Ballet Folklorico and Xochimilco

Dear Friends,

The evening of our first full day in Mexico City we went to an outdoor performance of Ballet Folklorico de Mexico at the Castle in Chapultapec Park. Wow, wow! Words cannot begin to describe the feast for the eyes and ears in this Christmas program. Through costumes, live music, and dance it told the history of Mexico from pre-Aztec times, through the Spanish conquistadors, up to modern times, The centerpiece of the program was the procession of the Virgin de la Guadalupe and the re-enactment of the Nativity Story, complete with live horses, lambs, and goats. Ballet Folklorico is a must see if you travel to Mexico City. Here are some pics.

The next morning we headed for an adventure to the Canals of Xochimilco (pronounced So-chee-MEEL-ko.) south of the city. Remember on an earlier email I said that Mexico City was built on a lake? Well Xochimilco is what is left of the lake and the canal system of earlier times. The four of us rented a gondola and gondolier for a couple of hours and made our way in these colorful boats.

The gondolas were like Mother Ships that  were “serviced” by a variety of vendors - from food to trinkets to entertainment.

As we floated down the river, each gondola created its own tableau - groups like this one floated by within an arms reach. I wanted to know more about them: was this a family celebration? 

In order to appreciate what happens next, you need to know that our friend Jeff can’t stand mariachis.  There is something about the blaring trumpets, the out of tune singing, the  screechy violins, and the heavy ranchero beat that drives him up the wall. So to make him happy we bought a few tunes from two marimba players floating by.

Things got pretty wild on the gondola after that!

More later.

All the best,

Mary