Art Deco Edificio Victoria de Calle Lopez, D.F.

Edifico Victoria is one of the most attracive art deco apartment houses along Calle Lopez, which seems to me to have the greatest concentration of that style in downtown Mexico City.

Museo Nacional de Arte, D.F.

Museo Soumaya, Polanco, Mexico City

Just opened to the public, no admission fee, Carlos Slim's new museum adjacent to the high end Polanco district in Mexico City. I heard it's the biggest private museum in Latin America. It's part of a Slim project which includes headquarters of Telcel, a luxury condo tower and Plaza Carso, anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue. The Slim project seems to have detonated an upscale building boom on its periphery. Note the new tower being finished behind the musuem. Many more new condo towers are going up to the immediate east of Plaza Carso.

Roque de Tlanepantla

Alfonso Galan

Alfonso en la Alameda Central el ano pasado. A friend from Mexico City.

Peregrinos (Pilgrims), Basilica de Guadalupe, December 12th, Mexico City

The current, modern style basilica is to the left in the photo and its predecessors in the back middle and right. Atop the hill in the distant background is another chapel.

Peregrinos en la esplanada de la Basilica de Guadalupe, 12 de Diciembre, Mexico D.F.

During the festival of Guadalupe the esplanade is jammed with people moving around, camping out and dancing. Many independent groups of dancers perform at the same time in their respective costumes.

Peregrinos en la esplanada de Basilica de Guadalupe, Mexico D.F.

Vast numbers of pilgrims come to the basilica to celebrate the appearance of the Virgen on December 12. Literally on foot and on bicycle from locations far from Mexico City. Many of them bring blankets and sleeping materials to camp out on the plaza during their stay.

Virgencita de Guadalupe, Basilica in background

La Basilica de Guadalupe, December 12 festival of the Virgen. Mexico City

This is the maximum religious site in Mexico. This building contains the painting of Guadalupe that appears on Don Diego's back at this spot, Tepeyac Hill. The event occurs on December 12 and thus it's the date of the annual festival and celebration of the Virgen of Guadalupe. The building is modern, it's predecessors are located near by. The entire complex is referred to by a mexican friend of mine as the "Little Vatican."

Azulejos (Mexican tiles), Colonia Guerrero, Mexico City

I pass this fresh tile design on my way to my local Wal-mart in the mornings. The decaying building appears to be from the "Porfiriato", the period when Porfirio Diaz ran Mexico prior to the Mexican Revolution in the 1910's, a time known for "Europeanization".

Hotel Riviera, Colonia Guerrero, Distrito Federal, Mexico

On the periphery of the colonial center in downtown Mexico City many interesting examples of signage and architecture from deco to mid-century proliferate.

Centro Cultural Ollin Yoliztli, Periferico Sur, Mexico City

On a bus heading west on the Pereferico Sur (southern segment of the most important ring highway in Mexico City) my view was captivated by this arresting pattern. Later I visited and discovered it is a cultural center next to the pyramid park Cuicuilco. The southern zone of Mexico City is known as a prosperous one relative to other zones of the city. UNAM, the mega university of Mexico is about a  20 minute walk from here.

Panteon San Fernando, Dia de Los Muertos

Cemetery San Fernando is home of many very important political figures from Mexican history, the most important, of course, is Benito Juarez, Mexico's Abraham Lincoln. As in all cemeteries, tombs are decorated with orange flowers during the holiday. In this case, though, it's not likely relatives of the deceased make the decorations and "ofrendas".

La Catrina, Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

La Catrina, a character popularized by printmaker Jose Guadalupe Posadas, at beginning of 20th century, is immensely popular as a costume during the Dia de Los Muertos holidays. The idea is elegant people, just like everybody else, are subject to death.

WOW! Chinampas in San Andres Mixquic

San Andres Mixquic

Tulyehualco (náhuatl: lugar alrededor de los tules ).

Domingo en La Alameda, Mexico D.F.

Sunday is busy in Alameda Park. Masses of people congregate to listen to music, dance, eat, shop and cruise each other. Generally, the crowd is of lower economic means, shorter in height, and more indigenous than the city at large. Probably many of these people have come to Mexico City from areas in central and south of the country seeking better opportunities. Cumbia style music is popular with this group.

Returning home late at night I spotted this "comedor" next to an entrance to Metro Bellas Artes.

Ron in Plaza Santo Domingo, Mexico City

Plaza Santa Domingo is where the illiterate used to go to have letters written. Today there are many small job printers as well as typists who are available for letters and forms. Ron is a friend of mine, originally from Fort Worth, Texas who has lived in Mexico City for ten years. We met at the Spanish Conversation Group held weekly at the Casa de Los Amigos, a Quaker Center and hostel near downtown. He says he swam the Rio Grande to get to Mexico.