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August 28, 2005
San Angel and Coyoacan
Today we set out early to head down south via metro to the San Angel and Coyoacan neighborhoods of Mexico City. Before we left we went to investigate all the cheering that was coming from the main plaza near our hotel. The streets were also absolutely empty of traffic. It turns out there was a marathon going on that was concluding in the Zocalo. Having run the San Diego marathon this past June, I was impressed how well people were running here with the altitude and the pollution. Luckily, it was a beautiful, clear day.
Due to our Lonely Plane induced fears of catching a taxi off the street we've literally been walking all around the city. It's been a great way to get to really know the area but it is taking a bit of a toll on our feet. Heading to Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo's house we got a bit turned around in a neighborhood that featured some of the most beautiful homes we have seen in the city. Luckily a security guard for one of the houses, decked out in a bulletproof vest, helped us get back on track from behind a gated entrance. We thought, maybe Vicente Fox´s neighborhood?
We finally reached Diego and Frida's home, which was quite impressive and different, and in a great part of town. Diego´s studio itself was quite a site to see: a huge open room with lofts. He and Frida were socialists; supporters of Trotsky and then of Stalin. It is always ironic to me how people like this tend to continue living in the lap of luxury.
We next walked another hour plus across town to Coyoacan to see the house in which Frida Kahlo grew up in and where she eventually died; now it is a museum devoted to her. There was a good deal of her art here, but I was more interested in checking out the titles on her bookshelf which had not been disturbed since her death. This neighborhood of the city has the feeling of a small town which made the walk all the more enjoyable. Mexico City natives were everywhere enjoying the Sunday afternoon with music and a huge craft fair.
After the museum, we ate at a great Uruguayan restaurant in one of the plazas before catching the metro home. Once in the historic center of the city, Em broke down and had a 30-cent McDonalds ice-cream cone. Somehow I had a horrible headache that wouldn't go away so I went to bed pretty early. Tomorrow we are leaving for Oaxaca.
Posted by Peter Mork at August 28, 2005 5:22 PM
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