SOCIAL MEDIA

 The last two years of the pandemic have not inspired me to blog. But I continue to post on Facebook (MEXICO CITY: AN OPINIONATED GUIDE) and Instagram (MYMEXICOCITY). 

See you there!

'DREAM HOUSE' TOUR OF COLONIA CONDESA

I'm pleased to announce my latest venture, MEXICO CITY WALKING TOURS.

The first tour I've designed is of Colonia Condesa, the area I've called home for almost twenty years. "Dream Houses of Condesa" takes you on a labyrinthine journey through the streets, parks and plazas of Mexico City's most charming neighborhood. The concept of the tour is based on my two decades of wandering around, looking up, and saying "Ooh, wouldn't it be nice to live there!"--my dream houses. I'll also show you favorite shopping and dining options, and hope to compart a sense of daily life in this eclectic Colonia  For more information, please click the link below. 

                http://mexicocitywalkingtours.com

 

CLOCK IN PARQUE MEXICO HAS CORRECT TIME

 

(Note: The day after I wrote this blog post there was a huge spike in Covid cases in Mexico. So who knows what the hell is going on? In keeping with the weather here the past months, the following should be considered as a rare moment of sunlight.) 

Ready or not, Mexico City is roaring back to life. My dog Lucy and I just went for a walk in Parque México where the scene was livelier than ever. The balloon man and the cotton candy vendor were there, along with the camote vendor with his horror-movie whistle, the shoe shine boy, and the flower guy with his overflowing pushcart. There was a large group doing zumba on one side of Foro Lindberg, the broad open-air central area where skateboarders, frisbee tossers and and soccer dudes juggle for space. On the other side, underneath an arcade of magenta bougainvillea, a romantic private dance class was in progress, and a string quartet was playing Mozart. At El Moro, a long line of people eagerly awaited their churros y chocolate--everyone wearing a mask, as were a majority of the people in the park. And the clock--a gift from Armenian immigrants in 1930--tells the correct time for the first time since the pandemic began. 

For me, the pandemic began on March 17, 2020, the day I left Mexico City for a stay in the country that I thought might extend as long as a month. Fifteen months later I finally made it back, during which time I changed, my life changed, the world changed--and I stopped blogging. But something in the air today--or was it that clock?--told me it was time to start moving forward, after 'the long pause' of these past many months. My love for Mexico City is undiminished, perhaps it has even grown, with a sense of tenderness for all that suffering endured. I plan to update my guidebook. I'll report on the battle scars, as well as find out what's new and blossoming--there's a palpable sense of energy emerging in Mexico City right now. The New Roaring Twenties are here. Stay tuned. Jim J.

TREES IN MEXICO CITY

After reading Richard Power's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, 'The Overstory', everyone in my book club started looking at trees differently--they've been here so much longer than any of us And now with the corona virus lurking, the fragility of the human race is more and more apparent. 

Everything I read about the virus affirms that isolation/quarantine is the best way to go. But my dog, Lucy, could care less about such things, and drags me to the park several times a day. Early morning, and during the week it is fairly empty, making it a perfect escape from home. But don't touch anything--and wash your hands when you get home! Below, some photos of Parque México in Colonia Condesa. 

HOME

I'm still walking around in a fog of jet lag after two months in India. It's one of my favorite travel moments, when I can enjoy the comforts of home, but in that altered state where everything surprises. Mexico City looks seems so clean, so quiet, so orderly. But there are hints of India everywhere, like when the afternoon sun lit up all these signs at once.

Strolling around Colonia Roma

There's a lot of visual stimulation in Mexico City. This show in Colonia Roma stopped my in my tracks. The show, titled 'Headphones', is the work of Mexican artist Omar Zurita. Catch it at KlanDestina Gallery, Campeche 151 (near the Mercado Medellín)

https://www.galeriaklandestina.com/exposiciones/

Colonia Condesa

    I was out for a Sunday stroll when this caught my eye..

They keep coming down! Another building damaged in the earthquake of September 19, 2017 is being demolished. We live with the rubble, we live with the uncertainty that the ground beneath our feet can move at any time. 

Architecture fans alert!

    (Edificio Gaona on Bucarelli)

OPEN HOUSE CDMX, a festival of Mexico City architecture, will take place this weekend, September 28 and 29.  More than 80 venues--many never before accessible--will be open to the public. You can see the works of some of Mexico City's most famous architects.

For more information, click the link below:

https://ohcdmx.org

MALINALCO--Mexico's Shangri-La

One way to deal with the craziness of living in Mexico City is to escape to the country once in a while, and my favorite place to go is Malinalco, a magical spot hidden in the mountains of the Estado de Mexico.

The Aztec goddess Malinalxóchitl thought the place magical enough to call it home, and the Mexican government officially endorsed her opinion when it included Malinalco in its Pueblos Mágicos program, which protects and promotes small town culture.

“I knew it was magical the first time I saw it more than 20 years ago,” said Adriana Pérez de Legaspi, one of a small group of Mexico City residents who have weekend homes here, and who offers tours and cooking classes in ‘pre-Hispanic gastronomy’.  “There’s a feeling of something ancient here, something secure and grounded. ” 

Located 110 km (65 miles) southwest of Mexico City, Malinalco feels like another world. It’s nestled in a lush, semi-tropical valley where flowering shrubs, tumbling vines, banana and palm trees grow in jungle-like abundance, and undulating mountains frame every vista.  Adobe houses with red-tiled roofs and painted stucco walls line the streets around the main plaza; an Aztec shrine, carved into the hillside, presides over the valley.

The division between town and country is blurred here. There’s only one asphalt road, bisecting the town east to west.  Other streets are of cobbled stone, fading off into well-trodden dirt pathways, old creek beds, and winding animal tracks.

Exploring the hills around the town you’ll find rock carvings and paintings that date back to 600 B.C.  When the Aztecs showed up in the 1400’s they built a ceremonial site known as the Cerro de los Idolos (Hill of the Idols).  A zigzag staircase of 427 steps leads to the site, where priests once offered sacrifices to the Aztec gods (closed Mondays).

Down below, just off the main plaza, is another sacred spot, the imposing Church of the Divine Savior, founded by Augustinian monks in 1543. The adjacent cloister is painted with murals depicting local flora and fauna, a mix of indigenous and Spanish artistic influences.

In the market, women with long braids and carefully ironed aprons sell hand-made tortillas and fresh cheese wrapped in cornhusks.  The produce spread out for sale looks pre-historic:  edible, scarlet colorín flowers, pink guavas, granadas chinas (the fruit of the passionflower), wild blue mushrooms, and guajes, wrinkly green pods whose seeds are used to flavor tacos and guacamole.

Several street food stalls stand against the high stone walls of the church yard.  Locals and tourists alike line up for specialties like tacos of cecina adobada (dried, spiced beef) or tlacoyos de haba (oblong corn cakes filled with fava beans).  The enchiladas verdes I ate at one stand were the best I’ve had in Mexico. The ice cream at Malinalli, across the plaza, is made with those exotic fruits you saw in the market like mamey, zapote, or guanábana.  There are several 'nice' restaurants, too, like Los Placeres on the plaza across from the church, which has great food and atmosphere. The local tamales, sold from baskets by women in the market, are flat--they look like they've been run over by a truck--but are delicious. 

Malinalco, whose population is around 7000, is primarily a town of agricultural workers, but it’s been a getaway for privileged city residents for decades--in a flea market in Mexico City I found a travel magazine from 1948 with a cover story on Malinalco. Smaller and less developed than weekend retreats like Valle de Bravo and Tepotzlán, it has a few high-end hotels, a handful of good restaurants, two art galleries, and a private golf community. At the elegant Ollinyotl holistic center (https://www.ollinyotl.com.mx) you can get a massage, take a yoga class, or wander in their meditation labyrinth.

Politicians, corporate executives, a museum director and even the grandson of Diego Rivera have homes here. But most of the wealth is discretely hidden behind high, bougainvillea-clad walls, and on the roads around town you’re more likely to encounter a stray cow or a herd of sheep than a Mercedes Benz.

“It’s Mexico’s best kept secret, “ says Ada Marie King, a travel consultant, who along with her architect husband, Lynn Wallach, were among the first foreigners to buy property here.  “Mexicans have heard about the town, but the lousy roads keep people away.”  Indeed, my arrival by car felt a bit like slalom skiing as I swerved frequently to avoid big potholes. But the difficulty in getting there heightens the pleasure of arrival.

Like the mythical Shangri-La, Malinalco seems to exist in another time. Although you are able to connect to the internet and find a decent cappuccino, it’s the feeling that nothing has changed for centuries that makes this place truly magical. 

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TRAVEL TIPS:

By car from Mexico City, head toward Toluca (toll road), exit at km 32 (toward Chalma), then follow signs to Malinalco (MX15 is the road number).

By bus from Terminal Observatorio, there are a few direct, second-class buses in the afternoon.  Otherwise take a bus to Chalma (they leave every 30 minutes) and then a taxi (40 pesos) to Malinalco, 10 km away. Look for the Aguila Bus Line. 

There is a kiosk in the main plaza where you can get tourist information.

Holistic Spa: http://www.ollinyotl.com/malinalco.html

Pre-Hispanic Gastronomy Tours: https://www.facebook.com/adrianaperezdelegaspi

Hand woven rebozos: http://xoxopastli.blogspot.com/

Wednesday is market day when the streets fill with vendors of everything from avocados to zippers—lively and fun.

August 6^th is the Feast of San Salvador, the town’s biggest fiesta. There's lots going on during the week leading up to that date.
Airbnb.com offers a number of houses in Malinalco,

View of the vally of Malinalco

Hand-woven mats sold in the market

Sidewalk view in La Condesa

Colonia Roma

I thought this photo--taken down the block from where I work--sums up a lot about Roma. It's a fabulous hodge-podge.

CDMX: On the street in Colonia Roma

A recent addition to the streets of Colonia Roma are these murals surrounding a parking lot at the confounding intersection of Insurgentes, Yucatan and Medellin (right across from the Hotel Roosevelt). Most of them are on Yucatan, a street that gets little pedestrian traffic. Dedicated to migrants, the scenes of horror outweigh those of joy. It's pretty powerful street art--take a look. 

Centro Histórico CDMX

Scissors for sale in the Centro Histórico of Mexico City