Never Mind the Wall….Look Through the Window

Last August, on one of my many journeys into Puerto Rico, I stopped by the home and studio of the renowned artist Antonio “Tonio” Martorell. Tonio is the ex-father-in-law of my girlfriend Edmi and has remained a father figure to her and has become a dear friend to me in the last couple of years.

Visiting his studio and getting an inside look into his work is always a special treat for me. Tonio is the kind of person that you feel something special and joyful just by being in his presence.

While we were there, he was showing us his latest project dealing with cinema in Mexico’s history and tying it in with the huge celebration of Dia de los muertos, The Day of the Dead. I had never heard of this celebratory day, but apparently in many parts of the Latin world this is a huge day to honor those who have passed. No place celebrates this day more than Mexico.

Tonio was going to have his exhibit in Mexico City at the Universidad del Claustro on October 30th. He began showing us his charcoal drawings of famous scenes from Mexican cinema and explaining how he was going to work the celebration of the day into the exhibit. It sounded fascinating at the moment and he suggested we come down to see it.

He’s a good salesman, as no sooner did we get back from Puerto Rico that we were planning our venture to Mexico City. Oddly, in all of my travels, I had never been to Mexico. Not even the gringo tourist spots like Acapulco or Cancun. Edmi had been and had nothing but great things to say about her visits there. So that’s all I needed to be convinced. Off we go…..

We decided to go the Airbnb route for this trip as the US dollar goes a long way. I always prefer to choose areas I can walk about from place to place if I can when I travel. We found a place in the neighborhood of Condesa. It was an area of beautiful treelined streets sprinkled with restaurants, cafes, shops and art galleries. It was safe and comfortable to walk about day or night. It felt like a neighborhood where Queens meets San Juan meets Mexico City.

Mexico City is the largest metropolitan area in the Western Hemisphere. Yes, even bigger than New York City by some 700,000 people. After trying to get around the traffic in Mexico City I can tell you it’s obvious. I will state the negatives first about the city. It’s chock full of traffic and pollution. It has a mass transit system, but also very crowded, and a bit intimidating to navigate. That being said, Ubers are ridiculously cheap and plentiful to get from place to place if you’re not able to hoof it.

We arrived in the evening and strolled a couple of blocks to a neighborhood restaurant and enjoyed some small shared dishes along with some local Mexican red wine.

After a long day of travel, our first full day was to start early. We were heading to the Sun & Moon pyramids in Teotihuacan, about an hour drive outside of downtown Mexico City. Rush hour begins around 6:30AM there and our driver recommended we leave early to avoid the heaviest traffic and large swarms of tourists at the pyramids. That advice could not have been better.

We got to the pyramids shortly before 9AM and only had to compete climbing with a handful of tourists. Believe me, as you take on the nearly 300 steps of this climb its best to have space between you and the person in front of you. If you go later in the day or on weekends you will find your nose in places you may not want it as you climb these very steep stone carved steps.

After the climb, we made a quick stop for a hearty Mexican breakfast and some coffee. Then it was off to check out the beautiful and moving Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. People come from around the world in hope and pray at this cathedral for a miracle needed in their lives.

For more about the history of this stunning basilica check out the following link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe

There is also a grand newer cathedral right next to the basilica that is worth a visit and houses the miraculous cloth in which the first basilica is based on.

I will leave it right here for the moment, but part2 of this journey will include me eating things that generally crawl or hop around on or in the ground. Also more about the exhibit and the day of the dead celebrations. Finally, and perhaps the most beautiful part of this trip, our day journey into the town of San Miguel de Allende.

If you’ve gotten this far, gracias….or thank you.

Remember……sunshine always!!!