a bubbling cauldron of rank miscellany

10 Observations on Mexico City

…because i just got back from a vay-kay there.

1. The toll on my lungs, a nicely blended combo of high altitude and smog, didn’t really become noticable until around dusk every day.
2. Public Displays of Affection are *really* common here, among old, young, straight, and gay alike. It’s pretty noticeable when you walk through parks, festivals, and museums. No one seems unnerved by it, though.
3. Also notiecable? The policia, federali, military presence. They are *everywhere* and moreover, they all seem to have their guns at the ready. As with #2, though, no one seems too unnerved by it.
4. The virus that is the American Branding Machine has encroached upon Mexican soil: Starbucks, McDonalds, Applebees, Wal*Mart, and pretty much most other big U.S. corporations can easily be found down there… If one were to squint, one might be forgiven for mistakenly thinking one was in NYC.
5. Public art is *everywhere.*
6. Holy cow–there’s an awful lot of old stuff here: churches, pyramids, castles, etc. the U.S. is a cultural baby in terms of Western Hemisphere nation-states.
7. Despite its bloody back-story, the merging of indigenous and Spanish cultures seems to have happened to a much greater extent than the U.S.’s Anglo-Native American merger…
8. Tacos al pastor 4-eva!
9. I’m apparently resistant to Montezuma’s revenge (also known locally as “turistas”). Thankfully.
10. Pics here.