Doing Mexico Properly, Pt. 2: Mexico City
Much like most of the previous post on this Mexico trip, due to a very heavy schedule this too is being pieced together several months after the actual trip by looking at photos, but mainly from Anna also recalling what we did and how it all happened.
Friday, June 21, 2024
We had spent the past week living it up in San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato, but the bulk of Friday during the day was quite uneventful, mainly because we had to take a more than three-hour car ride from our hotel in Guanajuato to Cuauhtémoc, the borough in which we would be spending the first couple of nights in Mexico City:
Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. Mexico City is one of the most important cultural and financial centers in the world. It is located in the Valley of Mexico within the high Mexican central plateau, at an altitude of 2,240 meters (7,350 ft). The city has 16 boroughs or demarcaciones territoriales, which are in turn divided into neighborhoods or colonias.
The 2020 population for the city proper was 9,209,944, with a land area of 1,495 square kilometres (577 sq mi). According to the most recent definition agreed upon by the federal and state governments, the population of Greater Mexico City is 21,804,515, which makes it the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the world, the second-largest urban agglomeration in the Western Hemisphere(behind São Paulo, Brazil), and the largest Spanish-speaking city (city proper) in the world.
As for Cuauhtémoc:
Cuauhtémoc, named after the former Aztec Ruler Tlahtoani, is a borough (demarcación territorial) of Mexico City. It contains the oldest parts of the city, extending over what was the entire urban core of Mexico City in the 1920s.
Cuauhtémoc is the historic and cultural center of the Capital, although it is not the geographical center. While it ranks only sixth in population, it generates about a third of the entire city’s GDP, mostly through commerce and services.
It was 6:00pm when we arrived at our hotel, but that wasn’t an issue, because we were also in an enormous city so there would definitely be somewhere to play on a Friday night. We climbed up the death stairs to the hotel lobby, checked in and then hit the town and looked around for somewhere for dinner while taking in the beautiful, yet bizarre architecture, a trip that lead us to El Califa. Sure, the bulk of the food options were tacos again, but the sheer amount of different ones here is mind-blowing and they’re all great so that didn’t bother us, but of course we had to add a couple of proper dishes as well. When dinner was done we walked past the many murals in this area of the city and settled into a good spot to close out the night.
Our hotel and first night in Mexico City:
Saturday, June 22, 2024
We had a few plans for the day and the first was to get outside and check this town out and that involved taking in all of the colonial-era and art-deco architecture as we jumped from vintage store to vintage store, something Cuauhtémoc has in abundance. Anna also found some local designers she liked, and both of us stumbled upon some other pretty cool stuff along the way.
Take a quick stroll around our ‘hood:
It was a Saturday night and there was only one way we, or maybe just I, wanted to spend it in Mexico City — Lucha Libre!:
Lucha libre, meaning “freestyle wrestling” or literally translated as “free fight”, is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form of the genre, characterized by colorful masks, rapid sequences of holds and maneuvers, and “high-flying” maneuvers, some of which have been adopted in the United States, Japan, and elsewhere. The wearing of masks has developed special significance, and matches are sometimes contested in which the loser must permanently remove his mask, which is a wager with a high degree of weight attached. Tag teamwrestling is especially prevalent in lucha libre, particularly matches with three-member teams, called trios.
Lucha libre wrestlers are known as luchadores (singular luchador) and often come from extended wrestling families who form their own stables. One such line integrated to the United States professional wrestling scene is the Los Guerreros.
In 2018, Mexican lucha libre was declared an intangible cultural heritage of Mexico City.
We met up with a friend of ours and Anna’s fellow ophthalmology conference attendee, ZhuLi, and headed down to the Mercado San Camilito, a market near the wrestling arena with plenty of places to eat. Here we would meet with some others who would be attending the matches, as well as the person who had organised our tickets, grab something to eat while a small band spontaneously broke out yet again, and then walk to Arena Coliseo to attend the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) event.
The event we would be attending
Each of us was handed a luchadors mask to wear, me getting the lamest one, however, these were also handed out with disposable ponchos, because it was now beginning to rain heavily, but we didn’t mind, we made it there fine, grabbed a beer, and settled in for some action:
Up first was an undercard a six man tag team match of dwarves and midgets, Los Micro Malditos (Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II and Micro Sagrado) versus Atomo, Chamuel and KeMalito. It might sound amusing to some, discriminatory to others, but these little guys were really good! Los Micros Malditos came out on top, but seriously, check out the brief video after the photos:
Next up was a men’s best two out of three falls six man tag team match where Vegas, Dark Magic and Espanto Jr. defeated Arkalis, Pegasso and Stigma, followed by Tessa Blanchard, Skadi and Kira beating Stephanie Vaquer, Reyna Isis and Hera in a women’s matchup in the same format. By this stage more people had arrived and it was during the women’s match that I tried to get my wallet out of my side pocket to buy another drink, only for my AirPods to come out with it and drop to the ground, the case opening and one bouncing into the beer I had sitting beside me. I couldn’t care less though, I was having a great night!
The men’s and women’s matches:
It was now that things began to get interesting. The next fight was the first one-on-one matchup of the night, a 10-minute lightening match between Ángel de Oro and Rocky Romero that ended in a draw, followed by another more interesting one consisting of a caucasian wrestler, Zack Sabre Jr. going up against a Mexican, Hechicero, in a best two out of three falls match. I was one of very few white guys in the arena that night and there was a young boy next to me who was probably a little too invested in his local hero, to the point where periodically he would get so excited that he would turn around and pretend to punch me repeatedly in the head! Fortunately for me Hechicero won and all seemed to be forgiven.
The kid who wanted me dead and a few shots from the second men’s match:
There was a brief break and then it was time for the main event. It would be a CMLL and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) crossover best two out of three falls tag team match, Místico and Taiji Ishimori against Hiromu Takahashi & Volador Jr. as part of Místico’s 20th anniversary of being in the ring. I filmed the entire match so I won’t give the result away, just watch it here:
Naturally after the wrestling we stopped for a nightcap and some snacks, looking back on what had been an awesome night and me finally getting to wear one of the good masks while Anna patted some random bulldogs:
Sunday, June 23, 2024
Saturday night had been a blast and Sunday afternoon was going to be a different kind of fun, we’d be going to visit the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, as well as the Quetzalpapálotl complex among other sites. ZhuLi would be coming with us and Anna had arranged for a private driver whom we had to meet in the central area of the city. As we were walking to Centro and once we had eventually reached our destination it struck us how really clean the areas of Mexico City that we had visited are. Obviously it’s not all going to be like this, but in the Centro area there wasn’t a scrap of paper or plastic bottle on the ground, yet barely a bin in sight either. Looking around this part of the city was interesting enough, once again taking in the architecture while traditional performances and rituals took place all around as the three of us waited in the city square beneath one of the largest flags I have ever seen in my life:
It didn’t take long for our guide through the pyramids to arrive, a hilarious woman in her 60s who at one point when she found out that Anna and ZhuLi were colleagues, looked at me and said that she had just assumed I was a mormon and that they were both my wives. This definitely made the trip more fun as we took the short drive to Teotihuacan:
Teotihuacan is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, 40 kilometers (25 mi) northeast of modern-day Mexico City.
Teotihuacan is known today as the site of many of the most architecturally significant Mesoamerican pyramids built in the pre-Columbian Americas, namely the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. Although close to Mexico City, Teotihuacan was not a Mexica (i.e. Aztec) city, and it predates the Mexica Empire by many centuries. At its zenith, perhaps in the first half of the first millennium (1 CE to 500 CE), Teotihuacan was the largest city in the Americas, with a population of at least 25,000, but has been estimated at 125,000 or more, making it at least the sixth-largest city in the world during its epoch.
The city covered eight square miles (21 km2) and 80 to 90 percent of the total population of the valley resided in Teotihuacan. Apart from the pyramids, Teotihuacan is also anthropologically significant for its complex, multi-family residential compounds, the Avenue of the Dead, and its vibrant, well-preserved murals.
We’d be taking in everything that afternoon, but when we arrived there was a familiar foe found in these types of places; countless people either with stalls set up or just following us around, constantly hassling us to buy souvenirs. The ones that are the worst, however, are those that target families in order to sell extremely noisy pieces to children, in this case a wooden device which when blown into apparently replicates the sound of a howler monkey. Sundays are usually crowded with families at tourist attractions, everyone knows that, but we’d be trying to explore this historically significant site while some bored, uninterested turd blew into one of these things as loudly as possible every few seconds, but we’d somehow manage to block it out.
Our first stop would be Quetzalpapálotl:
The Quetzalpapálotl complex are ruins located in Teotihuacán. The complex is best known for the Palace of Quetzalpapálotl and the stone reliefs in its courtyard. Adjacent structures house surviving murals. The main entrance faces the Avenue of the Dead and is southwest of the Pyramid of the Moon.
The existing structures were built around 450 to 500 AD. These buildings were built over earlier structures from around 250 to 300 AD. Due to the location of the palace and the quality of its art, it is thought the complex was home to a high ranking priest or other dignitary. The complex may have also been used for ceremonial purposes. The name Quetzalpapálotl comes from the reliefs of mythological birds on the courtyard pillars and is from Nahuatl quetzalli, precious feather, and pāpālōtl, butterfly.
We first looked around the ruins of some buildings, doing our best to ignore the sound of the children before walking past some temples and then indoors for the murals. We had been told that these murals were impressive and even though a few had been restored over the years, we still weren’t prepared for how incredibly well preserved some of them were, I think they were in better condition than the paint in our apartment four years after we had moved in! We also saw what appeared to be some ancient bathroom facilities before arriving at the Courtyard of the Palacio de Quetzalpapalotl.
Some of the highlights thus far, there were more than a few:
We had seen the murals, now it was time once more to go outside, tune out the children, and wander down the Avenue of the Dead to look at the pyramids at each end, first a structure near the Pyramid of the Moon:
The Pyramid of the Moon is the second-largest pyramid in Mesoamerica, after the Pyramid of the Sun, and located in modern-day San Martín de las Pirámides, Mexico. It is found in the western part of the ancient city of Teotihuacan and mimics the contours of the mountain Cerro Gordo, just north of the site. Cerro Gordo may have been called Tenan, which in Nahuatl, means “mother or protective stone”. The Pyramid of the Moon covers a structure older than the Pyramid of the Sun which existed prior to 200 AD.
The Pyramid’s construction between 100 and 450 AD completed the bilateral symmetry of the temple complex.[1] The pyramid is located at the end of the Avenue of the Dead, connected by a staircase, and was used as a stage for performing ritual sacrifices of animals and humans upon. It was also a burial ground for sacrificial victims. These burials were done in order to legitimize the addition of another pyramid layer over the existing one. The passing of several rulers, and rapid changes in ideologies, led to the Pyramid of the Moon’s exponential expansion between 250 and 400 AD. A platform atop the pyramid was used to conduct ceremonies in honor of the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan, the goddess of water, fertility, the earth, and even creation itself. This platform and the sculpture found at the pyramid’s bottom are thus dedicated to The Great Goddess.
The steps were tough going, but we made it to the top, relatively free from of the sound of kids with their irritatingly loud souvenirs and with an extraordinary view over the entire area including to where we would be venturing next once we were back on the ground, the Pyramid of the Sun:
The name Pyramid of the Sun comes from the Aztecs, who visited the city of Teotihuacan centuries after it was abandoned; the name given to the pyramid by the Teotihuacanos is unknown. It was constructed in two phases. The first construction stage, around 200 AD, brought the pyramid to nearly the size it is today. The second round of construction resulted in its completed size of 225 meters (738 feet) across and 75 meters (246 feet) high, making it the third-largest pyramid in the world, though still just over half the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza (146 metres). The second phase also saw the construction of an altar atop of the pyramid which has not survived into modern times.
Over the structure, the ancient Teotihuacanos finished their pyramid with lime plaster imported from surrounding areas, on which they painted brilliantly colored murals. While the pyramid has endured for centuries, the paint and plaster have not and are no longer visible. Jaguar heads and paws, stars, and snake rattles are among the few images associated with the pyramids.
Climbing the stairs of either pyramid wasn’t permitted, plus it might not have been a particularly bright idea anyway considering the storm clouds that were coming over, but we still got to walk around lower levels and look at more of the Aztec artwork.
We had been at the site for almost two and a half hours when it was time to leave, having another hilarious conversation with our driver before the storm kicked in, floodwater almost reaching the car’s doors while driving through tunnels, but we made it back safely for some dinner and drinks in another rooftop bar.
The pyramids, the flood, and some other scenes from the day:
Monday, June 24, 2024
Another day in Mexico City, but a slightly different location. Compared to our first two days in town, Monday would be a more subdued occasion, just wandering around our neighbourhood, but due to the locations of Anna’s conference, we would be moving to a different hotel later in the day, a better option than her having to make a half-hour commute to both of the conference centres and back, as opposed to just a short one, every day.
We hit the street again, passing endless food vans that all looked incredibly good and after Anna finished playing with the same pair of fat bulldogs from Saturday night again we found a place where we’d get our daily caffeine hit and also a serving of protein as well, because this place sold chocolate with bugs in it. Anyone who knows me would be aware that I will eat anything (okay, I’m not a fan of black liquorice) and this was far from our first rodeo when it comes to eating insects so why not? We drank from our wonky coffee cups while snacking on the chocolate and I thought it was really good, but Anna not so much, not because of the crickets and caterpillars in it, it was just a tad too sweet for her liking.
The area in which we had been staying had some great graffiti and more murals so we walked around looking at them until we could check in to The Four Seasons. Once that was sorted it was time for Anna, ZhuLi, and myself to have dinner and find a nice spot to settle in for the night so tacos were primarily on the menu again, but it couldn’t be a late night, they had work in the morning.
Walking and eating on a quiet Monday in Mexico City:
I know exactly where I’d put that
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
It was the first day that Anna would be attending the conference meaning I would be left to my own devices with the only real instructions being to keep an eye out for cool places. The only problem is that, like in almost all cities, there wasn’t a whole lot to do in the area surrounding the conference centre or even the hotel for that matter. I saw some more great Volkswagens and would’ve loved to have had the money and luggage space for this jukebox (right), but besides that there wasn’t a whole lot to look at in this part of town. Dinner was a quiet affair too, I didn’t even get any photos so I guess I’d be venturing out in a different direction tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Much like the previous day, despite visiting different areas in the vicinity of where we were staying, if you weren’t there to eat or drink you were kind of out of luck when it came to occupying yourself. We had been consuming a fair bit on this trip, however, so the walking was doing me good, even if it was so I didn’t just spend the entire day in the hotel.
I mentioned that there was no shortage of places for food and and a beverage around the conference centre and both Anna and myself were feeling a little taco’d out after having eaten them most days for almost two weeks now. Fortunately when Anna met up with me that evening she said she had found out about Quebracho, an Argentinian steak restaurant and that sounded perfect. It was a little early for dinner so that meant a couple of beers beforehand, but once we were in the restaurant we both smirked at each other, because this definitely looked like the type of place where mob bosses would eat, hang out, and do deals. Bring it on!
As you’d expect, the food was fantastic and it was nice to have a night off from tacos, the perfect end to a second otherwise uneventful day:
Thursday, June 27, 2024
Not only did Anna have the afternoon off, but it was also her birthday so of course we had to party! I waited around until she was free, then after I donned my terrible lucha libre shirt we called an Uber and got far away from the conference centre and back to the more entertaining areas of this city. As we were walking around, Anna’s natural Singaporean instincts kicked in; she saw a stall with a long line and the only thing that could possibly mean is that whatever they were serving has to be really, really good so she jumped on the end and got us some… Tacos! Actually, she was right, they were spectacular, plus we had had a break from them for a day so tacos were a welcome return to our digestive tracts. We were in another area where just meandering around was fun, whether it was looking at the quirky shops or just seeing earthquake affected buildings and derelict pubs that would’ve been my type of place back in the day.
Because it was Anna’s special day, I had something up my sleeve so after some birthday drinks we went to Amaya, a restaurant where I had made a booking several days earlier and a place I just discovered is now permanently closed, but we ate well, dining on ceviche and pork belly among other dishes, and then it was on to phase two of my plan. Anna has a thing for rooftop bars so we went to one of the highest bars in the city, Cityzen, passing a motorcyclist that had been knocked down by a car and was now trying to fight the driver, and we also stopped off at a bar that served a variety of meads en route. It seems like I chose well, because she loved dinner, the bar was a hit, and the views of the city from up there were sublime.
How Anna celebrated completing another lap of the sun:
Friday, June 28, 2024
Our two-week Mexican getaway was wrapping up and we’d be flying out very early the following morning so we had to make the most of our final day. For us that meant eating well in a market while at the same time trying to avoid crippling diarrhoea. We found the perfect place, passing all kinds of snakes, arachnids, and insects in tanks and containers, some for consumption, others not so much. There were limitless options to choose from, but ultimately we opted for some fresh local clams while piglets were gutted at a stall directly behind us.
When lunch was done and we had purchased a whole bunch of chilli sauces Anna wanted to have a look at the Frida Kahlo museum:
The Blue House, located in Coyoacán, is a space where visitors can learn about the life and work of Frida Kahlo. Here, Frida’s personal belongings take on a unique significance, connecting visitors with her creativity and legacy.
Frida spent much of her life in this house, where she created many of her works. Since 1931, Frida and Diego Rivera made it their home, and in 1958, it opened as the Casa Azul Museum
I’m not particularly a fan of her work so I didn’t take any photos inside, but we snapped a few out the front of the house. Few people would know much about her besides recognising her monobrow and maybe a self-portrait, but her personal story was quite interesting. I don’t think anybody is expected to live a particularly long life after being disabled by polio as a child, getting hit by a bus when they’re 18 years old, and later having a gangrenous leg amputated while their husband is cheating on them with their sister!
After the museum we continued on around the city, seeing a pygmy kombi van on the way, and to end the conference we had dinner with our Mexican friends and some of Anna’s other colleagues before flying out and I only had one thing on my mind — I had been fine so far, but I just couldn’t shake that niggling fear that there may be repercussions on the plane from eating Mexican market clams. Time would tell.
Our last day in Mexico:
Cheesecake was a large reason why Anna was keen for Tokyo
Our time in Mexico had now come to a close as we boarded our flight and I made it all the way to our layover in Tokyo without shitting myself on the plane from eating market clams! Our layover in Tokyo was for around 10 hours, but because of how early we had arrived there wasn’t a whole lot open in the airport. Spending almost half a day in the lounge didn’t seem like much fun either so instead we jumped on a train and 90 minutes later got off at Shinjuku once more, where that time could be better spent shopping and eating (right) before returning to the airport for the eight-hour flight back to Singapore.
So, had Mexico been the hellhole that Donald Trump had told us it was? Well, every country will have its bad areas and it’s common knowledge that there are large parts of Mexico City where it wouldn’t be advisable for us to enter, but for the two weeks we had spent in this country, hell no! Everywhere we went, be it San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico City, and even Ensenada on a previous trip, was clean, the people were friendly, the food was fantastic, and the overall vibe of the place was just fun. I’d love to return and would happily do so any day. To be honest, we had a far better time and felt less threatened in Mexico than most times we’ve been in the US, which may be a good thing now that the United States doesn’t particularly want us back after our trip to Cuba last year.
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