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Post by nycgirl on Mar 6, 2023 9:10:08 GMT
I just got back from a wonderful week in Mexico City. I went with my husband, my 7-year-old daughter, and my sister-in-law, my brother-in-law, and his wife. It was my first trip to Mexico. I'm kind of surprised that, although I've been to about 20 countries, I had not yet visited our southern neighbor; I've always wanted to but plans never materialized, for some reason. But when my brother-in-law and his wife invited us along, I jumped at the chance. Once I arrived, I was immediately smitten. We rented a cozy AirBnb in the trendy, tree-lined neighborhood of La Condesa. The neighborhood was mostly developed in the 1920s on land that was part of the sprawling hacienda owned by the Condesa (countess) de Miravelle. Today, it's home to many restaurants, cafes, bars, boutiques, and art galleries. Here we are walking through the lovely Parque Mexico. Once a jockey club surrounded by a horse racing track, Parque Mexico is now an oasis of palm trees and cypresses.
Fuente de los Cántaros (Fountain of the Jugs) is a fountain that features a scuplture modeled from an indigenous Nahua woman named Luz Jiménez. She worked as a model for Diego Rivera on several ocassions, and also served as an linguistic informant to linguists working to document the Nahuatl language.
Within the park is an outdoor theater, Foro Lindbergh, which is a top-notch people-watching spot. In just a few minutes you can see a lively congregation of kick-boxers, skateboarders and roller-skaters, and salsa dancers.
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Post by onlyMark on Mar 6, 2023 9:50:33 GMT
This looks all clean, neat and tidy. Lovely. Where do I sign up for the dancing lessons?
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 6, 2023 11:06:51 GMT
Another welcome relief from winter!
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 7, 2023 0:49:39 GMT
I was pleasantly surprised at how clean Mexico City was, at least the areas I visited. It takes a lot of labor to maintain a city that size. I didn't see one rat the whole week, whereas I saw a huge rat almost immediately upon returning to NYC. The weather was my favorite kind, sunny and nearly 80 degrees.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 7, 2023 16:59:15 GMT
NYCGirl, I am beyond thrilled to see you here and of course that you made this wonderful report. I always knew you'd be a natural for Mexico & so it was ~ great! Condesa was a great choice & a vacation spot to which I aspire. It's held on to its reputation as the place to be for a long time & your pictures & videos show why. Did you know that it has its own quite excellent gins, created by a woman master distiller? www.condesagin.com/Mexico City, despite its great size, is astounding in how leafy green it is, with trees on even the most trafficky streets. As always, I love your pictures and descriptions. Have to say that I'm amazed by NYCBaby's non-babyhood ~ time passes!
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 9, 2023 11:38:46 GMT
Thank you, glad to be back! I had some tasty gin cocktails while I was there (I think gin is such a great drink for warm weather), but I don't remember the names. Wish I knew about Condesa Gin earlier, always happy to support women artisans. I can hardly believe my baby isn't a baby. It goes by too fast.
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 9, 2023 11:42:52 GMT
For lunch, I had tacos, the first of many on this trip. These ones were marinated octopus. Fortunately, my daughter wasn't too picky an eater most of the time. Here she had deep fried quesadillas. I also let her get a chocolate cake a la mode.
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Post by onlyMark on Mar 9, 2023 12:32:48 GMT
I wouldn't go for the octopus but certainly the other stuff, especially the desserts.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 9, 2023 13:24:53 GMT
Great pictures and good to see you back!
Babies have a bad habit of growing up. My baby grandson is 24 next month....
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 9, 2023 13:57:59 GMT
I octopus looked best to me. I might remove the avocado to eat separately.
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 9, 2023 18:40:01 GMT
Next we headed to Paseo de la Reforma, a grand thoroughfare modeled after European boulevards, such as the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Maximilian I, installed as emperor by France, commissioned it as a route connecting his residence in Chapultepec Castle to the National Palace in the city center, where he conducted his governmental affairs. At the time, the road was named Paseo de la Emperatriz in honor of his wife, Empress Carlota. After Maximilian's brief reign ended fatally (more on that later), the road was renamed Paseo de la Reforma in honor of the reforms carried out by President Benito Juárez. We went on a Sunday, when La Reforma is closed to vehicular traffic. There were pedestrians, bicyclists, and skaters out in full force, enjoying the beautiful day. When President Porfirio Diaz came into power, he got to work embellishing La Reforma. The Angel of Independence was inaugurated in 1910 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the war for independence. The angel is made of bronze covered with 24k gold and weighs seven tons. In her right hand she holds a laurel crown symbolically above Miguel Hidalgo's head, symbolizing Victory, while in her left she holds a broken chain, symbolizing Freedom. In 1925, the remains of 14 Heroes of the Mexican Independence (13 men and one woman) were interred in a mausoleum at the base of the monument. It is open to the public for visits, as is the 14-story tower.
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Post by lugg on Mar 9, 2023 19:17:11 GMT
Great to see you posting again NYCgirl. Your daughter is gorgeous of course. Great photos and commentary ..looking forward to more
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 9, 2023 20:46:43 GMT
Thank you! My daughter's becomes quite opinionated and doesn't like taking photos lately. I have to bribe her now.
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 9, 2023 21:16:32 GMT
La Reforma on Sundays has a bustling, convivial atmosphere, with music, outdoor Zumba classes, and vendors hawking their goods. Lots of photo ops, too. In 2021, 14 statues of women were installed in a section named Paseo de las Heroínas (Heroines Boulevard). Diana Cazadora (Diana the Huntress), created in 1942, came under fire from a conservative society called the League of Decency. The artist was forced to add bronze underwear to the statue. Ahead of the 1968 Olympics, it was decided to removed the underwear, and Diana now looks the way the artist intended.
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Post by bjd on Mar 10, 2023 6:54:21 GMT
As though Diana the Huntress would have been roaming the woods stark naked or in her underwear. Just like in comic books or superhero movies, the men all have some protective clothing and the women are in weird bikinis during battle.
Rant over -- I am enjoying your photos, NYCgirl. Nice to see you back.
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 10, 2023 21:07:33 GMT
Thanks, it's good to be back.
To be fair, I have seen a good amount of nude or nearly-nude male statuary. I remember taking my daughter to the Ancient Greece wing of the Met when she was a toddler. She giggled and said "He have a leaf on da pee pee! Dat's silly!" It is, indeed.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 11, 2023 23:05:18 GMT
Diana in underwear sounds like a Maidenform Bra ad from the 1960s. You are too young to have known that, thank god.
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Post by mich64 on Mar 11, 2023 23:18:27 GMT
Loving your photos and enjoying another Mexico report! The weather looks amazing. I cannot believe your daughter is already 7!
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 12, 2023 0:49:35 GMT
After taking a stroll on bustling La Reforma, we returned to charming Condesa. We took a break at our AirBnb and then headed out again. This time we visited Arena México, known as the "cathedral of lucha libre." Outside the arena, there are stands where you can buy colorful masks, capes, and other lucha memorabilia. "Lucha libre" (literally "free fight") is the name of freestyle professional wrestling in Latin America. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form of the genre, characterized by colorful masks and costumes, rapid sequences of maneuvers, and aerial stunts. In 2018, Lucha libre was declared by UNESCO to be an intangible cultural heritage of Mexico City. Sundays are "Family Night" at the arena, and my 7-year-old was not the youngest kid there. Not by a long shot.
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Post by fumobici on Mar 12, 2023 3:36:27 GMT
This is a stunning set of photos, thank you.
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 12, 2023 6:17:45 GMT
We had great seats, right next to aisle the luchadores walk before going into the ring. It was fun to see their dramatic entrances up close.
The fights are "fake" in the sense that they are staged performances with predetermined outcomes, but they are real in the sense that the luchadores are actually performing impressive feats in (and sometimes even outside) of the ring. A little bit about the luchadores: they are typically divided into two categories, rudos (the "bad guys," literally "tough guys"), who tend to play dirty, and técnicos (the "good guys," literally "technicians"), who play by the rules and perform moves that are more complex and spectacular. Técnicos tend to have formal combat styles, close to Greco-Roman wrestling and martial arts techniques, whereas rudos tend to be brawlers. This differs from U.S. professional wrestling, where many brawlers such as The Rock play "good guys."
The young guy in the green and his partner are clearly técnicos.
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 13, 2023 22:28:34 GMT
Lucha libre is a traditionally male-dominated sport, but there are female fighters, called luchadoras, who have carved successful careers for themselves. Women competed during the early years of lucha libre, but were banned in the 1950s, as they were seen as a threat to femininity. The ban was finally lifted in the late 1980s. We watched a rousing match that pitted two teams of three luchadoras against each other. You can probably guess which are the rudas who fight dirty. Ouch.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 14, 2023 9:26:06 GMT
Looks good entertainment!
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 16, 2023 17:42:26 GMT
A little history about the masks: legend has it that mask-wearing began in the 1930s when El Enmascarado, an American wrestler, came to America and was an immediate success. Since then, masks remain a vital part of the mystique of the luchadores. Like superheroes, many luchadores vigilantly guard their identities, even wearing the mask each time they are in public. El Santo, the most famous luchador in history, continued to wear his mask after retirement and was even buried wearing it. For máscara contra máscara (mask vs. mask) matches, fighters wager their masks and the loser is unmasked by the winner and never allowed to wear their mask in the ring again. It is a devastating loss that leads to a decrease in the fighter's popularity, thereby jeopardizing the their livelihood. Some, though, have managed to continue their career even after being unmasked, and some choose to go maskless from the very beginning. No high-stakes bout on our night, but I did notice they saved the best for last. The final team of técnicos was clearly made up of popular and highly skilled fighters. They showcased some of the best moves of the night and gave the rudos a sound beating. This was such a fun and unique experience. We even got to pose with some of the fighters. I felt like a kid again. The "bad guys" were actually pretty nice.
Speaking of nice guys, we chatted with a local seated behind us after the show and he was remarkably amiable, considering he had been shouting "Ch**** tu madre!" at the fighters just moments before. I guess the luchadores aren't the only ones who put on an aggressive performance. After the show, we had dinner (more tacos!) and called it a night. Whew, we really packed a lot into our first full day.
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Post by lugg on Mar 17, 2023 19:42:46 GMT
I really admired your images and will return to look at your videos.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Mar 17, 2023 22:00:15 GMT
I particularly like the tree pic in your first post in this thread nyctygirl. A captivating report. Nice to see you again
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 18, 2023 1:18:21 GMT
Thank you, it's good to be back!
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 21, 2023 4:45:22 GMT
On Day 2 in Mexico City, we rented a car and went on a day trip. Our visit to Mexico happened to be the ideal time of year to witness the site one of nature's most impressive migrations. Each fall, millions of monarch butterflies leave their summer breeding grounds in northeastern U.S. and Canada and travel up to 3,000 miles to central Mexico. Although monarchs usually live only 2 to 6 weeks, this migratory "super generation" can live up to 8 months. They shelter in the warmth of the Oyamel fir forests until March, when instinct tells them it's time to head north again. There are about a dozen monarch butterfly colonies in Mexico. We chose to visit the Piedra Herrada sanctuary, located only 2 hours from Mexico City. Once there, we joined a guided group (you're not allowed to go alone) and set off on a hike to the monarchs' wintering grounds. Now, as excited as I was, I must admit I struggled with the hike. I was still recovering from a bad cold that had me laid out only a few days before, I wasn't quite acclimated to the elevation change, and I felt a bit demoralized that everyone in the group quickly left me in the dust. Even my 7-year-old daughter was keeping a better pace. I decided to throw in the towel. I had my daughter run to catch up with the group and I turned around...
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Post by bjd on Mar 21, 2023 6:43:38 GMT
Perhaps you missed the hike, but there is an nice novel by Barbara Kingsolver about a woman who improves her life when she learns about the monarch butterfly migration: Flight Behavior.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 21, 2023 9:25:41 GMT
Oh that’s a shame. Nothing worse than being ill on holiday.
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