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Published: September 26th 2007
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After a beautiful bus ride through the mountains of Mexico I finally arrived into the giant monstrosity of a city referred to as Distrito Federal (D.F.- or Mexico City). I had no idea what to expect because I had heard so many things about the danger factor- violence, muggings and corruption. So I arrived at night as I was trying to find my cousin Michita´s place in barrio Colonial Santo Domigo. I entered the metro station and rode the train for about 45 minutes from the northern end of the city down to the southern section- just to give an idea of the shear size of the place. Once I got off the train, I must have walked a good 4 to 5 miles in the dark looking for Michita´s place as the house/apartment numbers went from the 100s to the 200s to the 300s back to the 100s- pretty confusing!! So finally I found a cybercafe and the attendant let me use his phone and Michita gave me some directions and I finally made it to her place.
The next day, Michita´s roommate Elia and I went to check out the house where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived
in one of the more posh barrios of the city (Coyoacán). Next we ate a carne asada at one of Elia´s favorite places which was super rico. At night we checked out some live music that ended up being a lot of acid rock mixed in with some mexican rock. Good times!!The next morning Michita and I boarded the Metro so I could check out the centro historico. After the craziest metro ride ever-I have never seen people push to enter the train so much in my life, pure survival of the fittest, just when you think there is no way anyone else could ever fit in your train people come running in shoulder first like linebackers and you have to hold on for your life. It was basically everyone for themselves- even old ladies were getting pushed around. I guess thats just the way of life here. After exiting the underground station and following the signs to the Zocalo I climbed the steps to enter one of the largest public squares in the world (the second largest behind Moscow) and I could feel goosebumps on my skin as I emerged from the underground metro station to pure zocalo craziness.
What a site- the largest Mexican flag I have ever seen, the historical center stage of all political and social movements in Mexico and the sight of 300,000+ weekend concerts. After marveling at the Zocalo from all angles I decided to check out the palacio de gobierno and admired some of Diego Rivera´s murals. Next I visited the ancient capital of the Plaza Mayor Museum that houses old ruins just a block off the city center. This was the ancient city center before the Spaniards came in and slaughtered all of the indigenias.
That night I went to check out Michita´s dance performance at a Flamenco place in one of Mexico cities more happening spots. Michita moved to Mexico City about more than a year ago from Ecuador in order to pursue her passion for dancing and it was great to see her doing what she loves to do and to see how much talent we have in the family!!! She was always pretty busy as she teaches and attends dance school, so most of the time I was exploring the city solo.
That Sunday, Michita, Derek (Michita´s boyfriend) and I went to the famous Xochimilco park in
the southern part of the city. We departed in a gondola style boat that seated about 50 as we cruised the ecological park that is considered a world heritage site. The boats were painted all these psychedelic colors and the scenery was amazing!! There were boats selling tacos, beer and corn along the way and of course plenty of Mariachi music. We set sail for an hour or so before exiting right before a rain storm as we ate some market food.
On one of my last days in DF I witnessed one of the most bizarre things on my trip yet. There were some teachers from Oaxaca City who were dancing in the street butt naked in the pouring rain, blocking traffic as they danced around banging on their drums. Unfortunately they were all at least 50 years old and were the type of people you would rather see with their clothes on!! It turns out they were protesting against the corrupt governor of the state of Oaxaca who failed to pay them their salaries and came to the capital to raise hell. Meanwhile, as I watched the news at Michita´s apartment, I learned that there were riots
in the city of Oaxaca- the next stop on my trip. I watched people throwing stones at storefronts, and city buses being hijacked and set on fire. This was extremely disappointing because everyone I talked to mentioned Oaxaca as one of their favorite sites in Mexico. So I decided to alter my route and check out what the beaches of the Oaxaca coast had to offer instead.
So I decided to leave the city after spending a week in Michita´s apartment which was such a great experience just to learn about her everyday life. I think it is amazing that she just picked up everything and left for Mexico without knowing anyone to pursue her dancing career. It was awesome to see her as a successful dancer and teacher and was inspiring to know that she followed her dreams and is achieving them after taking a chance- the Balarezo way!!
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