Long week-end get away in Mexico City

                                                                                                         
My wife, Mercedes and I selected to spend our long Labor Day week-end in Mexico City. After a relaxing flight from Los Angeles, I looked out from the plane as I was being welcomed to the valley of Mexico by its two millennial Aztec lovers; Popocatépetl whose eternal love and passion still burns today and his beautiful princess Iztaccíhuatl. These two volcanoes are the most admired and revered in all of México.

After a quick stop at customs at Benito Juarez airport, we were greeted by uncle Angel, his wife Yami and their son Alejando, "el niño". After some warm embraces, we unanimously agreed to feast on the fine cuisine Mexico city is famous for... Yami guided Angel through the asphalt jungle of this huge metropolis of 20 million souls to La Colonia de Aragon. Here we were introduced to El Montejo, a three story restaurant specializing in savory dishes from Yucatan. We selected seating in the less crowded top floor. After a few welcomed libations and good food, we were serenaded by this great quartet whose repertoire was exquisite and quite extensive.

Angel on the foreground enjoying the serenade

                                      

Alejandro, "el niño" as his endearingly mother call him joins in with a love song.

After a delicious meal and a few celebratory cheers, our designated driver tackled the congested avenues and boulevards towards our hotel located in Colonia Roma of el centro histórico. After a few more toasts, it was time to rest.
After an evening of "dolce far niente", we woke early for a morning walk along avenida Alvaro Obregon to an intimate cafe. After a light breakfast, we headed to El Templo Mayor.

On on our way to the temple, we stumbled into thousands of runners and many street closures, just our
luck!The International Mexico City Marathon was in progress. The finish line was in el Zocalo, adjacent to El Templo Mayor. After walking a few blocks and cheering some tired runners, we arrived at The Grand Temple, for those of us of Mexican descent walking through the Templo Mayor stirs a kinetic feeling, of wrapping our arms around the rich heritage built by those who came before us. According to Mexica history, the temple is located exactly where the god, Huitzlopochtli, revealed to them the sign; an eagle on top of a cactus devouring a snake. This was the promised land. This is where they would build Tenochtitlan.
The temple was built in the 14th century in honor of the Aztec god of war and water. The Templo was almost destroyed by the Spaniards during their conquest of Tenochtitlan. It was lost for centuries. It was accidentally rediscovered in 1978 by electrical workers digging trenches for the modernization of the city.

El Templo Mayor

The Templo Mayor was a pyramid with many of the usual stone carvings. Most of them are now displayed in the museum at the site of the temple. In the foyer of the museum, you will observe this massive and most eminent monolith of the temple, The Aztec earth goddess Tlaltecuhtli.

Tlaltecuhtli  earth goddess, queen of the day, a deity that can be called upon difficult births

The missing piece in the center has never been found. Nevertheless, this discovery has been a source of cultural and ethnic pride for every Mexican, here and abroad. During our visit I could not help but notice the large numbers of young students with note pads, cameras and books taking detailed notes and pictures of each display.

Tzompantli 

Tzompantli walls of human skulls of executed war captives were commonly constructed to frighten their enemies. A large wall can be found on the yard of the site. This one, is a stucco relief located inside the museum. Walls like this were commonly offered to the deity Huitzlopochtli, Aztec god of war.

Coyolxauhqui

This carved round stone is the Aztec moon goddes Coyolxauhqui depicting severed limbs. According to Aztec mythology, she was slain by her brother Huitzilopochtli  because she had killed their mother. In Aztec mythology, this goddess rules the night, but she dies every sunrise; slain by the sun god Coatepec.

After a full day of visiting the Templo Mayor and museum we were fatigued and more than ready for the  Mexican buffet prepared by our amateur chef Angel and his wife Yami.

Stay tuned for Plazas de Aragon, a palatable eatery in Angel's terrace.