Mexico City - March 2024

At the end of March I made another trip to Mexico City, with Diana. This was my 5th trip to this wonderful city which I always find stimulating and interesting. Diana had never been there and so it was all new and exciting to her. 

We arrived in the late afternoon on a United flight from Houston. The entry into the country couldn't have been easier and within a few minutes we were out in the terminal. They have a nice system for purchasing taxi tickets into the city. Tell them your destination, pay the fixed price fare and go outside to your taxi.  No hassling with individual drivers and you feel certain you are getting an honest deal.

Within 20 minutes we were being dropped off at our hotel, the Hotel Zocalo and Central Rooftop. The hotel was quite a nice smallish hotel, perhaps what they would call a boutique hotel, and the location, being a few hundred yards off the Zocalo square was perfect. 

We immediately went out for a walk around while it was still light.  I picked up a 1000 pesos (about US $60) from a nearby ATM.  While most places accept credit cards these days it is always handy to have a few pasos handy in case someone doesn't. 

In the Zocalo square, the entrance to the Metropolitan Cathedral was closed already, but the small chapel attached to the side of the main Cathedral, the Sagrario Metropolitano, was open so we wandered around inside. A cleric was seated in front of the altar and was giving some sort of sermon - completely unintelligible to us of course. We walked further on to view a little of the Aztec Templo Mayor area, at least the parts you can see from the outside. 

Diana, Jeannie, Richard

My friends Richard and Jeannie were also in the city and Richard called me.  We decided to meet them for a drink on the rooftop bar of our hotel. We met them in our hotel lobby and proceeded up to the bar. The rooftop veranda had a great view out onto the Zocalo, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Palacio Nacional and the huge Mexican Flag flying in the center of the square.  A wonderful sight just as the sun was setting.

The Metropolitan Cathedral

A couple of margaritas later we left and went to find food. We went to the nearby Cafe Tacuba, a nice basic restaurant that I had dined at many times before. It didn't disappoint. After dinner we walked on to the Palacio Bellas Artes, the Casa de Azuelas, and the Torre Americano.  All interesting buildings.

 

Altar in the Metropolitan Cathedral

Next morning we had breakfast on the rooftop balcony of the hotel. A marvelous location for a breakfast. We then entered the Cathedral and admired the beauty and grandeur of the interior. The skilled craftsmanship of the artisans that built this structure back in the 17th century is quite remarkable.

Measuring the tilt of the Cathedral

Mexico City is subsiding and the Cathedral being so old and so large a structure has been a victim of this sinking. In the main aisle there is a huge plumb bob suspended from somewhere high up that traces the movement of the Cathedral over time. Work has been done to remedy the situation but subsidence, earthquakes, and the nearby subway line mean that it is quite the challenge.

The Organ, Metropolitan Cathedral

Near the end of our visit to the cathedral, the organ struck up. What a wonderful sound in that beautiful space. 

We would have liked to visit the Palacio Nacional, one of the other beautiful buildings on the Zocalo but sadly it was closed. In the Palacio is a wonderful mural, the History of Mexico painted by Diego Rivera. We later learned that the current President of Mexico had taken up residence in the Palace and as a result public access was no longer possible. That's a shame. 

Mercado Merced

We decided then to visit a market, in particular the Mercado Sonoma.  That market has an interesting section devoted to herbalists and non-conventional medicines. Before we reached the Mercado Sonoma we stumbled across the main market Mercado Merced.  This was a large market selling all manner of goods.  There were sections of the market that focused on specific products - so there was a plastics section, a clothing section, a kitchen fixtures and utensils section. Side by side in these sections were dozens of shops selling the exact same things.  I wonder how they distinguish one vendor from another, why people choose one over the others when all appear to be identical stores.  

Mercado Sonoma

We walked on to Mercado Sonoma where there was a large section devoted to cuddly children's toys.  Literally thousands and thousands of soft toys from every TV or film series.  There was a live animal section which was a little sad.  Cats, dogs, rabbits, goats, birds, you name it.  They were not kept in the most humane conditions.  The herbalists section was full of interesting bundles of herbs and roots.  Each one for a particular ailment - diabetes, stomach complaints, even cancer.

Mercado Sonoma

The section containing religious icons and sculptures was amusing.  Statues of Jesus Christ alongside cowboys and bikini clad models and movie icons.

The Harmonipan

The Harmonipan organ grinders were everywhere in the old town. They are a common sight in Mexico City and date back to a gift from Germany to the city during Porfirio Diaz's presidency. In recent years I think they have become less popular and to be honest the sound is a bit repetitive and grating on the nerves.  Rumor has it that restaurants and shops pay the grinders to move away.

We then went to visit the Secretariat of Education building where there are a large number of Rivera murals. Sadly this was closed to the public. When we asked when it would be open, the answer was September or October. That is a real shame that two of the best buildings for Diego's murals are closed. 

A printer's stall, Plaza San Domingo

We walked across the street to the Plaza de Santo Domingo where vendors offer their documentation and printing skills. You can pay someone to type up a form or document or you can get them to print business cards or announcements. Each station had an old typewriter or a printing machine. None of stalls appeared to be doing any business at all. 

The Liberator by Fernando Leal

We moved on to the College of San Il Defenso where there are more murals. Mexico City is the place for mural artists and I love their work. Il Defenso featured mostly the work of Orozco but there were some nice ones by Fernando Leal too. 

The removal of the Mexican Flag

Back at the Zocalo we watched the gigantic Mexican flag being taken down. This daily process required the choreographed effort of a column of soldiers who ceremoniously twisted the flag into a huge snake and carried it back to its home for the night. 

Man at the Crossroads - Diego Rivera

We next walked down to the Palacio de Bellas Artes and went inside to see the impressive collection of murals there (free admission for old people like us).  This is truly an amazing building in itself but it's murals by all the great Mexican Muralists - Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros are a wonder to behold.  Somehow we latched on to a tour guide describing the Rivera mural - Man at the Crossroads (or Man Controller of the Universe) and listened to a 30 minutes of lecture describing the different parts of the mural. I had seen the mural before several times and while I recognized a few elements I was totally unaware of many of the components of the work. What a splendid mural and how lucky we were to get educated in it. 

The Main Post Office

After Bellas Artes we moved on for a quick look at the impressive old Post Office. A shadow of its former self but in its day it must have been quite the communications hub. 

Lucha Libre

We had an early dinner at the Sanborne's restaurant in the Casa de Azuelas and then made a quick stop at the hotel before catching an Uber to the Mexico Arena for the Lucha Libre  wrestling.  The spectacle was entertaining for a while but then became such a formulaic sequence of fakery that we grew tired of it and left after only 3 bouts. It did amaze me that no one appeared to suffer any really damage. There was lots of over exaggerated harm being done but 20 seconds later everyone seemed fine.   They should be admired for their athletic diving and rolling skills. 

Jose Marti

The next morning we set off on the subway, first to see the Diego Rivera Mural Museum, and then on to Coyoacan. The Mural Museum was supposed to open by 9:00 but didn't until 10:00 so we had an hour to kill. You are never too far from something interesting in Mexico City and we found an impressive church to visit, then a statue of Jose Marti, the Cuban independence fighter, and then a surprisingly good exhibit at the Laboratorio Arte Alameda. 

McSickle, Laboratorio Arte Alameda

The Allemada, housed in an old convent, featured art by a Pedro Lasch and it was quite political.  There were pieces about migration from Central and South America to the USA, artwork of the Twin Towers in troubled areas of the world like Gaza, Iraq, a flooded New Orleans, proposals for overturning the British Monarchy.   

Jacarandas and Police

Outside in the park the Jacaranda trees were in bloom and it made a lovely sight. A nice contrast to the large numbers of police lined up nearby.  We saw a lot of police presence in the city.  Large groups of them waiting to quash any protest that might happen. It made us feel safe, but it was more directed to the locals, to make sure they stayed in line. 

Dream of an Afternoon on the Alameda - Rivera

The Rivera Mural Museum is the home to a single mural,  "A Dream of an Afternoon in the Alameda.  It was originally created for one of the fine hotels in the city but when the hotel was damaged beyond saving in the 1985 earthquake the mural was moved to this purpose built museum.  Again it is a wonderful mural with a whole lot going on in it. 

We then took the subway to Coyoacan and walked over to the Coyoacan Market and then to the center of Coyoacan.  This is a quieter neighborhood with smaller homes. It was the neighborhood where Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo lived. It was also where Leon Trotsky lived and where he met his demise.

 

Trotsky's Office where he was killed

We walked through the beautiful neighborhood to the Leon Trotsky house and toured the interior.  After being refused entry to many countries he was given refuge in Mexico.  He lived in a fairly simple home with his wife and grandson, tended his pet rabbits and worked on his writings. The house was well fortified with guard towers and iron doors. He survived one assassination attempt, orchestrated by the muralist Siqueiros but the second one, the one with the ice axe into his head, did him in. He couldn't escape Stalin's reach and nor could the rest of his family. Most of his family were exterminated or imprisoned by Stalin. 

Frida's wheelchair and easel

Next we paid a visit to the Frida Kahlo Museum.  This is housed in the house where she grew up, lived with Diego and ultimately died.  It is a very popular museum.  I had purchased tickets a month or so earlier which was fortunate because when we arrived there were no tickets available for several weeks.  Frida must have been a force of nature with all she had to put up with - polio, a spine damaging accident, not to mention living with a womanizer like Diego. The museum is full of her possessions and paintings. It is quite colorful and it has a lovely garden. 

Frida's Garden

We walked back to the center of Coyoacan and Diana did a bit of shopping while I sat in the park and took in the local scenery. 

Jeannie, Me, Richard, Diana

In the evening we had dinner with Richard and Jeannie at a nice restaurant at the back of the cathedral, La Casa de las Sirenas. A great meal on the balcony overlooking the back of the cathedral. 

The Cathedral from the Hotel Bacony

After dinner we walked through the square and watched the indigenous folk perform their sage burning and drumming ceremonies.  We retired to the bar in the top of the Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico. The hotel, once a department store is quite a stained glass work of art and the view from the rooftop bar is wonderful. 

The next morning we had to leave after an all too short trip. We took a taxi, through surprisingly quiet streets, to the airport and we were on our way back to the US. We will be back I am sure.