Like any new city, Mexico City has, for this Canadian (and Natasha), its share of oddities, some of which make life interesting, and some that perplex. Natasha and I have put together a list of the 8 things that surprise, perplex and confuse us about this world-class city.
- Blayne
1. Dogs in sweaters
They’re everywhere. From the primmest poodle to the muddiest mutt, few Mexican dogs leave home without a coat to go over their own fur coat. Even the strays always seem to be rocking the latest canine fashion accessories.
2. Winter jackets when it’s not winter
For snow-hardened Canadians, Mexico City’s temperate climate – it seems to hardly ever drops below 20 degrees during the day – is just about the best thing this city has going for it. Which makes it all the more surprising to see stalls outside the metro stations selling heavy mittens, toques and scarves, and, on mornings when it’s about 10 degrees, everyone decked out in winter coats as if it were downtown Winnipeg in the middle of January. Which makes the following all the more surprising.
3. A winter festival done right
Every February, Ottawa holds an outdoor winter festival, called Winterlude. On those years in which nature doesn’t pull a Cypress Mountain, the idea is that Ottawans and tourists who consider freezing temperatures a novelty and not a sheer torture can enjoy skating on the world’s longest outdoor skating rink and other wholesome winter activities.
We’ve always thought that Winterlude would be even more enjoyable if it could be held in the summer, when the weather is actually nice. So you can imagine our pleasant surprise when we found out that every year Mexico City hosts a bunch of wintery activities in its main downtown square, the Zocalo. They’d set up a skating rink, a snowmobile track for the kids, even a toboggan run!
The sun was shining, the weather was warm and all the attractions were packed with happy kids and their families, most of whom likely had never seen snow before. Oh, and it was interesting to note that the event was sponsored by Research in Motion and Pepsi. It’s disappointing to see that the Canadian and Ottawa governments weren’t on the ball enough to sponsor it themselves. It would’ve been a great way to promote Winterlude, and for the feds, it would have been a useful way to build goodwill with Mexicans, who aren’t feeling very charitable toward Canada these days.
4. Oversized curbs and sidewalks with gaping holes
Think your city’s infrastructure has problems? Frustrated by a particularly potholed street? Mexico City would drive you nuts. Uneven sidewalks scarred by huge holes capable of swallowing medium-sized dogs and only sometimes covered by wooden planks, and whole sidewalk sections upended by tree roots are only the beginning. Mexican infrastructure, particularly their sidewalks, seem to have been built in fits and starts, with the result that none of it fits together. A sidewalk may have a wheelchair ramp, but be too narrow for any wheelchair to manage. Everywhere is evidence of projects begun – lamppost bases with the wires sticking out, metal stubs of stop signs clipped just above the surface – but never completed. These construction remnants, the result of rampant corruption according to a recent exhibition at the (absolutely fantastic) Mexican Museo Nacional de Antropolgía, are so common that they even have a name: ONOs (objetos no ovidables).
And the street curbs – many of which are almost a foot high – are the bane of the short-legged.
Of course, this only goes for the non-touristy neighbourhoods. As always, the rich manage to find a way to take care of themselves.
5. Cats at the Palacio Nacional
We’ve always been fans of Parliament Hill’s feral cat colony. We’re charmed by the idea that, right behind the seat of government and federal power you can find a raggedy colony of cats and the odd raccoon and groundhog. And these aren’t Ottawa “fat cats” suckling on the public teat: they’re fed (and spayed and neutered) through the generosity of individual donors.
So we’re pleased to note that, while Canadians and Mexicans may not think they have much in common, Mexican leaders also share their seat of power with a bunch of cute, if ragged-looking, cats. If you wander around the gardens inside the walls of the Palacio Nacional, just off the Zocalo, you’ll come across at least a dozen cats, sunning themselves, sleeping under trees or cacti or just hanging out. Judging by their size and the numerous food bowls around, they seem well cared for.
6. Food misfires
Mexico is justly celebrated for its delicious food – tacos, quesadillas, Oaxacan cheese, tequila, mescal… you get the idea. These tasty triumphs make Mexico’s misfires all the more surprising. Take the Mexican version of sushi. If you have ever thought that sushi’s delicate and subtle blending of raw fish and vegetables could be improved by slathering entire rolls with the tasteless gooiness of Philadelphia cream cheese, then by all means, enjoy the best sushi Mexico has to offer. We’ll stick to the quesadillas.
And given what we’d heard about how great Mexican, specifically Oaxacan, chocolate is, we were surprised how sugary and granular it was, at least the eating kind (Oaxacan hot chocolate rocks). The stuff we bought, which we believe is representative of Oaxacan chocolate, was so inedible that we couldn’t figure out anyone we disliked enough to give it to. Chocolate: Invented in Mexico, perfected in Belgium.
We’re also not sure why Mexican pastries are so dry.
7. Subway car peddlers
CDs, DVDs, pens, Tic Tacs, puzzle books, prayer books, keychain flashlights: if you want any of these, all you have to do is get on the metro and eventually a subway vendor will get onto your car and announce his/her wares and how they can be yours for a low price, typically five to ten pesos (i.e., 40-90 cents).
The best are the CD vendors, who play 5-10 second snippets of the songs they’re selling. On the one hand, these are evil, bootlegged copies that violate copyright law. On the other hand, counting how often a song or group gets played is a nifty way to gauge a song’s worldwide popularity, since they never bootleg the unpopular stuff. Based on our time in Mexico, we’d put the Beatles at the top of the all-time bootleg chart, with the Black Eyed Peas (and, *shudder*, “I’ve Got a Feeling”) as the most popular current group.
8. Bootlegged concert merchandise
Back home in Canada, if you want a souvenir from a concert but don’t want to pay $40 for an official T-shirt, you can usually count on some guy selling cheap knock-offs outside the venue for $10. In Mexico, you can get knock off T-shirts. And key chains. And shot glasses. And beer steins. And pillows (heart-shaped in the case of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs). And bags. And pins. And CDs. And concert DVDs. And pens. If it’s solid and you can put a band logo on it, chances are you can find it outside any major concert event.
While their quality varies, some of the stuff can be quite well-made and remarkably creative. I don’t regret a lot of things in life, but until the end of my days I’ll regret not picking up that Depeche Mode concert T-shirt featuring the band, drawn as Simpsons characters and being held captive (along with Homer) in individual glass cages by Kang and Kodos.
4. Oversized curbs and sidewalks with gaping holes
Think your city’s infrastructure has problems? Frustrated by a particularly potholed street? Mexico City would drive you nuts. Uneven sidewalks scarred by huge holes capable of swallowing medium-sized dogs and only sometimes covered by wooden planks, and whole sidewalk sections upended by tree roots are only the beginning. Mexican infrastructure, particularly their sidewalks, seem to have been built in fits and starts, with the result that none of it fits together. A sidewalk may have a wheelchair ramp, but be too narrow for any wheelchair to manage. Everywhere is evidence of projects begun – lamppost bases with the wires sticking out, metal stubs of stop signs clipped just above the surface – but never completed. These construction remnants, the result of rampant corruption according to a recent exhibition at the (absolutely fantastic) Mexican Museo Nacional de Antropolgía, are so common that they even have a name: ONOs (objetos no ovidables).
And the street curbs – many of which are almost a foot high – are the bane of the short-legged.
Of course, this only goes for the non-touristy neighbourhoods. As always, the rich manage to find a way to take care of themselves.
5. Cats at the Palacio Nacional
We’ve always been fans of Parliament Hill’s feral cat colony. We’re charmed by the idea that, right behind the seat of government and federal power you can find a raggedy colony of cats and the odd raccoon and groundhog. And these aren’t Ottawa “fat cats” suckling on the public teat: they’re fed (and spayed and neutered) through the generosity of individual donors.
So we’re pleased to note that, while Canadians and Mexicans may not think they have much in common, Mexican leaders also share their seat of power with a bunch of cute, if ragged-looking, cats. If you wander around the gardens inside the walls of the Palacio Nacional, just off the Zocalo, you’ll come across at least a dozen cats, sunning themselves, sleeping under trees or cacti or just hanging out. Judging by their size and the numerous food bowls around, they seem well cared for.
6. Food misfires
Mexico is justly celebrated for its delicious food – tacos, quesadillas, Oaxacan cheese, tequila, mescal… you get the idea. These tasty triumphs make Mexico’s misfires all the more surprising. Take the Mexican version of sushi. If you have ever thought that sushi’s delicate and subtle blending of raw fish and vegetables could be improved by slathering entire rolls with the tasteless gooiness of Philadelphia cream cheese, then by all means, enjoy the best sushi Mexico has to offer. We’ll stick to the quesadillas.
And given what we’d heard about how great Mexican, specifically Oaxacan, chocolate is, we were surprised how sugary and granular it was, at least the eating kind (Oaxacan hot chocolate rocks). The stuff we bought, which we believe is representative of Oaxacan chocolate, was so inedible that we couldn’t figure out anyone we disliked enough to give it to. Chocolate: Invented in Mexico, perfected in Belgium.
We’re also not sure why Mexican pastries are so dry.
7. Subway car peddlers
CDs, DVDs, pens, Tic Tacs, puzzle books, prayer books, keychain flashlights: if you want any of these, all you have to do is get on the metro and eventually a subway vendor will get onto your car and announce his/her wares and how they can be yours for a low price, typically five to ten pesos (i.e., 40-90 cents).
The best are the CD vendors, who play 5-10 second snippets of the songs they’re selling. On the one hand, these are evil, bootlegged copies that violate copyright law. On the other hand, counting how often a song or group gets played is a nifty way to gauge a song’s worldwide popularity, since they never bootleg the unpopular stuff. Based on our time in Mexico, we’d put the Beatles at the top of the all-time bootleg chart, with the Black Eyed Peas (and, *shudder*, “I’ve Got a Feeling”) as the most popular current group.
8. Bootlegged concert merchandise
Back home in Canada, if you want a souvenir from a concert but don’t want to pay $40 for an official T-shirt, you can usually count on some guy selling cheap knock-offs outside the venue for $10. In Mexico, you can get knock off T-shirts. And key chains. And shot glasses. And beer steins. And pillows (heart-shaped in the case of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs). And bags. And pins. And CDs. And concert DVDs. And pens. If it’s solid and you can put a band logo on it, chances are you can find it outside any major concert event.
While their quality varies, some of the stuff can be quite well-made and remarkably creative. I don’t regret a lot of things in life, but until the end of my days I’ll regret not picking up that Depeche Mode concert T-shirt featuring the band, drawn as Simpsons characters and being held captive (along with Homer) in individual glass cages by Kang and Kodos.
