Mexico City - Sites

Mexico City is home to 160 museums. I visited one.

Anthropology Museum - Before Mexico City was a city, it was a series of Aztec temples on a lake. The Spanish drained it when they conquered the area. Remember that fact, you'll be tested later.

Over the course of the metropolis' development, artifacts from all over the city have been uncovered and preserved at the Museo Archaeologico. In addition, to preserve all of Mexico's cultural history, artifacts from ancient (Mayan, Olmec) and modern cultures are on display at the Museum. The place is quite big and mazey. I enjoyed most of it, as I saw some artifacts that I typically don't see in museums North of the Rio Grande.

This is the Aztec sun calendar. It's very important to Mexico, but I don't know if this was the original. It was very unprotected. If I was still fuming over the USA loss, I could have jumped on that thing and destroyed it. The ground under Mexico would have opened up and swallowed the city into hell.

This is a mural of the first yellow card ever. The Aztecs were way ahead of their time, since FIFA didn't introduce yellow cards until the 60's.

The Pyramids and Local Ruins
On our final full day, we took a trip to Teotihuacan, also known as the pyramids. We had really wanted to make this trip earlier, but nights of abusing cheap beer and tequila prevented that. On the way, our van driver and tour guide showed us some ancient ruins discovered right in the middle of Mexico City in the 1960's. There was a big dig to build a subway for the 1968 Olympics, and these ruins were discovered.

Carlo and I both wore Banana Republic graphic tee's with white stitching around the sleeves and collar. Ignore that while you look at the ruins.

On the way to the ruins, our driver stopped off at the Agave and Maguey farm. Those are the two cactus plants that make Tequila, Mescal, and Puquol. Those are also the two cactus plants that provided my liquid breakfast for the day.

Puqoul was new to me, but it's very popular in central Mexico. It's a very weak, milky, version of Tequila (6% alcohol as opposed to 33%) that is best mixed with fruit juice. It ferments and goes bad very quickly (like in 2 days) so it isn't shipped anywhere. I convinced our tequila guide (with 50 pesos) to put some in a plastic bottle for me to take home, but he said that wouldn't work. I gave him some more convincing, and suddenly he solved the problem. Unfortunately, I learned why he was right the first time. Before we even got home, the Puquol had fermented into the nastiest, undrinkable substance. I had to trash it.

The Sun and Moon Pyramids at Teotihuacan were magnificent. The sun pyramid which I climbed is the 3rd tallest in the world (not counting the Luxor.) Archaeologists don't really know why the Teotihuacans built the site. The Aztecs later came and claimed the site for religious events like solstices and equinoxes. I took an archaeology class in college that focused on this site, and still know very little about it. Amazingly, my tequila breakfast had no affect on my ability to climb the ruins. The steep uneven steps were easily conquered. I felt like Cortez.

Many people get to the top of the Sun Pyramid, raise their arms up to the sky and try to "feel the power." I did not feel the power. I felt like a dork. One of my mistakes may have been not wearing white.

I tried to get someone to sacrifice me so I could have eternal happiness with the Aztec gods, but didn't get any takers. I couldn't believe how open this site was. You could climb on, roll around, and play with anything.

Make note, if you go to the pyramids and your guide takes you to an obsidian store, don't buy anything (besides tequila.) There are people selling the same obsidian crap for a fifth of the price at the pyramids. There are also guys selling sweet jaguar and eagle noise makers.

On the way back from the Pyramids, our guide took us by the site where the Lady of Guadelupe was seen. I had no idea this place was in Mexico City. I always imagined it being out in the wilderness. If you're not familiar with the story, read this. You'll recognize the pictures and know how important this site is to Mexico.

This is a spot where Mary was seen. It's been turned into a rather beautiful garden with sculptures depicting the event. People go right up to the fence and pray for more miracles.

There are three old religious buildings on the site. Remember where Mexico City was built? That's right, on top of a drained lake! A major problem is that the ground underneath Mexico City is still moist, so many buildings in the city are slanted and sinking. Pisa doesn't have anything on Mexico City. The buildings at the Lady of Guadelupe's site are in major trouble.

Soccer/Futbol - I wrote about the soccer experience for a World Cup qualifier between the USA and Mexico at Azteca. Watching a Mexican League match was a completely different event for me.

There are three teams in Mexico City, Club America, UNAM Pumas, and Cruz Azul. Club America are the biggest and most popular. Pumas are popular amongst college students since they are university affiliated. Cruz Azul is a team that is typically good, but I don't know who supports them.

Since we had to see a match on our last day, we had to decide who to see based on our flight times, so Pumas was the winner. We took a 30 minute cab ride across town to the Pumas stadium, Olimpico Universitario. This stadium was the main grounds for the 1968 Olympics, and is located on the UNAM campus. Like most architecture in Mexico City, the stadium has a distinct, timeless look. Inside, there is a huge fence, a moat, a small fence, and a track separating the fans from the field.

Chris purchased a Pumas jersey, while Carlo and I sported our LA Riot Squad shirts. The new Galaxy colors matched the Pumas colors so it all worked out.

Tickets were $15.00 at the gate. All the seats in the stadium were general admission so you could sit anywhere you wanted once you got inside. Most fans (families, the older people) got a spot in the lower deck in the shade. The fanaticos (younger people) stood in the sun of the upper decks and lead chants across the stadium.

I loved hearing the Pumas fans sing their anthem before the match. Absolutely everyone sang along. Little five year old girls sang it, and 75 year old men sang it. Everyone raised their fist in the air, including the players. The big screen showed all the school sports, some of which were American football, swimming, track, fencing, baseball, and basketball.

UANL Tigres was the opponent of the day. They are the only other University affiliated team in the league, so the matchup we saw is known as the Universitario Classico. The match was very interesting. Pumas were defending champs of the Mexican league, but had started the season with three losses. They really needed a win. Tigres opened up the match with a beautifully chipped goal from about 25 yards. Pumas came back in the second half with an equally beautiful screamer from distance. However, it wasn't Pumas day. They had two ejections, and once down to 9 players, they lost control. Tigres scored a cheeky goal to steal a 2-1 win.

The Pumas fans never stopped supporting their team. They got admirably louder as their team got in a hole. Everyone in the stadium was getting into chants, and I loved watching the 8 year old girl paying very careful attention to the match. I also enjoyed the drunk 35 year old man lead everyone in a chant of "uno dos tres, Chinga Tu Madre Kikin Fonseca!!!" Yes, the little 8 year old next to me joined in that one.

I was amazed at how many families supported Pumas. It was a family atmosphere unlike the sporting events we have in the USA. During NBA games, the attention of the children is kept by having gorillas do slam dunks off trampolines during a timeout. At the Pumas match, kids and parents intensely watch the game together. Both are family environments, but in different ways. Carlo and I were both confused by a quick water break in the 35th minute of each half. A fan told us that the Mexican League is doing this for matches played in the heat of day this year.

After the match, we went home and watched the first half of the other match we could have potentially attended had our flights left later. Club America beat Atlas from Guadalajara 2-1. When Chris and I got to our terminal for AeroMexico, we actually saw the Atlas team getting ready to fly home. A few of them were nice enough to take a picture with us. In the middle is Dario Bottintelli, who is a good young player on the radar of some big European clubs. The guy on the right (not me, duh) asked if I liked Tom Brady. The guy on the left asked if I knew Landon Donovan and if he would go play for Atlas. I hadn't even told them I was from the USA, but they could tell.

I had a great time seeing what Mexico had to offer, and there is a ton I didn't get to see. I need a checklist when I go back.