I love Mexico City and I Love Feminists!

BLOG 1 of many : Hola, from Mexico City. It has been exciting since minute one en el D.F. This city is amazing, historic, and beautiful. Theres so many people here. So many things to see and appreciate. So much life, expresión, and PUBLIC SPACE. This is a pix of the ZOCALO, a giant, flat Square plaza in the middle of Centro Historico, and you get the most sincere calmness sitting in the middle while all the cars and chaos roams around you. Familias, vendors, artists, and children chasing bubbles and kites is what you will see. But I can´t get away from the feeling of wonder to just sit in the middle of it all on the floor.

I currently feel limited in my ability to document and express to the World wide web the sights and sounds of Mexico City. The Computers freeze if i try to upload Pictures or film. I know documentation has occurred without this technology. So I will do my best to write in a way that you are able to imagine and visualize with me.

The first night here was FUN. I am lucky that the homegirl Nef is on this crazy aventura conmigo because she loves to laugh and dance. So it´s a perfect match because on Saturday night we roamed the streets of Centro Historico following the bright lights and the sounds of music to our destinations. Our first stop was another beautiful plaza with a huge stage and about 15,000 people !!!! It was a celebration of the arts and the organizers brought together some bad ass DJs. And people were dancing everywhere.

Being in this city, I am convinced of the enormous importance that public spaces hold in the development of a city and the way it is experienced. Public spaces allow for culture and expression to manifest. Here in the city there are young and old, straight and queer, and different classes coming together to share space. I especially enjoy watching the youth hanging out. I see how young people are able to develop their own identity because they are more free, they can walk to places, or take the public subway system to get around. In L.A. young people need a drivers license and a car to feel mobile. The bus system is slow. And we are at least 40-50 years behind on a public metro\ subway \ public transportation system.

There is a Subway system that can take you in all directions of Mexico city here. And you can either ride a taxi, bus, or walk around this crazy city. I love it. Even though my legs are feeling hella sore. Im gonna go get a massage after this blog.

So Nef and I jumped on the subway to get to Coyoacan – Los Coyotes en Nahual. This is where Frida Kahlo´s House is at. But before I jump to this visit, let me tell you about the subway. So it was on Sunday and there were hundreds of people underground. We jumped on train and then there was a guy announcing the sell of mix cd´s with cumbia, salsa, reggeaton, romanticas. The best part is that he had speakers and there I was holding on to the rail with cumbias in the train.

After 2 trains we made it to Coyoacan. We couldn´t decide whether to walk to the Jardin – one of the big parks in this town, or to take a taxi. Then this older couple made the decision for us and asked us if we wanted to share a taxi. So we jumped in the taxi since we were going to the same place. We tried to pay when we got off but they insisted on paying for all of us. They were so sweet.

The park was … GREAT. Again, there were so many people, and families, and food. Churros with chocolate, grilled corn, tostadas, mini-pancakes, fruit, ice-cream, tacos… And there were vendors with jewelry, clothes, art, leather, dolls, ceramics, and soooo much more. We took a break and we were not even half way around the park. We sat next to a water fountain with 2 copper coyotes in the middle. We rested our feet but we noticed everyone eating ice-cream and churros. We got up and went on the search for the perfect churro. This is where I would share the video I took, but I CANT, I SIMPLY CANT !!!!

After all of this we had an hour left before Frida Kahlo´s house was closed. So we hurried across the town and made it just in time. The blue house is beautiful. I love Frida. We could not stop talking about how great she was. She is an amazing woman who expressed her sexuality, politics, and art all in one. She was the subject of her paintings and I appreciate that stance of looking so deep within and reflecting your pensamientos, your pain and sorrow, and politics in a painting. And we saw her and Diego´s art studio with her wheelchair and box of oil paints.

I am so happy that I was able to be here in my life. I am sure Frida never imagined her house becoming a museum, and even less that on a random Sunday, there would be 2,040 visitors, including me and Nef.

Before we left Coyoacan we had to get some coffee and rest our feet. I had the most deliciously flavorful cup of coffee ever !!! I am going back to Coyoacan before I leave just for another cup. I ordered a CapuchiMoka and it was choclatey(¿), caffeine, warmness in my mouth. Wow, Starbucks sucks soooo much, I don´t ever want to drink it again. On the other hand, this coffee was the best.

Before I finish this blog…actually I probably have another page to go… but I totally skipped out on the rest of the funness from Saturday night. So after the big DJ dance party on the streets, Nef and I continued to roam to the next part of town. We had no idea where to go but there was definitely a sense of the night being far from over. People were still in that celebratory mood. And we realized it was Mexica New Year as well.

Again we followed the lights, turned some corners, found nothing, turned around, and then … taz taz taz, thump thump, horns and guitar, drums and laughter… where is that coming from??? We crossed a couple streets and found the source !!! It was live reggae in some upstairs club called Cultura. So we went in for 25 pesos which is like $1.25 and continued to dance. The band was called Los Aguas Aguas. They are band from Jalapa, Veracruz and we were promised a place to stay whenever we make it out there (we have it on video, jajaja). They were so much fun and they played such good music. They called it reggae fusion and indeed it was ska, cumbia, and reggae all in one. Then the DJ continued with the music and we continued with the dancing. We were very tired after we got to our hotel room sometime around 3 A.M.

Well, I made this trip to Mexico City for the 11th Latin American and Caribbean Feminist Gathering. And it began yesterday with a full day of registration.

There are womyn from allllll over Latin America; young, elder, queer, colorful, humble, righteous Cubanas, Indigenas, Bolivianas, Paraguayas, Nicaraguense, Salvadorenas, Panamenias, Brazileras, and Mexicanas !!!! It feels like -Nef and I are the only Chapina-Americanas, but none the less we are WOMYN and we are FEMINISTS. And it feels amazingly great. I am so grateful and I feel so blessed to be amongst such power. Wow… the rest of this calls for another blog. Estoy tan emocionada. And for now I need to leave this computer so I can be present in the rest of the conference. I needed to share my first couple of days. I will share the videos with you all, but it will have to be until I sit in front of my mac. Stay tuned to the blog, more pictures will come up. Especially since today I registered as part of the media and have access to their computer lab. I am currently surrounded by womyn photographers, producers, film makers, journalists, writers, and bloggers like me! I love Mexico City and I love Feminists!