Draw Me Close: Mexico City, (D.F.) -- 2012

The beautiful urban loft we called base-camp complete with yoga balcony and sweet pup.

D.F. was so full of color, innovative architecture, and public art! I tried to capture a glimpse of the city's cosmopolitan nature as we meandered our way through this awesome city. Enjoy the photos.

These flexible stuffed animal hats were very popular among the young adults; I believe he's wearing an ostrich.

We found these non-humans at the free central zoo.

Well, hello there!

You are gorgeous!!

I had to include this photo because Jenn (on right) thinks it looks like the turtle is biting me on the butt...and that, of course, is the funniest thing ever!

Clear sky turns to sudden monsoon-like rain -- within moments, all of the vendors became poncho retailers and before we knew it, the entire crowd was coated in blue and grey re-purposed plastic bags. I've never seen such efficient retailing.

Tortas (everyone's favorite Mexican sandwich snack)!

Leah (my best friend on the left) was the reason that Jenn and I winged our way to D.F. in the first place. Leah's boyfriend, Sinhue, facilitated our surprise arrival and this photo was taken just moments after we jumped her as she exited the downtown subway tunnel. (I'm pretty sure the locals all around thought a mugging was taking place at first, but once the ecstatic hugs began, everyone went on with their days plastered in smiles and vicarious joy.)

Sinhue, Leah's boyfriend, and his younger sister, Gabby

Our generous hosts: Alex and Gabby

What a happy group we are...

You can find this beautiful sculpture in the outdoor lobby of the Anthropology Museum, a massive place requiring more than a day to explore.

I was standing around taking photos and suddenly had the odd feeling that there were guys in red, upside-down, swinging back and forth just beyond the trees a few hundred feet away. I couldn't begin to make sense of the images my brain was being told, but when I pointed this out to Sinhue, he said, "Oh, yeah! Let's go!!" Apparently, these guys perform regularly in public squares. As we ran up, we got to see the very end of the show as the ropes lowered them back to the ground. I guess they hang from their waists, upside-down, while swinging themselves in fairly wide circles over their audiences AND they sing (sometimes play instruments) all at the same time. They do this for 20-30 minutes at a time. For the life of me, I don't understand how they breathe and maintain blood-flow throughout all of it :-)

Girl, meet squirrel.

Check out the t-shirt.

Very popular photo-op. Do you want to claim that you're an angel?

I couldn't help but take this photo; he just looks like a soap opera star, doesn't he?

Casa Azul, one of the famous homes in which Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera resided as a couple. Frida Kahlo was born and died in this house.

The gardens of Casa Azul.

Between Sinhue and I, we discovered that having big hair is the key to these silly cut-outs.

I started as Frida (though I look more like a bobble-head)...

...and finished as Diego (without a neck).

Creepy, though appropriate, skeletal portraits of the happy family (monkey and all).

Let's just say that the Mexican government is proud to fly its flag...everywhere...as a gigantic symbol of something.

This is a beautiful cathedral on the edge of the Zocalo. I did not even begin to capture it so please, visit it for yourself one day. The Zocalo is one of the largest public squares in the world and a very cool place to visit when in D.F. All of Mexico's major victories and massacres have been celebrated and mourned form this square; it is a place full of energy and contradictions. The riot police in full gear never leave its perimeters.

Those look like normal cathedral doors, right?

Everything in this cathedral is giant size and I'm so glad the repairman was there to show the colossal nature of the building.

These are all just random buildings in the neighborhood of the Zocalo. Though some have incredibly detailed ancient tile work like that above, the store-fronts on the first floor are places like Verizon and Subway.

I just wanted to give a sense of the crowds on a perfectly mundane week-day; everyone is just going about their business. Though I've been in big cities around the world many-a-time, I had never seen so many people in every direction with the exception of festivals and other intentional gatherings.

Oh, the sculptures.

I've met so many Americans who are terrified of Mexico City having been told that it's incredibly violent and dangerous. All I can say is that yes, it's big and crowded. In our world, that tends to coincide with violence and crime, but not for one moment did I feel nervous or weary and I wandered tourist and non-tourist neighborhoods alike, took the subway, and toured museums and shopping districts. I felt safer than I have in certain areas of Chicago. What really stands out in Mexico City is not the danger, but the glorious commitment by the people and the government to Art. I have never in my life seen so much public art stuck into every crevace and alley. How about we focus on that?

The Zocalo

...the most open-minded big city I have ever been in with queer couples (men and women) everywhere behaving just like straight couples -- no no one even gave them a second glance. Pride festivals are a great step in the right direction for many places, but true acceptance looks like this, where everyone is simply...normal.