am because we are. The mural was adjacent to the Diana the Huntress Fountain.

We got together with our friend Ubish for a tour of street art. Here Kristina and he are in Chinatown. We first met Ubish in September 2017 when we were traveling in CDMX with our cousins Diana and Alex.



Ubish showed us this Jade Rivera mural entitled The Guardian. It celebrates el día de los muertos, the Day of the Dead. Similar to the fantastic Pixar movie Coco where Miguel visits the world of the dead, this young body's hands are vanishing as he starts his journey. We had visited Jade Rivera's studio in Lima, so we knew we loved his art.



We had a great time and learned a lot from Ubish. He now has his own company Mexico Underground. We took this selfie in an interestingly restored building.



This photo shows that all the plaster was scraped off the walls, exposing the brick interior.



An interesting type of street art that we weren't aware of is when several artists collaborate sequentially on a piece so it keeps changing. This piece started with a Toy Story character, but Disney wouldn't allow the mural to remain, so the artist painted the figure black. Next two katrinas were added (although one's head is being eaten). Katrinas are female skeleton dolls from the turn of the 20th century whose image was used to satirize the rich, implying that the rich think they won't die. Then the young child playing with the toys was painted in and finally the fox on the left was added.

The area where we walked had many different types of murals: big, small, professional and amateur plus a wide range of themes.



Doris Salcedo, a Colombian sculptor, painted this mural of a woman breaking a gun to commemorate the end of 52 years of civil war in Colombia.

We liked the spirit of this feminist mural that all women should live free and rebellious.



This closer photo shows an indigenous woman wearing a scarf with the date of the start of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN).



This year is the 50th anniversary of Mexico City hosting the Olympics. This photo was taken at Palacio Belles Artes.



This image shows the original artwork for the Olympics.



The style was leveraged in this strong statement against government violence, complete with peace doves for wheels.



It was a reminder of the excessive use of force by the government against student protesters in which at least 40 students were killed and likely thousands more disappeared. The incidents happened shortly before the 1968 Olympics started and were covered up by the PRI for years.



We did another market tour with Ubish, this time exploring Mercado San Juan. A highlight was trying different fruits, including our favorite soursop.



This is a mamey fruit, which looked so beautiful with its seed exposed.



Ubish took us to get tlacloyos from his favorite local street vendor. Tlacloyos are made of thick blue corn tortillas that are filled with fava bean puree. The light colored tlacloyo in the middle hasn't yet been fried or filled.



Here's the finished treat that's topped with squash blossoms, salsa, cilantro and onions.



Another night we took Ubish to dinner at Restaurant Emília. He indulged us by only speaking Spanish so we could practice. Ubish is fluent in English, having learned early from his mom and then working for a few years in New Zealand.



Restaurant Emília had only been open for two weeks, but the food was well-prepared. It was fun to sit at the U-shaped counter and watch the cooks in action.



Chef Lucho (right) told us about the next course as he served.



Another day we went to the restaurant Forever Vegan.



We enjoyed delicious fruits.



Along with sweet potato pancakes and tempeh bacon.



At Los Loosers our favorite was their Korean taco. There was so much house made kimchi that we had to eat about half before we could pick up the taco.



Their version of vegan tlacloyos featured almond cream, nopales and avocado.



Near where we stayed in Roma was Pithaya. They served enchiladas and enfrijoladas, which had a black bean puree sauce. Filled with plantains, they were delicious.



This overhead photo from a different day includes cauliflower chorizo on top of the enfrijoladas.



We also sampled Pithaya's vegan tacos.



And we went back to Viko's for more tacos.



We are trying to eat vegan these days so we were glad there were many vegan restaurants in CDMX.



We had great weather and were able to walk a lot.



Ubish told us about el Museo Numismático Nacional, the old mint, so we checked it out.



Pete is a Libra so he posed next to the scales.



We also went to the modern art museum. This is a David Siqueiros painting, Our Current Image from 1947 that has been interpreted as a heroic symbol of proletarian strength through work.



We loved the exhibit Addicted to Remedios Varo. She was a Spanish born artist who emigrated to Mexico where she felt more at home. She said about working in Mexico, “In this country I have found the tranquility that I have always searched for.”



Her wonderful paintings were a mixture of surrealism, mysticism and alchemy. This is Creation of the Birds from 1957.



She sketched all her works before painting them. This self-portrait sketch helps show how Remedios Varo frequently used her own face in her paintings.



We bought a puzzle with this image entitled Roulotte "Carricoche" and we look forward to having a chance to work on it.



We decided to visit the Museo Nacional de Antropología (MNA) once again to explore some exhibits that we didn't have enough time to see last time. Just outside the museum we caught a high-flying performance by Los Voladores. The dancers, suspended by rope tied around their waist, spin around the pole and slowly descend to the ground while a musician atop the 30 meter pole plays the flute.



The performance is said to have originated as a rain dance to ask the gods to end a long drought. The dance is closely associated with the Totanac people of the state of Veracruz and is recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage.



We visited the ethnography exhibits at MNA and learned that the Huichol people of central Mexico are known for their intricate artworks in which they have adapted modern materials to symbolically represent and preserve their beliefs and ceremonies. The Huichol venerate corn, deer and peyote. This piece was created by the Huichol artist Ramón Medina Silva in 1966.



The Huichol are also known for their beautiful beadwork. Modern applications generally involve applying beads to decorate bowls and other items. This was the first time we had ever seen a beaded bike.



Although this bicycle seems too beautiful to ride.



We learned about Teotihuacán at MNA. It was founded in 100 BC and had its zenith around 450 AD when about 150,000 people lived there. Known for their murals, this reproduction has the Great Goddess of Teotihuacán in its center.



They had a reproduction of part of the Feathered Serpent Pyramid that shows the typical Mesoamerican use of red paint complementing gold and jade decoration over marble and granite.



We visited Teotihuacan, which is located just an hour outside of Mexico City. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.



The actual Feathered Serpent Pyramid is mostly pyramid but we were able to spot one of the stone deities



Climbing up the 248 steps to reach the top of the Pyramid of the Sun was challenging. It is 75 meters in height.



After catching her breath, Kristina recharged her batteries at the top.



From the top we could see the Pyramid of the Moon.

On our way to check out the Pyramid of the Moon we stopped to explore the Courtyard of the Palace of Quetzalpapálotl. The columns had stone quetzals and owls.


The palace also had remnants of murals. We had thought Teotihuacán was built by the Aztecs. But it is much older than the Aztec civilization and it's believed that the Aztecs rebuilt and inhabited it only after hundreds of years in ruins. 



Climbing the Pyramid of the Moon was much easier because you are only allowed half way up.



Here's the view from the mid point looking out towards the Pyramid of the Sun.



Mexico City is beautiful at Christmas time. The Angel of Independence was lit in red.



Many buildings and streets had holiday lights too.



Even a local bookstore had a Christmas book tree.



All types of items for nativity scenes were available for sale.



And we saw lots of piñatas so we did some research about their history and learned that Mexican Catholicism includes piñatas to represent the human struggle against temptation. The seven points on the piñata represent the seven deadly sins. The person with the stick is blindfolded to represent faith. When the piñata breaks, the seasonal fruit and nuts inside represent the rewards of keeping the faith.



Lots of people have 4-legged friends, and this time of year they are sometimes dressed like Santa and elves.



Even the graves can be decorated for Christmas.



And the main square of the Zócalo had many poinsettias. We are glad we could visit CDMX this time of year.

We spent a lovely Christmas in San Diego with Kristina's family.



Next we'll be near Joshua Tree for new year's and through January for a personal meditation retreat.