Hi Everyone,

Keith is back to regale us with his stories from a trip to Mexico City. I got some feedback that you all would like places mentioned in the article to be linked for more info, so we’re including that in the Hello From segments from now on. Enjoy!

xx
Savannah

I had just finished a prayer at the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral when I noticed every other person in the building run for the exit. Thinking I’ve angered God, I stood still for a second until the alarms rang; then Luke and I followed the crowd. When we got outside, we saw people crying, men prayed and old women burned incense. We are scared and wondered what could happen. Then we looked at the buildings across from us swaying. Earthquake. A sigh of relief, a look around to see no damages and then a beeline for the Cantina to celebrate surviving another day. My friend Luke Proctor, an officer in the US army, and I took a long weekend to explore Mexico City – formerly called the “DF” and now known as “CDMX”. It’s only a 3.5 hour flight from my adopted home city of Los Angeles and it’s relatively cheap. We grabbed an Airbnb in Colonia Juarez and set out exploring. It was our first night when the earthquake struck, and that set the tone for the entire weekend.

Mexico City cantinas are rowdy places. Most are slightly run down and patronized only by men. “A shot of Mezcal please, extra worm salt!” I yell to the short, dark skinned man behind the bar at La Opera. This is one of the oldest Cantinas in Mexico City, and only a couple of blocks from the Zocalo. In the ceiling 50 feet away is a bullet hole – shot by Pancho Villa “accidentally” over 100 years ago.  The thought of discharging a gun at a bar in 2018 is terrifying; but with 100 years between us and the incident, it’s a funny story. We have a lovely lunch of snails and octopus, trucked in from the Gulf of California daily and expertly seasoned with local spices. Other cantinas are more low key – the same mezcal and worm salt; minus the history and fresh seafood. Either way, the vibe is enough to make you forget your troubles.

We next hit the Zocalo – the main square. We saw the cathedral, the Aztec ruins of the Templo Mayor and enormous murals painted by Diego Rivera, which depict various periods in Mexico’s history. We had dinner at Café de Tacuba; which was a beautiful “old Mexico” venue.

Chilangos (as CDMX inhabitants are called) love to drink. The second night, Luke and I went out in Polanco, the upscale district in the Miguel Hidalgo borough, and linked up with some friends of mine who were celebrating a birthday. They ordered bottle service of high end tequila in one of the clubs. Clubs in Mexico City remind me more of those in Europe than those in the US. We all went out for late night tacos al pastor at El Chupacabra in the southern part of town.

As one would think, Mexico City is the world capital of tacos. One can get excellent examples on the street for around 50 cents. Tacos guisado refers to tortillas topped with a pre-cooked filling, usually some sort of stew akin to empanadas in destinations further south. Also famous are tacos al pastor – pork cooked on a rotating trompo. Cheapest and more typical amongst chilangos, I’ve been assured by a local friend, is a simple bean taco.

The ruins of Teotihuacan – a UNESCO World Heritage site – are very impressive. One has to drive through the whole city to get there. This gave me a sense of just how big Mexico City is, and you see the less touristy parts of town, including the barrios, where many chilangos live in poverty.. Many think these are Aztec ruins; but they are actually much older; built thousands of years ago. There are three pyramids, the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. The Pyramid of the Sun was actually to be larger; except the Mexican President Porfirio Diaz ordered the top of it dynamited to finish the excavation early.

The next day, Luke and I went to La Merced market, in a more working class area of CDMX. The market was kind of like purgatory. You walk endlessly among things (garlic, peppers, underwear, socks) that you don’t really want; but there is some impetus to keep walking regardless. We had a great lunch at Don Chon nearby that served the “Pre-Colombian” fare of the region. We were eating escamoles (ant eggs), chapulines (grasshoppers), jumiles (stinkbugs) and meat of undetermined origin all afternoon.

We then checked out a pulqueria, which serves pulque – an alcoholic drink made by fermenting the sap of the agave plant. This is much thicker and harder to drink than tequila or mezcal which are made from fermenting the heart of the agave. Some report that it makes one hallucinate; but Luke and I drank it all day with no such effects.

We wake up and the lights are way too bright and my head hurts, so Luke and I decide to catch a Lucha Libre match. This is a classic display of Mexican machismo culture. Wrestlers don various personas and proceed to fight in the ring. There are pretty boys, clumsy comic-relief figured and mysterious villains. Scantily clad cheerleaders mark the start of every round; and there’s even an all-female match. It’s a great way to kill an afternoon and to wrap up our trip. We leave for the airport with a new appreciation for Mexican culture and cuisine and can’t wait until we’ll be stepping back into the City of Hope.