The plan today is to return to the historic centre retracing our steps of yesterday for a closer look at various things followed by a trip on the Turibus to see some of the sights outside the centre.
The pictures below are taken in Zocalo, you remember the huge public square in the historic centre. The ceremony that is being performed is called limpia or cleansing and is supposed to bring balance back to the body and spirit. It is an Aztec blessing that involves burning copal, a type of incense derived from a resinous pine tree. The ubiquitous smell is very distinctive. The feedback on TripAdvisor from the punters is suprisingly positive, but I suppose if you have paid your money.........
The incense seems to work particularly well for the armpits. Whilst we are in the square, one or two facts may be of interest. In the centre of the square stands a giant flagpole from which the National Flag flies during the daytime. At 6am and 6pm there is a ceremonial raising and lowering of the Flag. This is a formal military affair much like the changing of the Guard in many countries. It's well worth googling the event as it is very impressive. It takes a team of over 20 soldiers with white gloves to handle the flag with great respect and store it in the National Palace until it is brought out to be raised the next day.
The pictures below are taken in Zocalo, you remember the huge public square in the historic centre. The ceremony that is being performed is called limpia or cleansing and is supposed to bring balance back to the body and spirit. It is an Aztec blessing that involves burning copal, a type of incense derived from a resinous pine tree. The ubiquitous smell is very distinctive. The feedback on TripAdvisor from the punters is suprisingly positive, but I suppose if you have paid your money.........
The incense seems to work particularly well for the armpits. Whilst we are in the square, one or two facts may be of interest. In the centre of the square stands a giant flagpole from which the National Flag flies during the daytime. At 6am and 6pm there is a ceremonial raising and lowering of the Flag. This is a formal military affair much like the changing of the Guard in many countries. It's well worth googling the event as it is very impressive. It takes a team of over 20 soldiers with white gloves to handle the flag with great respect and store it in the National Palace until it is brought out to be raised the next day.
The whole of the centre of the city is kept very clean by many teams of cleaners such as you can see below.
Other people who make their living on the streets include the once much loved union of organ grinders. These people have been a regular feature on the streets since the latter part of the C19. Originally from Germany, as their organs proclaim, the job has been handed down from father to son (or daughter) over the decades. Here you can see Helen tipping one with his wife, also in the uniform standing nearby. They are no longer so popular as they have to compete with the human statues, super heroes, etc. Moreover their organs are not what they once were.
This picture is in fact of a street recycling operative. He goes from dustbin to dustbin looking for goods to recycle for his own profit. The various plastic sacks are held by a band around his forehead. Each sack contains a different type of recycling item. He has just dropped a plastic water bottle into the black sack on his right shoulder. A truly green scavenger who works extremely hard for the pittance that he earns.
We walked on up the pedestrianised shopping street called Madero Ave. All the big names were on display as you would expect. There were also traders working the street selling various trinkets from blankets. At some stage a signal must have been given because within 15 seconds they had all disappeared. They simply lifted each corner of the blanket and melted away. I noticed a large number sought sanctuary in the old Franciscan priory grounds. Like sunshine after a shower they were all back out again in a few minutes.
We then cut across to a square that we had visited yesterday, following our ears really because there was a loud percussive band playing. We unknowingly had encountered a choncheros.
This is a ritual dance that has been passed down the centuries through many generations, as it still is today. It has religious, political and cultural origins and expressions. The roots are in pre Hispanic culture but includes Spanish and Catholic influences. This is not a display for the tourists. No money is exchanged. The participants are doing it for the pleasure and a bit like going to church.
Look at the clothes and you will notice "Morris dancing " style bells around their ankles. These are ayoyotes or Aztec bells. They are the seeds of the ayoyotes tree and imitate the sound of rain during the dance. The Tiamanalli or offering in front of the dancing circle represents each of the four elements, earth wind, fire and water. Below is the youngest generation playing a huehuetl, that is a drum made from a tree trunk.
The dancers show a combination of enthusiasm and fervour. This is clearly a serious albeit enjoyable activity.
Any readers over the age of 60 ought to recognise the logo that Helen is standing in front of. Bob Beamon's incredible leap, the Tommie Smith and John Carlos's black power salute were amongst the highlights of this hyperbolic, high octane, high altitude event.
The sign is the original from the games and was used in the 50 years exhibition held in Mexico City in 2018. It is now a popular photograph background in front of the Palacio de Bellas Artes.
We had the chance to look inside the Metropolitan Cathedral. This is the Altar del Perdon in splendid gold, it stands behind the Doors of Forgiveness, the central entrance to the cathedral from the Zocalo. The doors are only opened on special occasions. Maybe forgiveness is a little thin on the ground.
Suitable headwear was in order for the next activity which involved riding atop the open double decker bus around the city. You can see the bus level with the brim of my hat. We have come around the corner out of Zocalo and the bus takes us back past the Post office and the Palacio de Bellas Artes up to the start of Mexico City's Champs Elysees, the Paseo de la Reforma.
Construction of the Paseo de la Reforma began in 1864 linking Zocalo with Chapultepec Castle where the Emporer Maximilian l and his wife lived. It developed into the boulevard it is today with statues and monuments along the route. It is the centre for National celebrations and political demonstrations, especially around the Angel of Independence monument. Below you can see the statue of Christopher Columbus. Not pointing to the west, but looking more like a magician pulling a veil to reveal his globe of the world. Meanwhile his four monks are recording the event in their Facebooks.
We continued down the Paseo de la Reforma though the CBD where all the really tall buildings are including the Torre Mayor at 230 metres is currently the tallest building in town. Notice the copyhats riding the bus ahead of me.
The bus paused for a while here as it is the nexus for several tourist routes. We are looking at the Auditorio Nacional, a 10,000 seater venue for performance and music. It has a worldwide reputation for excellence. Originally built in 1952, it was the venue for the gymnastics in the 68 Olympics and was refurbished to its present design in 1990. We stayed board and the bus headed back towards the Paseo again but first we passed the Bosque Chapultepec which is the largest city park in the Western Hemisphere. It has many attractions and was certainly very busy on the Sunday afternoon we looked in. There's a very large and popular boating lake, the medieval castle, the zoo and botanical gardens plus, of course plenty of alfresco eating opportunities.
This is the Angel of Independence monument that I referred to earlier on and it is less than 400 metres from our hotel. It's a pretty lively place, in the short time we were there, we were to witness a mass participation cycle race and a political demonstration. Although it looks older, it was built in 1910 to celebrate the centenary of the start of the Mexican War of Independence
We alighted the bus at El Angel and walked back to our apartment in the San Marino hotel suites which you can see pictured below. We had the penthouse apartment top right facing off picture right.
We were fortunate to have a restaurant on our ground floor that served an excellent steak which we could enjoy whilst being serenaded by the band playing below.
