This morning we were met by our tour guide (Miriam) who took us on a half day city tour before dropping us at the airport. First stop was the Presidential Palace. It is located on the western edge of the Plaza de la Constitution (where we saw a really big Mexican flag flying proudly in the strong breeze). The palace’s eastern border is over two hundred meters long and some of the building materials used in it came from Montezuma II’s original palace. The palace is now the home to the Federal Treasury and the National Archive but, most importantly, it houses a wonderful mural by Diego Rivera outlining important events in the history of the Mexican nation.
Mexico became independent in 1821. It has had a long history of domination and so according to Shifra Goldman, Rivera as a muralist was trying to :
“offset the contempt with which the conquistadors had viewed the ancient Indian civilizations, and to offset the anti-mestizo and anti-Indian attitudes of the European-oriented ruling classes during the porfiriato (the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz).
Mestizo and Indian peasants formed the basic fighting forces of the Revolution, and their economic needs were to be addressed on the political plane. The role of the arts was to restore understanding of and pride in the heritage and cultures that the concept of Spanish superiority had subverted. . . early indigenistas [like Rivera] tended to glorify the Indian heritage and vilify that of the Spaniards as a means of rectifying a historical imbalance and advancing certain political ideas.”
He included scenes featuring the history of Mexico, legends from the Quetzalcoatl, the Grand Tenochtitlan, the Tarascan or Purepechan culture of Michoacan, the Zapotec and Mixtec Civilizations, the Totonac Civilization and the The Huaxtec Civilization, the importance of crops such as rubber, cocoa, the maguey, agave and sisal plants, the arrival of Cortez and recent class struggle. It was impressive.
It was built in sections from 1573 to 1813 around the original church that was constructed soon after the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlán, eventually replacing it entirely. Spanish architect Claudio de Arciniega planned the construction, drawing inspiration from Gothic cathedrals in Spain.The cathedral has four facades which contain portals flanked with columns and statues. The two bell towers contain a total of 25 bells.
The Tabernacle, adjacent to the cathedral, contains the baptistery and serves to register the parishioners. There are two large, ornate altars, a sacristy, and a choir in the cathedral. Fourteen of the cathedral's sixteen chapels are open to the public. Each chapel is dedicated to a different saint or saints, and each was sponsored by a religious guild. The chapels contain ornate altars, altarpieces, retablos, paintings, furniture and sculptures. The cathedral is home to two of the largest 18th century organs in the Americas. There is a crypt underneath the cathedral that holds the remains of many former archbishops. And did I mention that it the altars had some serious bling – more gold and jewels than I thought possible – and I’ve seen a few churches in my time.
Although the cathedral was originally built on solid foundations the soft clay soil on which it stands has posed a constant threat to its structural integrity. In the late 1980’s dropping water tables and accelerated sinking caused the structure to be added to the World Monuments Fund list of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. Reconstruction work beginning in the 1990s stabilized the cathedral and it was removed from the endangered list in 2000.
As we saw yesterday, despite the very much less than Christian example that the original Spanish invaders provided to the local people, the Roman Catholic faith is very strong here now. In fact, 89% of Mexicans consider themselves practising Catholics. As we stood in front of the opulent high altar of the Cathedral we could not help but hope that the people were truly able to find comfort in their faith, as life here can still be very tough.
The unemployment rate is officially at 4.9% but many of the adults and children in MC are reduced to begging in the streets or (what is much the same thing) selling cheap trinkets and souvenirs just to secure a meagre income. They also have huge issues with drug trafficking and the Mexican drug lords in the north have become very powerful and wealthy supplying the huge US market.
After we had visited the Cathedral and the Tabernacle, Miriam took us to a nearby viewing platform that overlooks the ongoing excavations of the Aztec Templo Mayor.
The modern-day archaeological site lies just to the northeast of the main plaza, on the corner of what are now Seminario and Justo Sierra streets. The site is part of the Historic Centre of Mexico City, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987.
The Temple Mayor was one of the main temples of the Aztecs in their capital city of Tenochtitlan. The architectural style of this pyramid temple belongs to the late post-classic period of Mesoamerica. The temple was called the ‘huei teocalli’ in the Nahuatl language and was dedicated simultaneously to two gods, Huitzilopochtli, god of war and Tlaloc, god of rain and agriculture, each of which had a shrine at the top of the pyramid with separate staircases.
We were delivered to the lovely new airport three hours before our flight and had ample time to collect our boarding pass, drop our bags and get some lunch. And that’s just when you should start to worry…..yep you guessed it. The ticket machine rejected our passports and asked us to report to the customer service desk. At the desk, as we lined up with the other passengers we were asked to leave our bags and come back in 40 mins as we’d been ‘waitlisted’ while they calculated the weight/fuel ratio.
Mmmm and there was only 30mins before the flight was scheduled to take off. Luckily the young man at the desk was eventually allowed to give us our boarding passes and we set off like two contestants in the ‘Amazing Race’. But what were we worrying about? Had we learned nothing on our trip to the Latino world? Of course we made it. The flight didn’t take off for ages. Be patient. Disruption happens all the time in Mexico so don't stress. Fine – tell that to Bo and Kristie Power who were waiting for us in NYC!
While we were waiting 'patiently', we had a bite to eat and watched the Mexican people eat their lunch, and for most of them it was a big lunch indeed. Mexico was recently identified by the WHO as suffering from the fastest increase in obesity levels in the world (ahead of China and India). It is currently at 24.25% which is No.2 behind the US at 30.6% (don’t laugh Australia as you’re 6th with 21.7%). Obesity is defined as more than 20% overweight and this comes as little surprise from what we had observed. We also noted that most drinks are soft drinks and are served in 2litre bottles.
According to the WHO obesity is a problem of poverty. Children who are malnourished from birth – 2 years and then eat ‘a western style diet’ are prone to obesity issues. According to some watchdogs, the big multi-national corporations like soft drink and chocolate manufacturers are making their products readily available, cheap and in large servings – a recipe for disaster in developing countries whose people’s bodies have been conditioned over times of famine to ‘suck every kilojoule out of the food they eat’. But there are big profits to be made here so good luck changing the situation any time soon.
Generally we found the Mexican people to be happy and we liked the way they greeted each other. They were very friendly and they loved their kids. On reflection, it was an interesting place but we probably wouldn't go back. And to those who do go in the future, English is not widely spoken so learn some Spanish and take tea bags with you as Mexicans have no idea what a cup of tea is!
Did I mention that the really big flag got caught and a soldier had to go up and unravel it? |
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