36 hours in Mexico City

Happy to see DF getting some positive press. It seems like external perceptions are mostly negative but then again they are external...

http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/travel/24hours.html?th&emc=th

LUCHA LIBRA

I have a confession to make. As a child I was a huge fan of wrestling. Every Saturday I would religiously watch the WWF. I was captivated by the intense action and drama. Then one fateful day around the age of 10 the news was broke to me by my older brother that the wrestling was not real rather it was all a choreographed act. I refused to accept this! It couldn’t be…The experience was like when young children who believe in Santa Claus find out he is not real….the deception!!! Alas we all need something to believe in.

Fast forwarding to the present day in Mexico City I have been asking people about things to see in la ciudad. Lucha Libre (translated as “free fight” aka wrestling) has constantly come up as something to check out. Apparently it is a Mexican pastime. I was excited to have the experience, especially since I had been a fan of wrestling in my childhood. Mexican wrestling is very similar to what I grew up watching but it is a wee-bit more exaggerated and there are more humorous characters,my favorite is a “little person” dressed up as a monkey . Most “luchadores” wear masks, which adds a twist (see below) and allows fans to buy masks and wear them in support of their favorite wrestlers. Any visitor to Mexico City should not miss the Lucha Libre experience.

Masks (mascaras) have been used dating back to the beginnings of lucha libre in the early part of the 20th century and have a historical significance to Mexico in general dating to the days of the Aztecs.^[9] Early masks were very simple with basic colors to distinguish the wrestler. In modern lucha libre, masks are colorfully designed to evoke the images of animals, gods, ancient heroes, and other archetypes, whose identity the luchador takes on during a performance. Virtually all wrestlers in Mexico will start their careers wearing masks, but over the span of their careers a large number of them will be unmasked. Sometimes, a wrestler slated for retirement will be unmasked in his final bout or at the beginning of a final tour, signifying loss of identity as that character. Sometimes, losing the mask signifies the end of a gimmick with the wrestler moving on to a new gimmick and mask. The mask is considered "sacred" to a degree, so much so that fully removing an opponent's mask during a match is grounds for disqualification.^[10]

Field Trip #1: Para comer tacos de lengua de vaca

Every weekday morning at 7:30am I meet my Spanish teacher Imelda for my daily lesson before I start my workday. Our Spanish conversations are fairly limited thus far based on my competence in the Spanish language and one morning we were talking about food. I constantly walk by tacos stands that are sprinkled on the streets and inhale the intoxicating smells wafting from the grills. During our conversation this image popped into my mind. I asked Imelda, Que es tu favorita taco? She answered, “Me favorita tacos es La Lengua”. La Lengua? Que es la lengua I thought? She proceeded to tell me that La Lengua is cow tongue! Which apparently is a favorite taco of many Mexicans due to its tenderness. I asked around to verify my source and multiple people concurred. During my next lesson I asked Imelda if we could go on a field trip to a taco stand to try La Lengua tacos. She agreed and today we went on our 1st field trip. My 1st glance at La Lengua was alarming. Upon the request of Imelda the cook picked up a huge cow tongue and showed it to me. The thing was massive and I almost gagged as I peered at it. I was relieved when I saw that la lengua was diced up and put into the tacos for patrons to eat. When it came time to try it, Imelda curiously watched my reaction as I hesitantly took my 1st bite. I must admit it was a pleasant surprise. La Lengua was tender and tasty! So much so that I even ordered a second one. One of the gifts of living in a foreign country is the assortment of different cultural experiences you can have. Not all of them have to be extreme however I find that when I step out of my comfort zone my learning and enjoyment increases.

Rosca de Reyes

Today at work I got an email saying please join us for rosca de reyes at 3pm (read the below description from wiki to learn more).I had no idea what to expect and was excited to find out. 40 people crammed into a conference room to cut a large colorful round cake which had 10 little baby Jesus figurines hidden inside. If you pulled one out than on the 2nd of February you had to buy tamales and atole for everyone in the office. Since I was the newcomer to the team everyone insisted I cut my slice 1st and what do you know!!!! There was a baby Jesus in my slice of cake and my co-workers laughed and cheered. The cutting process took another 10 minutes as people carefully chose where to cut . During that time 9 more figurines were uncovered. Some of the lucky ten seemed happy to get the figurine others a little upset due to the fact they would have to buy tamales and atole for everyone on the team.Customs from diverse cultures are something I enjoy participating in and learning about. . I found the tradition very interesting and fun to participate in.

Rosca de reyes or roscón de reyes (kings' ring) is a very fine cake prepared carefully and delicately.

Although the name indicates that it should be round, the Mexican “rosca de reyes” generally has an oval shape due to the need to make cakes larger than 30cm across for larger parties. For luxurious decoration, Mexican people use tanned and fig fruit, quinces, cherries, etc.; which besides from making it pretty, enriches its flavor.

It is traditionally eaten in January 6, during the celebration of the "Día de Reyes" (Wise Men Day). In most of Spain, Mexico, and sometimes Hispanic communities in the United States, this is the day when children get presents from the Three Wise Men (not from Santa). They leave a shoe outside, filled with hay or dried grass for the animals the Kings ride, before they go to bed along with a note. The Mexican “rosca de reyes” has an oval shape. For decoration, Mexican people use dried and candied fruits like figs, quinces or cherries

The tradition of placing a trinket (figurine of the Christ Child) in the cake is very old. The baby Jesus, when hidden in the bread, represents the flight of Jesus, fleeing from King Herod's evil plan. Whoever finds the small baby Jesus is blessed and must take it (a representation of baby Jesus) to the nearest church on the 2nd of February (Día de la Candelaria). In the Mexican culture, also has to have a party and provide tamales and atole to the guests.

In some places, the roscón de reyes is replaced by Panettone, sometimes with trinkets.