One can get the impression that Mexico City is not a very nice place to live because of poverty, smog and crime. Those things do exist but the city has many positive qualities as well: a rich arts community, beautiful arcitecture and a long facinating history. For guys like me, it is also a coin collectors paradise! The Mexican mint has incredible silver coins! The picture you see at the left is of the Libertad which is on the Paseo de Reforma (one of the main streets in downtown Mexico City) and it celebrates Mexico's freedom and liberty. The statue's image is often seen on tourist brochures and even on Mexican coins. The gold relief at the top is that of an angel. I recently found an article that really captures the heart of what Mexico City is like. Enjoy!
Mexico City - An Outrageous Place & A Great City
This is an outrageous place - a city whose history is more epic than anything Hollywood could imagine, a city where art flourishes on every street corner, a city so vast and varied that everything said about it, good or bad, is true.
Flying in is always a bit of a shock. First comes the smog barrier. A blanket of pollution hangs over the flat valley where the city sprawls, despite efforts to reduce the number of cars.
Then comes landing. Mexico City's airport is smack in the middle of the biggest city in the Western Hemisphere and one of the biggest in the world. The plane circles lower and lower above houses painted turquoise, yellow, red, orange, flamingo pink - like a garish model railroad layout - but what you are really seeing is a lesson about culture, history and architecture...
More obviously, it's about density and courtyards. The Arabs influenced Spain, and Spain influenced Mexico, and one result is these shady patios behind high walls.
They make every house a tiny haven, a walled oasis of calm in the midst of the multitude. The courtyards let people live smack up against other people, other buildings, other industries and still have a sense of privacy. Even if a neighbor paints hers hot blue with red and green trim.
How hard it must be to administer any city, I thought, flying into it this time. To make any place work, let alone this one. The amazing thing about Mexico City, though, is that it works so well.
Yes, there's smog. Yes, there are pickpockets and pirate taxis. Yes, the whole thing sits on a network of earthquake faults. Yes, there's corruption in politics. And yes, you can't drink the water.
But it remains a great city, a world city, like London or Cairo or New York. An estimated 23 million people live here, and more flood in every day, hoping for jobs and a better life."
Catherine Watson Minneapolis Star Tribune January 18, 2004
This is an outrageous place - a city whose history is more epic than anything Hollywood could imagine, a city where art flourishes on every street corner, a city so vast and varied that everything said about it, good or bad, is true.
Flying in is always a bit of a shock. First comes the smog barrier. A blanket of pollution hangs over the flat valley where the city sprawls, despite efforts to reduce the number of cars.
Then comes landing. Mexico City's airport is smack in the middle of the biggest city in the Western Hemisphere and one of the biggest in the world. The plane circles lower and lower above houses painted turquoise, yellow, red, orange, flamingo pink - like a garish model railroad layout - but what you are really seeing is a lesson about culture, history and architecture...
More obviously, it's about density and courtyards. The Arabs influenced Spain, and Spain influenced Mexico, and one result is these shady patios behind high walls.
They make every house a tiny haven, a walled oasis of calm in the midst of the multitude. The courtyards let people live smack up against other people, other buildings, other industries and still have a sense of privacy. Even if a neighbor paints hers hot blue with red and green trim.
How hard it must be to administer any city, I thought, flying into it this time. To make any place work, let alone this one. The amazing thing about Mexico City, though, is that it works so well.
Yes, there's smog. Yes, there are pickpockets and pirate taxis. Yes, the whole thing sits on a network of earthquake faults. Yes, there's corruption in politics. And yes, you can't drink the water.
But it remains a great city, a world city, like London or Cairo or New York. An estimated 23 million people live here, and more flood in every day, hoping for jobs and a better life."
Catherine Watson Minneapolis Star Tribune January 18, 2004
1 comment:
Hi this mexico is cool!!
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