Why I love Mexico City: Reason no. 9

Sometimes it's the little things that make life in the big city so pleasurable. I'd written a previous post (click here) about some of those perks, and this week I encountered a new one: aside from buying the usual fruits and vegetables at my weekly tianguis, I was able to get the hems on a new pair of pants shortened while I shopped.

Daniel is an itinerant tailor whose business consists of a sewing machine, a box of supplies, his sign and a dolly to move everything to a different market each day--another example of the ingenious ways Mexicans find to make a living.

He hadn't quite finished by the time I'd done my shopping, so I had lunch at the market stall below while I waited.

People often talk about the difficulties of living in a metropolis the size of Mexico City. But it's moments like this that make me feel I'm in a laid-back pueblo.

Understanding Mexico's Political Parties

With the presidential elections upon us in both the U.S. and Mexico, I thought this piece by author/blogger Daniel Hernandez about Mexico's political parties was worth sharing.

Click the link below:

http://danielhernandez.typepad.com/daniel_hernandez/2012/02/left-right-center.html

Death in Venice at the Palacio de Bellas Artes

I've probably been to more than 100 functions at the Palacio de Bellas Artes over the past 15 years, but last night I witnessed the best performance of them all.

Benjamin Britten's opera 'Death in Venice' which I had seen years ago in New York, had made me a bit bored and antsy. I arrived at the theater prepared for a long night; it's not the kind of work that's easy to love. There are no real 'tunes' or big numbers for the soloists. Much of the libretto takes place in the mind of the protagonist, who ends up dead in a beach chair at the end.

But the production was so inventive and intelligent, the action so carefully calibrated to the score, that it brought this potentially stagnant work to life. The constantly active staging by Jorge Ballina (keep an eye on this guy!), the evocative lighting, flowing choreography and witty costumes all served to illustrate, amplify and adorn the text. And the new stage machinery at Bellas Artes was put to full use, with swift scene
changes popping up, dropping down, or sliding away - seemlessly morphing from one to the next.

'Death in Venice' is a rare event anywhere--a truly unifed work of performing art.

There are a few tickets remaining for this Tuesday (Feb. 7) and Thursday (Feb. 9) at the box office or Ticketmaster.