La Villa de Guadalupe

Ever wondered why Mexicans are obsessed with the Virgin Mary? In Mexico, inmates get the Virgin tattooed on their backs because she is so revered that no one would dare cross the Virgin and stab you in the back. Interesting form of a health insurance. Last weekend I went to La Villa de Guadalupe to learn more.

La Villa de Guadalupe is the second-most visited Catholic site in the world after the Vatican. It is located at the site where the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to St. Juan Diego and told him to build her a cathedral. Here is the official story from wikipedia:

"Official Catholic accounts state that on the morning of December 9, 1531, Juan Diego saw an apparition of a young girl at the Hill of Tepeyac, near Mexico City. Speaking to him in Nahuatl, the girl asked that a church be built at that site in her honor; from her words, Juan Diego recognized the girl as the Virgin Mary. Diego told his story to the Spanish Archbishop of Mexico City, Fray Juan de Zumárraga, who instructed him to return to Tepeyac Hill, and ask the "lady" for a miraculous sign to prove her identity. The first sign was the Virgin healing Juan's uncle. The Virgin told Juan Diego to gather flowers from the top of Tepeyac Hill. Although December was very late in the growing season for flowers to bloom, Juan Diego found Castilian roses, not native to Mexico, on the normally barren hilltop. The Virgin arranged these in his peasant cloak or tilma. When Juan Diego opened his cloak before Bishop Zumárraga on December 12, the flowers fell to the floor, and on the fabric was the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe."

According to the story, this is the image that was on the fabric when the cloak fell to the floor:

The exact origin of Guadalupe is not clear to me, but it is possible that the Aztecs used Guadalupe as a replacement symbol for one of their old gods Tonantzin, Mother Earth, by masking her as a symbol of Catholicism, the Virgin Mary. The Spaniards were happy because Mexicans started converting to Catholicism, and the indigenous Mexicans were happy as they could worship a new reincarnation of their old beliefs. Historians can debate that idea, but what is clear is that Guadalupe was a new religious symbol in the Americas and symbol for Mexico. The Mexican who took us to the site said that in her opinion, the Virgin of Guadalupe is more important to Mexicans than Jesus. That really blew my mind. The Virgin of Guadalupe, who essentially is Virgin Mary is above Jesus? Catholicism in Mexico is definitely different than the USA and Europe. 

It looks like the Vatican is adjusting to this new flavor of Catholicism. Latin America is the area of largest growth for Catholicism as it has the right demographics and the countries are highly religious. Wikipedia, our infallible source, says that Mexico is 83% Catholic, and 10% Christian. It is no coincidence that the new Pope is from Argentina. But enough history, here's some pictures.

This is the view immediately upon entering the compound. There is a cathedral in front, a huge area to worship to the left, and a large open square to the right.

Mexicans revere the Virgin of Guadalupe so much that many approached the final 50 meters to the church crawling on their knees.

Inside was absolutely packed, which makes sense as it was Sunday. Mass is conducted hourly from 8 am to 9 pm on Sundays.

In the front of the Church is the cherished orginal tilma of San Juan Diego. You are allowed to see it passing below on moving escalators so that a crowd cannot form. 

These are the people movers that keep you from staring at the tilma for too long so as not to create a crowd. I thought it was pretty funny. You have about 7 seconds to appreciate the Virgin.

 After seeing the Virgin in the new cathedral, we hiked up the hill to the old cathedral, which had a view of the below complex. 

Here is the story for our Spanish speaking readers. 

An altar of candles where people would bring their own candles and light them.

Some sort of an indigenous mock dance being done in front of the Cathedral to the beat of drums.

A view from the square. The old cathedral is on top of the hill on the right side, and the new Cathedral is on the left.

And of course afterwards you can buy all of your Virgen de Guadalupe memorabilia. I bought a Virgen de Guadalupe key ring and a Jesus Candle. 

The foundation of this church is sinking at 1 cm per year. You can really see the lean on that left tower. Would not want to be inside that during an earthquake.

Hope you found that informative. 

Chilango-eando

So now that I have settled a bit into my daily routine, I thought I would give a brief update. 

This is my street. I don't live in the poshest part of town (Condessa & Roma), but rather the up and coming middle class neighborhood of Napoles. Up and coming is a euphemism for not as nice as Condessa & Roma, but I actually prefer it. First, it feels more Mexican. Roma & Condessa are where all gringos and foreigners go. Not just Americans, but Argentinians, Spaniards, French, etc. The cafes there are very posh and the prices go along with it. Here in Napoles it feels more neighborhoody and more like a neighborhood where more average middle-class Mexicans live. 

This is our neighborhood dog. Not that pretty, but always hanging around somewhere on the block.

About a 10 minute walk from my house is Parque Hundido (Sunkin Park). It is a very nice park for strolling when you need a break from the urban jungle.

This is the building where I work. It is probably nicer than the office I worked in in San Francisco. Everything is brand new and there are 3 full time cleaning people for an office of 50 people, which feels excessive, but I guess the cost of labor permits it. Most of the time they are just chatting in the kitchen. 

The view from my office. Still not really sure why they gave me an office. The office culture is much different in Mexico. In San Francisco I was very used to an open door policy. Most people intentionally didn't have offices or doors in order to keep the atmosphere collaborative. In Mexico, hierarchy is much more of a thing. I am the only one in the office to continuously have my door open. Most of the partners and lawyers have their doors closed so you have to knock and ask for permission to enter. As a west coaster, this is extremely weird. I prefer to have flat, open organizational culture, but that is not the case. 

The Metrobus continues to be an issue when I take it. I much prefer to walk when I have the time and it is not raining. About a 30 minute walk. When the doors on the Metrobus close, they close hard. In the US when public transportation doors close, if there is anything that obstructs them, they open right back up again. I remember this being frustrating on BART as one asshole could hold up an entire train for his friend. In DF that is not a problem. When doors close, they close hard. And they will not open back up again. This guy below barely got on the Metrobus, but his umbrella did not. The doors closed so hard that he couldn't pull his umbrella out so for an entire bus stop (about 3 blocks) his umbrella was half inside the bus, and half outside the bus. 

Finally got a pressure cooker so I can cook beans! 

 This is where I play soccer. Really nice 7 v 7 field on a roof. I play Saturday mornings with people from my work. I have already cemented myself as a starting defender and I scored a breakaway goal last game in our 3-1 win. We won last Saturday 1-0.

 Strangely alcohol prices are cheaper at 7-11 than they are at the grocery store. My only theory for this is that 7-11 uses alcohol as a traffic generator for people to buy chips and other overpriced snacks, meanwhile the supermarket uses other products as traffic generators, and makes money on alcohol. The point is you can buy a liter of tequila, a bag of ice, and a mixer for $14. 

On Wednesday we had the privilege to go the ambassador's house to hear him speak on educational exchange between the United States and Mexico. Both governments currently have a goal of having 100,000 students study abroad between both of the countries by 2018. Most Americans overlook Mexico as a place to learn Spanish as they would rather study in more exotic locations like Spain, Argentina, Chile, or Costa Rica. We were very close to the ambassador while he spoke. I was surprised how strong his American accent was in Spanish given his tenure as ambassador of Argentina and 3 years in the post in Mexico City. To his credit though, he was a career diplomat who rose through the ranks of the State Department. I guess many ambassadors to high profile countries are usually the result of political nominees to people loyal to the President (read donations). 

 Here is the Ambassador taking a picture with all of the Binational Business Grantees. Pretty cool.  

Coincidentally, the day after we took this picture, Barrack Obama announced that Ambassador Tony Wayne would be stepping down and would be replaced by Maria Echaveste:

Maria Echaveste is the daughter of undocumented Mexican immigrants (I learned that you should say undocumented rather than illegal). This is a big deal for Mexico because she is a) the first female Ambassador to serve as American Ambassador in Mexico, b) because she comes from a Mexican family and deeply understands the culture and language, and c) she is highly qualified (she was Deputy Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton). From the press coverage I have seen, it seems as though Mexicans are receptive to having a Latina Ambassador.

Here's a picture of me looking official. I think this will be my new Skype profile picture.

Sadly my intestinal fortitude was broken on Friday after 3 weeks of resilience. I am bouncing back and hope to emerge even stronger.

P.S. Don't forget to tie up your soap, or that shit will run off!

Bienvenido a México

Bienvenido a México. This blog will replace my previously ongoing blog http://leroyinargentina.blogspot.mx/ which has 141 entries and more than 3,000 views. The purpose of this blog is to document my experiences while in Mexico City this year. Here is my profile from the University of Washington website. 

First impressions about Mexico City:

1) Quality of Life: This is actually the third time I´ve been to Mexico City, and I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised. Before I would always stay in the downtown area which is crowded and gritty, but on this third trip I've discovered that the city is actually very liveable with lots of green spaces and nice neighborhoods. I was not really expecting that. I can also walk to work, which is amazing. The best part about Mexico City is the food, the people, and the cost. You can eat amazing food for super cheap, and everyone is really nice. They also don't stare at me or hassle me. They are just doing their thing. Not sure if you've been to Puerto Vallarta or Cabo, but you get constantly harassed there. Here it's not the case. Mexico City is a self-sufficient city that doesn't need tourists. 

2) Quality of Food:

Everyone said "Don't eat the street food!" Americans said it, Mexicans said it. Everyone said it. Up until now, I have had no problems with any of the street food that I have eaten. I'm trying not to get cocky, but so far so good (knock on wood). I accredit this to my previous trips to Mexico and Mexico City, which I believe have fortified my intestinal flora and given me the necessary resistance. Not eating street food in Mexico is like telling someone to go to a movie and telling them to keep their eyes closed. Street tacos are amazing. My current count is 33 tacos.

Tortas are amazing 

This actually wasn't amazing, but it looks good. 

Pozole was amazing

You really can't experience Mexico City without experiencing street food. 

3) Stereotypes

Stereotypes come from somewhere, and I couldn't resist taking this picture of 10 men pushing a broken down bus out of traffic. However, I will say that my Law Firm completely breaks the stereotypes about Mexican working hours. I was expecting soft 8 hour days. Rather, most people get in at 10 am and stay until about 10 pm or later. Yes, they take an hour or two for lunch, but they stay insanely late. I was not expecting that whatsoever.  

4) Teotihuacan

 Absolutely stunning Aztec ruins about 1 hour north of Mexico City. Take the green line north to Indios Verdes, then take the J exit and walk about 200 meters to the buses that say Piramides. Cost is $43 pesos per person and bus is about 70 minutes. Park entrance is $56 pesos. Bus ride passes through some extreme favelas in the north of the city that put Rio's favelas to shame. On the bus ride, a local musician played his guitar in exchange for tips. Ruins were amazing. 

 Lunch at the ruins with live music. 

5) Domingoeando

On Sundays you domingoear (to Sunday) with your friends or family. Popular places include parks like Chapulepec or plazas like Coyoacan. The number of vendors with balloons, cotton candy, ice cream, toys, and knick knacks is impressive. 

 6) What worries Mexicans?
I was suprised to read in the newspaper that the issue concerning most Mexicans isn't violence or the economy, it's corruption. Many Mexicans believe that there is money and an appropriate budget, but the implementation of that budget is not always efficient and by the time the money gets to its destination, it is not as much as it should have been. 

7) California Street

Yup, still taking California Street to walk to work. It's about a 30 minute walk. 

 8) Xochimilco
About 30 minutes by car (much longer by public transportation) is Xochimilco. It's a park where you rent boats with your family or friends, and gently float around on a Saturday or Sunday. Mariachi boats will come up and dock to your boat and will play for about 100 pesos per song. 

9) Rush Hour

Good luck at Rush Hour. You are on your own. On the metrobus, the front area is designated for women only, so the men duke it out at the back of the bus. During peak times, it is normal for 5 to 10 buses to pass you by as you simply cannot squeeze onto the bus. When you finally do squeeze on, you have to physically force your self on using whatever leverage you can from the door jam. People litterally body slam their way onto the back of the bus. If getting on the bus was difficult, getting off is no easier as there is a complete impasse of people between you and the door with no room to maneuver. I tried to take a picture to capture the chaos, but it doesn't even come close to doing it justice. 

10) Costs

Mexico is relatively cheap. The pesos is 12.5 to the dollar and the prices are roughly the following depending on how nice of a place you are at (in pesos):
Tacos: $5 - $39. $5 being the cheapest I´ve seen at 5 x 25 tacos. $39 being at the other end of the spectrum as the most expensive tacos I´ve seen in DF
Beer: $13 - $60.
Rent (USD): $350 - $800. I´m in the middle of the spectrum at $450
Gym (USD): $40 - $110. In the US, gyms are for everyone so the cost is driven down by volume. Think 24 Hour Fitness $30 memberships. In Mexico it´s a luxury, which drives up the price. The cheapest I´ve seen is USD$40 and it goes way up from there. I did, however, find a CrossFit gym for $65/ month, which I am going to sign up for. Given the normal buying power of the dollar, I expected to find gyms much cheaper than they are.
Taxis: Really cheap. A 15 minute ride is about $5 USD.

That´s it for now.