My 'hood, tortillas, etc.

Mexico City continues to be wonderful. It's cooled down a little and we are starting to experience thundershowers in the afternoon, which is more common for the summer (June-Sept). According to my friend Antonio's father, the rains used to start in April, right around Easter. Now they don't start until June (climate change? or just local variation?). The next day we experienced a pretty fun thunder and lightening show which I got caught in while walking back from the store (hmm. local variation?). I stood under an awning with a few ladies, avoiding the enormous drops falling. Finally I just ran the block to my house. The first picture shows my block (sans rainstorm). The second picture is a really cool mosaic across the street from my house. The whole wall is covered in different kinds of tiles.

Speaking of the store, there are many MANY places to buy edible ingredients around my house. It's amazing that there continue to be permanent markets (buildings of stalls, selling vegetables, fruits, eggs, cheese, nuts, household items, etc...), little corner stores, and supermarkets. Not to mention the people selling stuff on the street. And the non-permanent markets (like our farmers markets). And all the food vendors, with things that make you drool. I'm trying to figure out which place I like for what kind of things. I'm mostly shopping for ingredients at the supermarket (I know, shocking) these days because it's the easiest place to get all things I need at once. I noticed last time that they even make tortillas in house, of course with the industrial tortilla flour. Alejandrina showed me how the machine works (third picture). She saw me gazing into the tortilla room where they were making machine tortillas and selling them fresh, alongside fresh salsa (tomatillo, tomato, and tomatillo-avocado) and was nice enough to show me how she worked the machine. "Fresh," meaning they are cooked right there on the machine, not that they're actually fresh. It's much faster than soaking the corn, grinding it, and then making them individually and cooking them individually on the comal. And it's probably the dominant way of making tortillas these days. Needless to say, I ended up buying them from the little lady at the market instead of at the supermarket. And they're real good.

Speaking of corn, Maggie, Antonio, and I passed by this photo exhibit on maize and Mexico in the center of the city, across from the Alameda. The exhibit of course demonstrated the cultural value of corn, spiritual significance, and current issues facing Mexico in relation to maize. The bottom picture is a picture of a picture, showing a man standing in front of a sign with the NAFTA symbol (the three North American flags) except on this sign there is a skull and crossbones, showing the perils of free trade.

ps I went into the market today for lunch and ate a tostada, nothing like the tostadas we have in the U.S. It was damn delicious. I got the tinga de pollo, which is shredded chicken in a tomatoey sauce, and also had sundried tomatoes in it (a great addition). It's served on top of beans on top of a fried corn tortilla, and then topped with crema (sour cream, but not sour), lettuce, and cheese. And then of course whatever salsa suits you. Yum. It seemed small but I could only eat one!

pps I have a phone number and address in Mexico City! Phone: 55 4138 5831 (country code is 52, and then put 1 before the 55)
Address: 212 Calle Berlin
Col. del Carmen Coyoacan
Mexico, DF 04100
Mexico