Finding Mexico City
1. Mexico City is creative, emotional, excessive, humorous, religious, impulsive, chaotic, polluted, gritty, exuberant and dangerous. It embraces many extremes but above all, it is vivid. It has a pulse.
2. In the last years, Mexico usurped Colombia as the drug-trafficking center of the Americas, becoming a daily scene of kidnappings, carjacking, auto theft, burglary and murder, creating an atmosphere of fear and suspicion in the streets.
These are the perception and the facts – the both are true. Once being there, I quickly realized that Mexico City’s reputation, while being true in parts, was exaggerated.
Trying to keep me away from clichéd visions paradise-hell type, like “fiesta“, “siesta“, or “sombrero“, I noticed a certain level of sophistication that frequently surprises the out-of-town visitor from Europe. What impressed me (not necessarily in a bad or in a good way) was:
1. The thousands of policemen who walked on the streets by foot or by big 4×4 cars, boasting heavy duty machineguns that made the “Terminator” look like a baby.
2. The National museum of Anthropology.
3. The “Cantinas” – places where people gather to drink cold beer, eat cheap snacks, if they’re lucky. They can be fancy, they can be crappy, but one thing is certain: you’ll always have a good time there.
4. The streets and parks filled with people who embrace and kiss. And more than anything, best of the best: the countless places where people actually live dance accompanied by singers and musicians. My wife was very happy there!
Finding Mexico City
1. Mexico City is creative, emotional, excessive, humorous, religious, impulsive, chaotic, polluted, gritty, exuberant and dangerous. It embraces many extremes but above all, it is vivid. It has a pulse.
2. In the last years, Mexico usurped Colombia as the drug-trafficking center of the Americas, becoming a daily scene of kidnappings, carjacking, auto theft, burglary and murder, creating an atmosphere of fear and suspicion in the streets.
These are the perception and the facts – the both are true. Once being there, I quickly realized that Mexico City’s reputation, while being true in parts, was exaggerated.
Trying to keep me away from clichéd visions paradise-hell type, like “fiesta“, “siesta“, or “sombrero“, I noticed a certain level of sophistication that frequently surprises the out-of-town visitor from Europe. What impressed me (not necessarily in a bad or in a good way) was:
1. The thousands of policemen who walked on the streets by foot or by big 4×4 cars, boasting heavy duty machineguns that made the “Terminator” look like a baby.
2. The National museum of Anthropology.
3. The “Cantinas” – places where people gather to drink cold beer, eat cheap snacks, if they’re lucky. They can be fancy, they can be crappy, but one thing is certain: you’ll always have a good time there.
4. The streets and parks filled with people who embrace and kiss. And more than anything, best of the best: the countless places where people actually live dance accompanied by singers and musicians. My wife was very happy there!
