Corn And Tequila.
Friday, October 14, 2011, 21:33
On a crisp October evening, families crowd the Zócalo to look at tombstones. Rows of these mock monuments stand on a carpet of colored sawdust strewn with marigolds and painted skulls.
French poet André Breton famously called Mexico the surrealist country par excellence, and the capital seems to revel in its strangeness. The world’s third largest urban area (by some estimates) fills a highland basin 2240m above sea level, so you might already feel a bit light-headed upon arrival. Often described as a malevolent maelstrom of unbreathable air and rampant crime, the city nevertheless impresses visitors as a wonderfully weird and welcoming world, and captivates them with its year-round springlike climate, bubbling street life and abundant cultural offerings.
Like any great metropolis, Mexico City presents a mosaic of scenes. One moment you’re knocking back tequila at a grand old cantina, the next you’re grooving to world-class DJs on a rooftop terrace. Breakfast on tamales and atole (a drink made from corn) from a street corner vendor, dine on fusion cuisine by one of Polanco’s acclaimed chefs. After an afternoon spent sharing the anguish of artist Frida Kahlo, watch masked wrestlers inflict pain on one another at the lucha libre (wrestling) arena downtown. To be sure pollution and crime remain real concerns for Chilangos, but since the turn of the millennium, there’s been a palpable sense that the capital has turned a page. Rather than heading for the apocalypse, it now seems destined for a renaissance.
Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico
Stone sculpture at the El Palacio, where archeologists and astronomers believe that the tower was constructed so that Mayan royalty and the priest class could observe the sun falling directly into the Templo de los Inscripciones during the northern winter solstice - Palenque, Chiapas.
Copper Canyon, Mexico
Overhead of Satevo mission church, Copper Canyon.
Ensenada, Mexico
Small country church near Ensenada.
Sierra de la Giganta, Mexico
Mision San Luis Gonzaga, Sierra de la Giganta.
Zócalo, Mexico City
Metropolitan Cathedral (Cathedral Metropolitana) from Zocalo.
Zócalo, Mexico City
Overhead of ceremonial lowering of Mexican flag in the Zócalo (main city square), Mexico City.
Aztecs, Mexico
Conchero dancer (Aztecs) with feathers and shells.
Shaman, Mexico City
Shaman treats two visitors to Mexico City.
Basilica de Guadalupe, Mexico City
Native dancers from Tlaxcala, dressed in ribboned headwear, performing outside Basilica de Guadalupe.
From Lonely Planet.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mexico/mexico-city
French poet André Breton famously called Mexico the surrealist country par excellence, and the capital seems to revel in its strangeness. The world’s third largest urban area (by some estimates) fills a highland basin 2240m above sea level, so you might already feel a bit light-headed upon arrival. Often described as a malevolent maelstrom of unbreathable air and rampant crime, the city nevertheless impresses visitors as a wonderfully weird and welcoming world, and captivates them with its year-round springlike climate, bubbling street life and abundant cultural offerings.
Like any great metropolis, Mexico City presents a mosaic of scenes. One moment you’re knocking back tequila at a grand old cantina, the next you’re grooving to world-class DJs on a rooftop terrace. Breakfast on tamales and atole (a drink made from corn) from a street corner vendor, dine on fusion cuisine by one of Polanco’s acclaimed chefs. After an afternoon spent sharing the anguish of artist Frida Kahlo, watch masked wrestlers inflict pain on one another at the lucha libre (wrestling) arena downtown. To be sure pollution and crime remain real concerns for Chilangos, but since the turn of the millennium, there’s been a palpable sense that the capital has turned a page. Rather than heading for the apocalypse, it now seems destined for a renaissance.
Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico
Stone sculpture at the El Palacio, where archeologists and astronomers believe that the tower was constructed so that Mayan royalty and the priest class could observe the sun falling directly into the Templo de los Inscripciones during the northern winter solstice - Palenque, Chiapas.
Copper Canyon, Mexico
Overhead of Satevo mission church, Copper Canyon.
Ensenada, Mexico
Small country church near Ensenada.
Sierra de la Giganta, Mexico
Mision San Luis Gonzaga, Sierra de la Giganta.
Zócalo, Mexico City
Metropolitan Cathedral (Cathedral Metropolitana) from Zocalo.
Zócalo, Mexico City
Overhead of ceremonial lowering of Mexican flag in the Zócalo (main city square), Mexico City.
Aztecs, Mexico
Conchero dancer (Aztecs) with feathers and shells.
Shaman, Mexico City
Shaman treats two visitors to Mexico City.
Basilica de Guadalupe, Mexico City
Native dancers from Tlaxcala, dressed in ribboned headwear, performing outside Basilica de Guadalupe.
From Lonely Planet.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mexico/mexico-city
