After two days of intrepid exploration, el Distrito Federal seems crammed full of slightly dilapidated yet still incredibly majestic old buildings. Huge churches pop up around every corner, and walking inside them is often a trippy exercise in maintaining equilibrium on floors and huge stone walls that slope in several directions at once.
But the thing that I love best is being here right in time for the Day of the Dead celebrations. Haven't yet sampled the pan de muertos (too full of tacos y tortas) or the candy calaveras (they also come in chocolate, because Mexicans know what's up) but it is sure to happen soon. Expect a full report.
The Dia de los Muertos art is everywhere, and all of it is colorful, macabre and very funny. Here is just a small sampling-
There's also just some great scary Halloween creepiness in unexpected places-
In our short time here, we've witnessed a massive peaceful public demonstration (socialists against a huge sale to a petroleum company...I think. Spanish is a little rusty but the general gist of Big Monies keeping la patria/working man down was crystal clear). The crowds were just beginning to amass in this picture, but by noon, the zocalo was packed with thousands watching the rally, shopping amongst the myriad vendors, and of course snacking. That this peaceful but important gathering was taking place exactly where a few hundred years ago, poors and prisoners were getting mass-sacrificed by the thousands, and a another hundred years later, Conquistadors were wreaking bloody havoc, well, it's a bit mind-bending and not uninspiring. We're doing better, civilization!
Final peek of just one small section of the crowd over the right shoulder of the Catedral-
More from Puebla, internets permitting!
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