Zocalo and the National Cathedral

One of my favorite TV channels in the US for those of you who don't know is the history channel. (Pawn Stars, Modern Marvels, and Axe Men... whats not to love!) Still I really do find history exciting and love exploring places like Philadelphia's historical district (with Jordan Malenke) or even the little Mercer County Historical Society (with Abbey Jones).

Well Mexico City takes it to a whole new level. Founded in 1325 it contains ancient pyramids, pre-revolutionary buildings, and modern skyscrapers.

Torre Latinoamericana - Built in 1956 it stands as the "Mexican Empire State building"
However only topping off at about 600 ft.

The first place you need to visit in DF is the Zocalo. This is the center of Mexico City housing the National Cathedral, National Palace, Federal District buildings and the Templo Mayor.

The Zocalo

Fun facts

• The Mexican Zocalo is the largest city square at 57,600 square meters
• The word "Zocalo" means plinth or base of a monument. This is because original plans for the square were to build a large monument to commemorate the Mexican Independence but plans fell through.
• Many cities around mexico use the term zocalo for a town square but the one in Mexico has a capital z Zócalo. (note the special o... it is too difficult to type this but go back and read my post again and pretend you see them)

Me and the consuelos went to the Zocalo on a Sunday and it was packed! The first building we went into was the National cathedral. 

A view from the left side 

Like I said... It was a Sunday so we were slightly rushed and I did not get to take as many pics inside as I wanted.

Here is the back alter.

The organ chamber this church had 2 organs!

Outside the church there were all these Plexiglass windows in the courtyard that people were gathered around. I looked over in one and could see ferns growing on what looked to be an Aztec temple buried right under my feet!! 

Aztec temple... you know, just under your feet.

So the funny thing that happened as I was staring at the ground is a Mexican came up to my Mexican friend Alex and asked him (in pretty good English) if his son could talk with him in English for a homework project since he needed to speak with a genuine American.  Me and Alex both laughed a lot that the man went up to alex instead of the obvious 1.98 m Gringo standing next to him jajaj. So I proceeded to talk with the kid about where I was from, why I was in mexico, and what my favorite Mexican food was.

Oh ya, and because I was 3 feet taller than this kid and was constantly bending down (like a giraffe drinking water) to understand the kid we started to attract a crowd. Why was it exciting to hear a giant person talking in broken english with this little kid??? I dont know... but hey that's mexico for you.

So the final excitement for the day was actual Aztec decedents preforming rituals and dancing outside the cathedral.

So this was a dance they preformed. I had a brief desire to join in with them believing this to be a modified version of "Cotton eyed Joe" but was reluctant after I saw their sharp obsidian knives.

I really liked this shot because you can see the natives with the church in the background.

Day F aaaa

Mexico City, the city of: corruption, pollution, crime,  drugs, end of the world, and the first destination on my short-lived mexican vacation. I have heard of every bad association Mexico City has, however, I always found it strange how every Mexican is a big fan of D.F (districto federal) and over the next 3 days DF would show me how it broke all of the stereotypes that Americans place on it.

Reforma Ave is this beautiful street lined with trees, not garbage.

The best comparison I can think of for Mexico City is if you were to combine Washington D.C with NYC.  I know first hand (along with Matt Stedjan) That there are places you DO NOT want to be in DC at 5 AM. This is probably where mexico gets its bad rap from.

Also I thought I would need one of these...

While Mexico City wasn't the cleanest place it must have improved... The same can be said about Pittsburgh. My grandfathers have both told me stories about black snow and coal dust you could wipe off your cars.


Here is some smart dude talking about it..."Mexico City has actually seen great improvement recently in terms of air pollution," says Dave Calkins, founder of the Sierra Nevada Air Quality Group and former chief of the Air Planning Branch of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in San Francisco. "So much so that the government actually has to campaign to let everyone know that pollution is still a problem."

A street leading to the Zocalo

Lucky for me there are a lot of great Mexican families that are incredibly generous and inviting. I was fortunate enough to stay with one of my football player friends I made over summer, Alex Consuelos. (a really great family but more about them later) He lives in Tlalnepantla (try saying that 10 times fast)

Alex

The hard to pronounce city

The first night we rode on a bus with a bunch of his friends and went to a "club" in the DF. This club was one of the most shocking things I have ever seen... Straight out of the movies. 4 stories high with maybe 1,000 people rockin out... oh and a Foo Fighter cover band that made me forget I was in mexico! Bulldog cafe was a real fun time and mixed drinks for $1.50 it was pretty hard to beat.

Something that I have come to know, yet still not expect, is the incredible generosity Mexican families have down here. The next few days were filled with trips to their favorite places in DF and more on that in my next post. Something that I always find myself doing is meeting everyone's extended families... Grandmas, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. My visits always seem to correspond with some family function that leaves me an awkward foot taller than every one and usually full of great food.