Parent Advisory: may contain political content
I am saddened to read of the death of Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela. I have never had a clear opinion of him but I tend to agree that the poor of Venezuela, of which are many, benefited enormously under his presidency. That said I shall proceed with today´s post:
I walked through Polanco today, the rich neighbourhood of high rises, expensive shops and restaurants and snooty white Mexicans. Chapultepec Park was closed till 2:00 so this was my plan B. I stopped in a grove of trees near the park which is a monument of trees donated by cities all over the world. There was a contribution from Montreal. Nothing from Vancouver which seems odd because if there is any city in Canada that can outdo the rest of the country for trees then we are it. The same indigenous dancers still perform in front of the Museum of Anthropology nearby. They wear bright white red and yellow costumes, one plays the flute and another sounds a rhythmic drum while others climb up a blue pole of about six or seven stories. On top is a rectangular platform that can hold four or five and when they are all up there it rotates. I still don´t know what to make of this. Nearby was the Gandhi monument (Mohandas, not Indira) and all his ribs stick out on his statue as in real life. Following a coffee and a lengthy book-read in a rather high end cafe I walked on the Calzada de Horacio. This is a broad boulevard in the middle of the street that stretches for three miles or so that people like to walk and cycle on. It is surrounded by trees and very beautiful. I came out to a Jewish neighbourhood with kosher shops and lots of square tall apartment and office buildings built in the style of the 60´s and 70´s that some architects have termed ¨Brutalism.¨
From there I went into the Museo Soumaya a museum of art donated by Mexican tycoon, Carlos Slim. Carlos Slim is a controversial and not much liked figure in Mexico. He is the richest man in the world being worth somewhere in the neighbourhood between 69 and 78 000,000,000 depending on which source you are reading, or the entire economy of a small country. Through his domination of Mexico´s telecommunication and related industries he put a stranglehold on the creation of many small businesses and to this day the majority of Mexicans resent him for ruining the economy. Recently he has advocated that globally the retirement age should be raised to 70 (he is 72 or 73, himself) I suppose that this would be much easier than for him and his ilk to part with several billions more of their accumulated wealth and release their stranglehold on the global economy so that many more could participate and benefit. By the way, for those who care to know, I am not anti-capitalism, I am against Global Capitalism. I am all in favour of small business.
That said, for all of us to live well and decently and for the preservation of healthy and functioning societies we are going to need a more just and equal distribution of the wealth. Does that make me a socialist? Well I have been called worse things by nicer people.
The art museum is his gift to the Mexican people and the admission is free although one has to go through a security clearance equal to what we put up with in airports now. The only difference is I was allowed to wear my belt and shoes.
It is an impressive art collection but I would have to call it eclectic to a fault, not really well curated. So, on one floor are lovely Renoirs and three of Van Gogh´s less colourful works along with statues by Rodin and religious scenes by El Greco and Mexican indigenous art and others. There is some dreadful kitsch as well. Many Mexicans avoid this gallery because of what he Carlos Slim has done to impoverish the country and I understand why. It is like someone stealing all your bread from you then hoping to shut you up with a free piece of cake. I will still likely return to this gallery despite it´s inauspicious origins, but primarily because it is free to get into and I am on a very tight budget this year. I think I must have walked at least sixteen miles today. I do feel rather sore, a bit grumpy and not at all fond of the people who drive in this great city, except maybe for one gentleman who actually stopped to let me cross the street. This is considered a great privilege here in Mexico City.
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