Big Brother is Watching You.....

The minute you see this building, which is the New Federal Police HQ on Reforma, you have to think of George Orwell's 1984 right??? The nightmare vision of a dystopian totalitarian dictatorship where Big Brother is always watching you, and the definition of the future amounts to a "boot stamping on a human face forever" according to O'Brien. Check out the disproportionate size of those boots....

The intimidating scariness of that machine gun....















And the sheer scale compared to the ordinary people down at street level.....

I have to admit I have become a little obsessed with this image, and only when I went to see the Steve Mcqueen film "Hunger" last week did I realise why - because my policeman was there on the screen come to life as a member of the tough Riot Squad sent in to violently subdue Bobby Sands and the rest of the hunger strikers in the Maze Prison....only my policeman was hiding round the corner weeping at the vicious brutality..... Take a look at the wistful expression on his face....the faraway look in his eyes....

He's not really interested in surveillence or watching anyone right?? He has his head in the clouds with unfulfilled dreams of his own!! The Police generally have a terrible reputation here in Mexico...and probably quite rightly so, as many friends will testify who have been taken on the typical trip to the ATM negotiating the bribe with some hard bargaining on the way...but they can have their lighter moments too whereby they get in touch with their softer more human sides.....

If you too want to become obsessed with this image you can find him adorning the Federal Police building on Reforma right near the Angel of Independence. Check out what is happening in the rest of the world by tuning in to My World Tuesday. Click here.

Shadow Shot Sunday 61 - Real de Monte

Strolling around the cobbled streets of Real de Monte last weekend, I suddenly noticed in the early evening that the longest shadows I had ever seen were being thrown....

Of course the shadows of the children were considerably shorter than mine, but check out old longshanks below....

More postings on the fascinating magic village of Real de Monte to follow. In the meantime for more fun with shadows, check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here

Some corner of a foreign field forever England.....

Rupert Brooke's immortal words imagined his own death on the World War 1 battlefields of France, but high up in the mountains north of Mexico City there is another corner which is forever England....

This is the English cemetery established in 1851, on top of the hill overlooking Real de Monte in a beautiful pine forest, to house the graves of the Cornish tin miners who came out from England to work the tin and silver mines for a British mining company in the 19th century. The site is incredibly tranquil with the scent of pine trees wafting in the breeze, a scattering of pine cones on the ground, and both butterflies and birds enjoying the peace and quiet..

It could indeed be any English country churchyard with its smattering of English names such as Brown, Pratt, Carter, Phillips, Dodd, Collins and Waters as well as the more distinctive Cornish names from Pengelly and Polcase to Trevethan and Trelease. Most seemed to live to a ripe old age although there were also tragic tales of accidents in the mines...

William Sobey died in an accident in the Santa Gertrudis mine just before his 17th birthday and William Stoneman was another casualty at the age of 26. Place names from Cornwall also abound on the headstones from Camborn to Saint Agnes to Bolenowe....

There are 750 graves in total and all face England except for one awkward character whose dying wish was to be buried NOT facing the homeland, thus the grave of Richard Bell ,the clown, is the only one to lie crossways...

Be equally awkward, if like me after a 25 minute climb uphill from Real de Monte, you find the gates locked. I knocked on every door in the vicinity until I found the lady with the keys to let me in, and make sure she shows you the plan she has on her wall of all the names and corresponding graves...

If like me you find these tiny forgotten corners of history fascinating, then be sure to read an enchanting fictional representation of this slice of history in Anita Desai's novella "The Zig-Zag Way", and if you are wondering what the English left behind in this part of Mexico, the answer is simple - Cornish pasties and football!! Apparently the first game of football on Mexican soil took place in a field near this cemetery in the 19th Century - maybe this was also the origin of that well know terrace chant "Who ate all the pies!!" and very pertinent on the eve of the World Cup warm-up friendly Mexico v England. For more glimpses around the globe this week check out the My World Tuesday postings.... More postings on Real de Monte and Pachuca and this fascinating corner of Mexico's mining industry to follow shortly...

Shadow Shot Sunday 60 - Amecameca

Amecameca is a sleepy little Mexican town full of bicitaxis like the one shown above with its nice sharp shadow presented like a crisp mirror image. Why visit this tiny little town?? Only an hour away from Mexico City, it is the best and closest place to view the twin volcanoes of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl, and when there is heavy snow on the summits what could prove to be a more magnificent vista than this??

And a close up of the summit of Smoking Popo reveals that he is sporting a few nice shadows of his own.......Check out more shadowy shots at Shadow Shot Sunday!!

Food Festival on Reforma......

Mexico certainly is the Land of Fiesta and one of my favourite festivals is taking place right now on Reforma - La Feria de las Culturas Amigas...

Promoting first and foremost friendship between all the different cultures to be found here in Mexico City, everyone goes first and foremost for the food.....

With over 80 stalls from more than 50 different countries, it is perfectly possible to eat your way non-stop around the world from Argentina to Vietnam all in a few short hours!!

And likewise you will also meet colourful characters from all over the world...

The atmosphere is fun, festive, and friendly....

As well as the food and the people, the festival also celebrates art work from a wide variety of cultures such as these paintings by Bolivian artist Vargas...

..and there is a wealth of craft work for sale too...

...plus of course a fair smattering of music and dancing...

If you are lucky enough to live in Mexico City than this Festival runs right through next weekend as well (May 22nd/23rd)...if not then travel through the virtual world of My World Tuesday postings by clicking here....Have Fun!!

Shadow Shot 59 - Cuetzalan

The courtyard of my posada in Cuetzalan was perfectly pretty and pleasing during the day...

but a little more spooky and threatening at night under the floodlights......

Why was the courtyard floodlit?? Because we were watching the Quetzal dancers, of course, whirling about on their wooden frame at breakneck speeds....

If the wonderful world of the culture of Cuetzalan is a little out of your reach today distance-wise, then why not nip over to Shadow Shot Sunday for some fascinating photography....

Quirky Mexico City....

A couple of weeks ago when I walked down the forgotten end of Calle Rio Lerma, this ordinary residential apartment building was an ordinary dull beige in a very ordinary street. Just look at it now!!

Do you think there was a residents' meeting whereby it was mooted and agreed to paint the entire building in these wacky zig-zag camouflague colours?? A desire for the faded and forgotten to be much more funky??

That's what I absolutely love about living in Mexico City - its quirky and dynamic energy that means everytime you think you have the measure of the place something subtly (or not so subtly!) shifts, and it eludes you yet again! There is always something to be surprised by or something to smile about in this surrealist city of magic realism.

Other favourite sightings in the city include one taxi towing another using a human tow rope, a pair of chihuahuas dressed as Sherlock Holmes and a Fifties Starlet, plus a desperate truck driver letting his tyres down to squeeze through an underheight bridge.... What have you seen to make you smile this week?? Check out more sightings around the world with My World Tuesday postings....

Shadow Shot Sunday 58 - Rio Panuco

This week's shadow shot all started with a yellow bus parked in the shade on my street Rio Panuco. I quite liked the detailed patterns of leaf shadows against the bright yellow paintwork...

It led me to remembering some bright yellow walls and topiary shadows in another part of Mexico City....

Which in turn led me to remember some other bright yellow walls in the nearby village of Tepoztlan...

and finally to a wall in San Miguel de Allende which had been turned into a cinema screen emblazoned by a glorious sunset.....

I hope you have enjoyed blazing the yellow trail with me, which happens to match the glorious summer sunshine we have been enjoying here in Mexico City this week. Not just a feast of shadow shots but a veritable banquet, and there are more over at sumptuous Shadow Shot Sunday. Enjoy!! What colour has been on your mind this week??

Yohaulichan......

There is undoubtedly a wealth of archaeological sites to visit here in Mexico, but you really are spoilt for choice when you start researching and visiting those well off the beaten track!! This is Yohaulichan near the magic village of Cuetzalan, a site founded in 400 AD by the Totonacs who also built the pyramids at the more well known site of El Tajin. In Nahuatal, Yohaulichan means "Casa de la Noche" ( House of the Night ) and similar to El Tajin, the architectural style is characterised by all the niches....

The site contains buildings for administrative, religious, ceremonial, and housing purposes, as well as a ball court

The Totonacs were succeeded by the Toltecs in 800AD and the Chichimecas in 1200AD....

It is a really peaceful and beautiful place to visit and only twenty minutes away from Cuetzalan. There is also a very interesting church at the entrance to the site....

If, like me, you like using local transport, then track down the little transit shed in Cuetzalan, and take a pick up colectivo which will bring you there and back to the site for 7 pesos (50cents) each way. It is a little bumpy on the cobbles, but a fun afternoon out exploring the scenery around Cuetzalan.

Cooling off in Cuetzalan....

Around the beautiful remote mountain village of Cuetzalan in the State of Puebla, there are some gorgeous natural pools, springs and waterfalls all set in tropical forest. It makes for a perfect day of hiking and swimming. Take a look at the landscape you hike through to reach them....

And the secluded pools and rivers where you can take a refreshing swim....

Above is a photograph of the most beautifully secluded and tranquil pools - swim along this river and just around the corner is the plunging waterfall of Atepatahua - no image unfortunately as I didn't have a waterproof camera!! More accessible are the waterfalls of Las Brisas....

and El Salto......

It is perfectly possible to hike and swim all three waterfalls in one day with the help of Xochiquetzal Tours who organise groups, guides and lunch for as little as 130 - 350 pesos (10 - 30 USD) for a full day trip. My favourite place was definitely Atepatahua, followed by El Salto and then Las Brisas. On Easter Sunday and being the closest waterfall to the centre of Cuetzalan, beware as this is another view of Las Brisas....

It is also possible to get to Cuetzalan from Mexico City for a long weekend as it is 6 hours by bus and 4 hours from Puebla City. For more gorgeous glimpses of the world this week check out My World Tuesday by clicking here.