Viva Mexico!

From Thursday afternoon, March 18, to Sunday evening, March 21, I (Kirk) was in Mexico City to attend the wedding of two Jewish Wharton/Lauder friends, Melissa (French track with me) and David (Portuguese track). The weekend was an amazing confluence of Mexican, Jewish, and Aztecan cultural experiences -- in short, a Lauder student’s dream weekend. Not surprisingly, 22 of the 60 or so Lauder students from our class were in attendance, along with a handful of other Wharton students.

For me, the weekend can be summed up by three main themes: delicious food, joyous celebrations, and cosmic energy.

Delicious Food

Mexico is, in my opinion, one of the most underappreciated culinary cultures in the world -- and this is coming from someone who lived in France and Belgium for two years. The meals were absolutely delicious almost everywhere we ate, from the uber, uber cheap, local market to the moderately cheap, four-star restaurant (everything is cheap in Mexico, it just depends on the gradient). My favorite place was a taqueria (taco shop) that had a delicious item called, “La Gringa” -- toasted tortilla shell with seasoned carnitas, beans, and Oaxaca cheese melted on top. The flavoring on the carnitas meat was amazing! At more sit-down restaurants you often eat family style in Mexico, where you all order one or two pots of meat and they bring you all the “accompaniments” (tortilla shells, Oaxaca cheese, salsas, mole sauce, guacamole, onions, and cilantro). Such a fun, friendly way to eat!

Mexicans also take their salsa usage very seriously – matching different salsas with foods much like a French chef would match sauces or wines with different meats. Click here to read a NY Times article on this subject. My favorite quote from the article: “Watching someone shovel in salsa with tortilla chips is strange to Mexicans. Like how an American would feel watching someone drink salad dressing out of the bottle.” Consider that for a moment the next time you dig your Tostitos chip into that jar of salsa. Mmmm, ranch dressing…

Celebrating with Friends

When I checked in at the hotel, I received a wedding packet from the front desk that included a schedule for the weekend. I knew I was in for a unique experience when I read the following:

Saturday, March 20th

9 pm – Buses depart from hotel to take you to La Hacienda de los Morales for the wedding

Sunday, March 21st

6 am – Buses leave the Hacienda to return guests to their hotels

Little did I know that Jewish weddings ranked 3rd in the latest US News and World Report’s 10 longest celebratory events, right behind New Year’s Eve on Times Square and the annual Bratwurst Festival in Madison, WI. My inquiries into the length of the event went something like this:

Me: So, what are we going to do all night?

Liana (a Jewish friend): Dance!!

Me: Until 6 am??

Liana: No, just until about 5 am. Then they’ll serve breakfast and a Mariachi band will come in.

Me: Oh, good…I was starting to get a little worried…

One thing I definitely took away from this weekend: Jewish people know how to celebrate a wedding!! First, I was fascinated by the actual ceremony. David comes from a very religious family, so they had all of the traditional Jewish wedding customs: the canopy (chuppah), the breaking of the glass, the contract (ketubah), and the many blessings that were read or sung by various people. They even had the men and women sit separately and asked all the men to wear a kippah (or yarmulke). Seriously, I couldn’t get enough of the symbolism and meanings! Luckily a fellow wedding guest had previously emailed me a 2-page primer on Jewish weddings that I printed off and took with me. The ceremony was beautiful and the couple looked so happy.

After the ceremony we ate a late Mexican dinner (again, delicious!) followed by typical wedding reception activities -- toasts and first dances. Then suddenly, the DJ put on some fast, Hebrew folk music and everybody jumped to the dance floor in one massive movement -- instinctively separating into men and women surrounding the groom and bride (respectively). For the next 45-60 minutes the same music played on repeat while various forms of group dancing took place around the bride and groom. Men and women (separately) clasping arms, spinning in circles, or contracting and expanding the circles like undulating waves on the ocean, occasionally kicking their legs out in organized movements… It was truly remarkable to watch. Check out the video below and you'll see what I mean. All of the attention was focused on making the bride and groom smile, since doing so would bring them more joy, happiness, and blessings throughout their marriage. (Side note: Later during the night the couple’s eternal happiness was sealed when three wedding guests rocked the dance floor dressed as amphibians -- to the tune of Funky Town.)

As incredible as it was to witness such exuberant joy and celebration, fortunately we didn’t have to “watch” for too long. After only a few minutes, the Jewish faithful pulled us gentiles into the fray and we were suddenly part of the family -- spinning, dancing, and laughing uncontrollably. It was as if they were saying, “This is how we have fun at weddings, and you’re going to have fun with us whether you like it or not!” At one point there were so many of us on the dance floor that we had three circles surrounding the groom -- all rotating rapidly in opposite directions. Little did I know that Jewish weddings also rank 2nd in the top 10 most likely places to sprain an ankle, right behind Mormon church basketball. Luckily, no one got hurt that night, even when they lifted the bride, and the chair she was sitting on, up in the air and danced around the floor with her for a few minutes.

After the first hour of Hebrew folk music, the DJ spun dance tracks for the rest of the night in themed groupings, such as today’s dance floor music, Mexican 80s, Latin ballroom (salsa and meringue mostly), classic 70s dance, country line dance (they passed out western hats for this music set), and so forth… It was literally non-stop for 6 hours (around 11:00 pm to just after 5:00 am). I took a few breaks, but it was so much fun that it was hard to stay away from the dancing and celebrations for long. Even though three days later I was still feeling sore muscle pain in my legs, it was absolutely worth it! To be a part of such a wholesome, festive, and intensely joyful occasion was simply amazing.

Soon after 5:00 am the lights came on, we served ourselves to a Mexican buffet breakfast, and then sang along with a Mariachi band until 6:00. On my way to the bus, I couldn’t help thinking, “When will I ever have another experience like this again?”

Cosmic Energy

As if the energy from the wedding wasn’t enough, the following day (Sunday) my friend Tim Parry and I decided to join several thousand of our closest Mexican friends for the Spring Equinox festival at the Aztec ruins of Teotihuacan, just outside of Mexico City. According to Aztec legend, on the spring equinox, portals of cosmic or solar energy open up and we can receive energy, health, and divine guidance from the gods. By climbing to the top of the Sun Temple (the tallest pyramid in Teotihuacan) you are at the most opportune place to receive the sought-after blessings of the equinox.

Seriously, how could we pass up an experience like this?? Who out there wouldn’t like a little cosmic energy flowing their way?

So, at 6:30 am Tim and I are sitting in our hotel room trying to decide if we should do the smart thing and get some sleep, or do the foolish thing and go to Teotihuacan. You know how that one turned out… After a quick change of clothes, we jumped in a taxi and headed down to the bus station for an hour long bus ride to the ruins. The bus station itself was a fun, challenging, cultural experience, especially since neither of us spoke Spanish. Fortunately, Tim had learned Portuguese this past year and was able to communicate on a very basic level. After navigating the ticket booth process and making it through the chaotic crowd and onto a bus, we were finally on our way.

First thing that struck us as we walked in the main entrance to the ruins site: we were among only a handful of gringos there -- easily less than 100 out of the many thousands that were there. This is in stark contrast to the usual tourist spots in Mexico where most of the Mexicans you see are tour guides for the Americans or Europeans. Right away we knew that this festival was serious business to Mexicans, especially those who identify closely with their indigenous heritage.

By the time we got to the Sun Temple, the line to ascend it wrapped around the side and back and had started to double over on the back side. This is one of the largest pyramids in the world, so imagine how large the base must have been. Fortunately we met some friends in line who spoke English, which helped pass the time.

Waiting in line, we occasionally saw people raising their hands in the air for a few minutes at a time and wondered what they were doing. At first I didn’t think much of it, assuming it was a Mexican way of shielding the scorching sun from their faces. But as the morning wore on, I saw more and more doing it more frequently. “Strange” I thought…

At precisely 12:00 noon, some fireworks went off and in unison everyone raised their hands in the air, closed their eyes, and pointed their faces towards the sun. Then it dawned on me. “Cosmic energy!” I said to Tim. Yes, thousands of people all raised their hands in unison at noon on the Spring Equinox at the base of the Sun Temple in Teotihuacan to receive celestial energy and guidance from the gods. Of course we joined in -- how could we not?? Forgetting for a moment our non-Aztec clothing and other obvious reminders of modern day life, it felt like we had gone back in time about 1,000 years. What an amazing experience!!

About an hour later we finally began our ascent to the top. Step by step we inched our way up, following the line of fellow cosmic energy enthusiasts. No where on this pyramid were any guard rails or other protective measures, so fighting the feelings of vertigo and fear of heights was a challenge towards the top. Our sense of accomplishment when we finally stood at the pinnacle of the temple was enough of an energy rush without any additional

celestial influence. Waiting almost 4 hours after arriving at the Sun Temple, with wind, dust, and sun beating on us the entire time, and with no sleep the night before, we had certainly scored a personal victory. Raising our hands heavenward, we collected our last morsels of celestial energy, snapped a few pictures, and then headed back down the pyramid to enjoy some traditional Aztec festivities before catching the bus back to Mexico City.

As I boarded the plane bound for LAX later that evening, I reflected on the previous 24 hours. The food, the wedding, and the Aztec festival -- it all seemed like a blur. Then I realized how fortunate I was to have had this experience.

Other fun activities

While Saturday night and Sunday were certainly the highlights of the weekend, Friday and Saturday were also quite eventful.

Friday morning I met up with several Wharton/Lauder friends and rented a large van with a driver to take us to a few sights in the city. Our first stop was a Diego Rivera museum that had equally impressive grounds as artwork. Peacocks freely roamed the gardens surrounding the house/museum and one even put on a colorful display for us (with a few female peacocks in attendance, of course). The Diego work that impressed me the most was a painting he did for a traveling exhibition in 1931 titled, “Frozen Assets.” Its symbolism, especially in light of our recent economic woes, is very thought provoking.

After the museum we briefly stopped at a local market for lunch. By “local market,” I mean absolutely no tourists anywhere within at least a 10 mile radius. It was a cramped, crowded, bustling, somewhat chaotic indoor scene of mostly small clothing stalls with a large food area near the entrance (this is the uber, uber, cheap food I mentioned earlier). Even the van driver tried to convince us not to go there saying that we “wouldn’t like it because it’s not nice enough.” Fortunately, one of my friends had been there before, and knowing the Lauder spirit of adventure and love of all things cultural, demanded that the driver take us there. I’m glad he did, even if we stood out just a little.

Our final stop of the day was at a place called Xochimilco. I’ll admit to being a little hesitant about this activity when someone described it as, “we all get in a small barge, float around some canals for a while, and drink.” It didn’t sound like the best use of time to me, but I was intrigued by the fact that it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site -- plus, I had no way of getting back to the hotel without my comrades. My hesitation turned to excitement when we arrived. The “barges” are actually very colorful flat-bottomed boats, decorated in traditional Mexican flamboyance. The canals, it turns out, were originally built by the Aztecs to transport goods and constitute one of the most elaborate networks of transportation lanes built in the pre-Columbian New World. Locals actually frequent these boats more than tourists as they use them to celebrate birthdays, family reunions, or any other festive occasion. In addition, many of my friends drank soda, which made it feel more comfortable for me.

For the next 2 hours, with Pablo pushing us along by pole (think Venice), we floated along some of the most beautiful, green gardens in Mexico City, oblivious to the crazy bustle of city life just a few hundred yards away. Our festive reminiscing and catching up were occasionally punctuated by vendors on smaller boats selling food, drinks, or traditional crafts. At one point, we had a mariachi band float beside us and sing us a handful of fun songs. A few of the women with us were scandalized by the Elvis-style hip shakes of the mariachi singer during the last song. It was certainly a site to behold…

On Saturday I went with a smaller group of friends to the historical center of town where the Presidential Palace and National Cathedral anchor the enormous central plaza. The main attraction of the Presidential Palace is a collection of several large Diego Rivera murals painted on slabs of stone and displayed along the walls of the second floor of the inner courtyard. From the massive, all-encompassing mural that greets you on the stairs to the last mural of the Spaniards’ brutal treatment of their hosts, the murals tell the tale of indigenous life in Mexico. I absolutely loved it! The murals gave me a greater appreciation and understanding of my son’s ancestors and the lives they lived.

Next was the grand cathedral, which is still in very high demand today for religious ceremonies (unlike many European cathedrals, unfortunately). One aspect of Mexican life that you notice right away is how religious they are as a people. Everyone dresses modestly, regular stores routinely have religious items for sale on their shelves, and churches are packed all day long. We happened to stumble onto a baptism ceremony that day, which was fascinating to watch for a few minutes.

After grabbing a late lunch at a delicious restaurant (paying roughly $20 for a meal that would have easily topped $50 in the States), we enjoyed a quiet afternoon on a roof-top terrace café overlooking the cathedral and an archeological site before returning to our hotel for a pre-wedding nap.

Changed Perceptions

In summary, I have a very different perspective on Mexico than I did a week ago. Most of what we hear about on the news in the U.S. regarding Mexico is either about the drug problems/violence or illegal immigration. What you don't hear about are the rest of the 99% of Mexicans who are wonderful, happy people with a rich and proud cultural heritage. But isn't that the beauty of traveling? To cast out all previous misconceptions and get to know a different culture for what it is, and the people for who they are? After only three days in Mexico City I already feel a small attachment to the country. Will I cheer for Mexico in the World Cup? Probably not -- they are, after all, our arch rivals. But don't be surprised if my son is sporting a Chivas jersey the next time you see him.