A Few Days in Mexico City
Not every place in Mexico is a sun-kissed beach resort destination. When visiting the nation's capital in late July, bring along a sweater; it can be downright chilly in the mornings and evenings. Perhaps that is a reason why one finds mostly solid-walled structures in landlocked Mexico City, away from the many open-air restaurants and breezy hotel lobbies one can find in the warmer coastal areas.
Unlike the beach destinations, which one can take largely at face value, Mexico City reveals itself in layers. This is not a city that hands over its attributes to just any tourist who happens to come along. Here, one must learn to look, to find… to appreciate. Here, many of the types of cultural, historical, and architectural wonders for which Mexico is known are enveloped right into the city fold, where they co-exist alongside the day-to-day points of what appears, at first, to be a typical urban area.
Mexico City does not boast the postcard-perfect face of the beach destinations. At first look, Mexico City shares some of the more banal characteristics of many big-city environs. Here, as in many other cities around the world, one can find as many people and as many cars packed into as few square blocks as possible. Depending on the time of day, one can easily spend an hour in traffic between Point A and Point B. Here, one can find just about all of the familiar, big-box retailers one is accustomed to seeing in just about every major city in the world. In the hotel district, one can attend a meeting in a branded property and hardly see any sign that one is anywhere in particular, aside from the telltale limited English skills on the parts of a few staff members.
To find the authentic—to find the heart—one must venture a little distance from the Five Star neighborhood. One does well to wander some of the side streets of the downtown area, where the crowds are not as busy and where the storefronts advertise sentiments in Spanish, rather than in brand names.
Yes, one might initially be taken aback by the concrete-and-graffiti façade the city presents along the drive from the airport to the hotel district. Throughout the city, one might be driven to frustration by the stop-and-go traffic during rush hours, when a pre-determined number of lanes seems to cease to exist and thousands of vehicles wrestle for position—any position—along packed streets. Outside of El Zócalo, the main city square, one might be disheartened by the dozens of the unemployed who sit, lining the sidewalks, holding cardboard signs to advertise their skills for hire while their tools of trade lay at hand, waiting for work.
To be fair, on the surface, one might find Mexico City has just as many challenges as any capital of any nation is prone to have.
But… within a few days in Mexico City, one begins to notice it has its differences from other major cities of the world.
Its nine million residents seem to keep it clean, for one thing. Yes, one might notice the graffiti that loops and swirls across the fronts of many structures along almost every street, but one does not notice any garbage or debris strewn along any of those streets. That is no coincidence, by the way. City and tourism officials have worked for well over a decade to make Mexico City a cleaner place, from the water quality to the air quality to the experience quality. Yes, it is safe to drink the water in Mexico City.
And, as far as the graffiti goes, tour guide Carlos Escalera explains that it’s really more for show than anything else. It is a way for some residents to claim their neighborhoods, he explains—to display a sense of ownership of their surroundings.
Where such street art causes justifiable concern in many U.S. cities, the related concept of gang violence hardly even garners a place in conversation in Mexico City. After all, according to Lic. Carlos Mackinlay, executive director of the Office of Congresses and Conventions, Mexico City sees only about 500 reported crimes each year.
As one looks closer, Mexico City offers much more for consideration and appreciation. For example, as one explores the downtown area by foot, one might be charmed by the intricate, handcrafted wares sold on blankets spread on sidewalks by street vendors. One might be moved by the sight of a shaman who performs public ceremonies to cleanse the spirits of passers-by in the course of a daily routine. One might be enchanted by the heart-stirring drumbeats of the dancers who appear in full, traditional regalia in the main square every day to perform the steps of their ancestors. One might pause over the ruins of pyramids in the middle of a city the size of this one, where many of the original stones still lie unturned today.
One might find oneself awestruck, open-mouthed, in admiration of the city’s centuries-old architecture at painstakingly maintained sites like the stunning Metropolitan Cathedral, the oldest and largest cathedral on the continent. One might wonder at the sheer size and scope of the Palacio Nacional, the home of Mexico’s Presidential and government offices, which takes up the entire east of El Zócalo on the site of the original palace of Moctezuma II.
Even in the middle of an event at Centro Banamex, Mexico City’s stunning, state-of-the-art convention facility, one is not far from the social and cultural influences that permeate the underlying atmosphere of a destination that has grown sophisticated while maintaining its traditional roots and heritage.
One just might discover that Mexico City is alive with the language, the music, the food, the arts, the celebrations, the history, and the stories of the Mexican people, all of which flows through the veins of a contemporary urban oasis that simultaneously offers the answer to any modern product, service, or technology need.
Now, if you’re absolutely dead-set on getting to the beach from Mexico City, you’re looking at a drive of more than three hours, at best. So, if you find yourself in Mexico City, you might as well stay and explore the authentic cultural, historical, and architectural attractions within the nation’s capital and surrounding areas. If you really want to see the beach, you can always buy a postcard.
Serenity J. Knutson, Editor in Chief
PlannerWire.com
Serenity@PlannerWire.com
Unlike the beach destinations, which one can take largely at face value, Mexico City reveals itself in layers. This is not a city that hands over its attributes to just any tourist who happens to come along. Here, one must learn to look, to find… to appreciate. Here, many of the types of cultural, historical, and architectural wonders for which Mexico is known are enveloped right into the city fold, where they co-exist alongside the day-to-day points of what appears, at first, to be a typical urban area.
Mexico City does not boast the postcard-perfect face of the beach destinations. At first look, Mexico City shares some of the more banal characteristics of many big-city environs. Here, as in many other cities around the world, one can find as many people and as many cars packed into as few square blocks as possible. Depending on the time of day, one can easily spend an hour in traffic between Point A and Point B. Here, one can find just about all of the familiar, big-box retailers one is accustomed to seeing in just about every major city in the world. In the hotel district, one can attend a meeting in a branded property and hardly see any sign that one is anywhere in particular, aside from the telltale limited English skills on the parts of a few staff members.
To find the authentic—to find the heart—one must venture a little distance from the Five Star neighborhood. One does well to wander some of the side streets of the downtown area, where the crowds are not as busy and where the storefronts advertise sentiments in Spanish, rather than in brand names.
Yes, one might initially be taken aback by the concrete-and-graffiti façade the city presents along the drive from the airport to the hotel district. Throughout the city, one might be driven to frustration by the stop-and-go traffic during rush hours, when a pre-determined number of lanes seems to cease to exist and thousands of vehicles wrestle for position—any position—along packed streets. Outside of El Zócalo, the main city square, one might be disheartened by the dozens of the unemployed who sit, lining the sidewalks, holding cardboard signs to advertise their skills for hire while their tools of trade lay at hand, waiting for work.
To be fair, on the surface, one might find Mexico City has just as many challenges as any capital of any nation is prone to have.
But… within a few days in Mexico City, one begins to notice it has its differences from other major cities of the world.
Its nine million residents seem to keep it clean, for one thing. Yes, one might notice the graffiti that loops and swirls across the fronts of many structures along almost every street, but one does not notice any garbage or debris strewn along any of those streets. That is no coincidence, by the way. City and tourism officials have worked for well over a decade to make Mexico City a cleaner place, from the water quality to the air quality to the experience quality. Yes, it is safe to drink the water in Mexico City.
And, as far as the graffiti goes, tour guide Carlos Escalera explains that it’s really more for show than anything else. It is a way for some residents to claim their neighborhoods, he explains—to display a sense of ownership of their surroundings.
Where such street art causes justifiable concern in many U.S. cities, the related concept of gang violence hardly even garners a place in conversation in Mexico City. After all, according to Lic. Carlos Mackinlay, executive director of the Office of Congresses and Conventions, Mexico City sees only about 500 reported crimes each year.
As one looks closer, Mexico City offers much more for consideration and appreciation. For example, as one explores the downtown area by foot, one might be charmed by the intricate, handcrafted wares sold on blankets spread on sidewalks by street vendors. One might be moved by the sight of a shaman who performs public ceremonies to cleanse the spirits of passers-by in the course of a daily routine. One might be enchanted by the heart-stirring drumbeats of the dancers who appear in full, traditional regalia in the main square every day to perform the steps of their ancestors. One might pause over the ruins of pyramids in the middle of a city the size of this one, where many of the original stones still lie unturned today.
One might find oneself awestruck, open-mouthed, in admiration of the city’s centuries-old architecture at painstakingly maintained sites like the stunning Metropolitan Cathedral, the oldest and largest cathedral on the continent. One might wonder at the sheer size and scope of the Palacio Nacional, the home of Mexico’s Presidential and government offices, which takes up the entire east of El Zócalo on the site of the original palace of Moctezuma II.
Even in the middle of an event at Centro Banamex, Mexico City’s stunning, state-of-the-art convention facility, one is not far from the social and cultural influences that permeate the underlying atmosphere of a destination that has grown sophisticated while maintaining its traditional roots and heritage.
One just might discover that Mexico City is alive with the language, the music, the food, the arts, the celebrations, the history, and the stories of the Mexican people, all of which flows through the veins of a contemporary urban oasis that simultaneously offers the answer to any modern product, service, or technology need.
Now, if you’re absolutely dead-set on getting to the beach from Mexico City, you’re looking at a drive of more than three hours, at best. So, if you find yourself in Mexico City, you might as well stay and explore the authentic cultural, historical, and architectural attractions within the nation’s capital and surrounding areas. If you really want to see the beach, you can always buy a postcard.
Serenity J. Knutson, Editor in Chief
PlannerWire.com
Serenity@PlannerWire.com
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