MY MEXICO CITY: Headline News

Recently, my friend Roberta was viewing the Mexico City marathon from her balcony in Polanco. She watched the runners, the cheering crowds, and a few folks dressed as clowns as they passed by. Wanting to share this simple pleasure of life outside her window, she sent an email with photos to several friends back in the States.

"A few wrote back really surprised," she told me. "Weren't you afraid something would happen, like a stray bullet hitting you or a bomb exploding?" one of them wrote. "They don't expect anything normal like a marathon to be going on in Mexico City."

Hearing this story reminded me, once again, of the skewed impression many people get of life here in Mexico City by reading and watching the news. News media feed on the sensational. A headline that shrieks about eight decapitated bodies found in a cantina makes more compelling copy than one that describes several thousand people running 26 miles with their heads attached.

But the truth for me and Roberta is that life in our big city is much more peaceful, pleasant, and just plain normal than what the media suggests. So I thought to myself, "Hey, I worked for a newspaper once. I'll just go out and find some headlines myself, normal headlines about my Mexico City."

The sun finally made an appearance today, so I set out with my camera (carefully hidden in a plain bag, along with my journalistic license) to see what I could find. I recorded all of what follows within a few blocks of my home in Colonia Condesa. If you see any more good headline news out there, let me know!

TWO WOMEN PUSH STROLLERS ACROSS STREET--ALL FIVE LIVE!

"It was quite an ordeal, but we're much better now," said Leticia Burbujas, 32, one of the survivors. "The kids are so young they probably won't remember it."

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PHONY BAGELS FOUND IN CONDESA GOURMET SHOP

"They're awful," says ex-New Yorker and long time Mexico City resident, accountant Moishe Pipkin, 53. "Soft and spongy--these people don't know from bagels."...

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CLOCK IN PUBLIC PARK TELLS CORRECT TIME

For more than a year now this clock in Parque Mexico has been giving the right time, and neighbors are not happy about it. "How can I explain that I'm an hour late when I have that thing staring at me," complained dental assistant Marta Pantorrilla, 39...

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AMID SWIRLING TRAFFIC, SEXY STATUE IS IGNORED

"It's disgusting," complained Evelyn Wright, 61, formerly of Boston, whose living room window has a view of the statue. "There are naked statues all over Colonia Roma. This one has a penis! Not as big as that David statue in the Plaza Rio de Janiero, but it still isn't right! These Mexicans just don't care!"...

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BLONDE FOREIGNERS DRINK FRESHLY SQUEEZED ORANGE JUICE

When asked their names the two fled, but Ciro Sanchez, 16, who was squeezing oranges at the time, had the story. "They were very concerned that I not put ice in their drinks," he noted. "But they seemed happy. One of them told me, 'This tastes just like orange juice--only better'"...