Cultural Centerpiece Embracing vibrant Mexico City By Eric Lucas 132 December 2013 AlAskA Airlines MAgAzine avid Alfaro Siqueiros was not only among Latin America’s ck to S D most famous artists—one of the “Big 3” muralists who per vaulted Mexico’s vitality and culture into global prominence—he was ck / Su a political firebrand. otosto f E g A Carlos Slim is not only a multibillionaire rich enough to be ranked / illos among the wealthiest individuals on Earth, he’s an art collector c alle V whose new museum in Mexico City features, in a position of honor, a as Luc vivid and uncompromising canvas by Siqueiros—who did his best to block the rise of tycoons like Slim. The latter had begun accumulat- ing his billions, and his art, by the time Siqueiros died in 1974, and Opposite: The Monument to Independence (known as “El Ángel”) on Paseo de la there’s no telling whether the two ever met. Reforma was built to commemorate the heroes of the 1810 Mexican Revolution. But Siqueiros’ presence on the fifth other delightfully intimate ways, despite Above: The Aztec Stone of the Sun and floor of Slim’s Soumaya Museum is memo- the overwhelming size of their metro area. other historical artifacts are displayed at rable indeed. The Land, Like the Water and Weekend mornings draw families to neigh- the National Museum of Anthropology. the Industry, Belong to Us is a 1959 8-by- borhood restaurants where several genera- 25-foot painting that depicts early 20th tions extend breakfast into brunch then enormous chandeliers, with tuxedoed century Mexican workers and farmers in a lunch and beyond. And each evening, waiters—all to satisfy a bit of personal palette of intense reds and browns, and promenaders arrive at city parks to snack, nostalgia. I first came to Mexico City strong, swirling shapes—colors and pat- visit, play chess and dance at outdoor decades ago as a boy of 14, and I fondly terns that commonly represent Mexico pavilions. recall the European ambiance epitomized largely because of Siqueiros and his compa- My wife, Leslie, and I are passing one by high-style restaurants serving Spanish triots Diego Rivera and José Clemente such park early one evening on our way cuisine—platters of paella, to be precise— Orozco. The Land features burly workers, from the Centro Histórico back to our that my European-born father declared hands raised in supplication against a hotel when we hear the strains of cumbia, the best one could find anywhere outside background of mineshafts. It’s one of those the popular South American dance music. Barcelona. world-art masterpieces that requires a Here, at the southwest corner of Alameda I’ve not been back to Mexico’s capital viewer to take a second and third look. Central, two dozen couples are twirling in since that halcyon trip, and so when we That’s just like today’s Mexico City. a remarkably tiny space on a concrete strolled into Hotel Imperial’s Restaurante Known widely as “México DF,” the patio, boombox blaring. We pause near a Gaudi and found starched white linen, latter acronym standing for Distrito Fed- young pair who are eyeing the baile, or leather-bound menus and, yes, paella in eral, the Western Hemisphere’s biggest dance, experimentally. several forms, I was ready to say little had single conurbation is a modern marvel “You should give it a try,” I suggest, in changed in almost 50 years. built on the foundations of one of the Spanish. Not quite. Here is a capital that aspires world’s oldest civilizations. The city’s a They shrug amiably at this advice from to rank among the world’s finest, a city cultural standout, holding well-known two obvious Norteamericanos. “Bueno, whose more affluent neighborhoods fea- parks and excellent museums. It artfully quizás. ¿Y ustedes?” The young lady, eye- ture display windows with glittering melds old and new, as evinced by the 19th brows raised politely, urges Leslie and me jewelry along elegant boulevards with century Paseo de la Reforma, a historic toward the packed dance floor. We plead $100,000 cars—and food vendors selling oto boulevard that is now closed to vehicles hunger: “Estamos buscando cena.” And off 5-peso sacks of churritos, spicy corn snacks ck Ph some Sunday mornings so that bicycle we stroll toward supper. that blend centuries of European and Cen- to S E riders and pedestrians may utilize it. That night’s dinner takes place in a tral American cuisine. Here are 20.5 mil- SIME / And the lives of its residents proceed in marble-and-brass dining room beneath lion people, and architectural wonders AlAskA Airlines MAgAzine December 2013 133 more than a millennium old—and archi- ck to tectural standouts just two years old, such S per as Museo Soumaya. The 20.5 million total ranks the city ck / Su tosto among the world’s biggest, and yet the c A majority of attractions are in a relatively Ex small oval along Paseo de la Reforma, from Chapultepec Castle to the historic down- town, Centro Histórico. From a hotel along Paseo de la Reforma one can walk from one attraction to another, as we were doing on our journey back from the National Palace. And despite the city’s size, in many of its areas—such as Polanco, the neighbor- hood abutting Chapultepec Park—relative tranquility reigns. Tall plane trees shade streets lined with boutiques, restaurants and embassies; celebrities take coffee on sidewalk patios, while their limousines sine. At Dulce Patria, the next night, we Above: Visitors cross the vast wait nearby. At another architectural land- enjoy sensational octopus aguachile, seared Plaza de la constitución near mark, the midcentury Hotel Camino Real, sea bass with corn-vanilla pudding—and the Palacio Nacional. Below: The Soumaya Museum the inner courtyard clasping a sun-splashed the very best, chipotle-accented Caesar was built by Mexican billionaire blue tile pool is as quietly serene as any salad I’ve ever had. carlos Slim to display the depth countryside resort. And in the candlelit Just as Dulce Patria is a showcase for of artistic achievement in Mexico. dining rooms of a dozen path-breaking the culinary arts, Soumaya gives y restaurants, today’s chefs conjure up mas- visitors greater insight into the lam / A S terpieces of neo-traditional Mexican cui- visual arts. Slim’s stated intent at u Desr Soumaya is to depict the depth of te c I artistic achievement in Mexico. d ene Each floor therefore offers a pot- B pourri of European and Mexican El Camino Real Polanco (Mariano works roughly contemporaneous. Escobedo 700, Col. Anzures; 52-55-5263-8888; Ecclesiastical art, portraiture, caminoreal.com). A pulsing Isamu Noguchi fountain greets arrivals at this famous Romantic landscapes, Impression- midcentury architectural standout, whose ism, Abstraction—all are here, by poured-concrete, cantilevered construction, Mexican and Old World artists. most famous cultural shrine, the National vast public spaces, priceless original murals The building itself is an architectural Museum of Anthropology in Chapultepec and bright color scheme result in one of the marvel, a snail-shell spire of glistening Park. The museum’s 20 acres house an world’s most memorable urban hotels. The metal scales that has provoked fierce impressive collection of antiquities, dis- eight on-site restaurants include Centro argument over its merit in the world of played in seven separate halls that hold a Castellano, one of the city’s best Castilian design. Its interior layout, reached via a gathering of Aztec, Mixtec, Toltec, Maya, dining rooms. Guggenheim-like ramp that descends the Olmec and other artifacts. Each display Le Meridien (Paseo de la Reforma 69, interior of the building’s shell, takes visi- represents a pre-Columbian civilization Col. Tabacalera; 52-55-5061-3000; starwood- tors past hundreds of paintings and stat- that flourished and faded, leaving behind hotels.com/lemeridien). Poised along Paseo ues. The sheer panoply of achievement is treasures such as the gold ornaments that de la Reforma about a mile east of stunning, capped off at the bottom by inflamed Spanish imaginations. Today the Chapultepec, this sleek, modern, all-suite hotel is ideally situated for visits to both the another mural, this one of inlaid tile: Bath real treasure is the preservation of price- park and the Centro Histórico. The spacious of Tehuantepec, Rivera’s last major work, an less artifacts—most famous being the rooms feature excellent soundproofing; apolitically wistful pastoral scene. massive 12-foot Aztec sun calendar. views of the boulevard are splendid; and The sense of being swept away by his- Mexico’s 20th century populist strain service and advice are both excellent. tory that accompanies immersion in Mexi- still thrives in its capital. Slim’s Soumaya is can culture can be experienced at the city’s free to all; free or incredibly economical AlAskA Airlines MAgAzine December 2013 135 are other Chapultepec Park attractions ACHIEVE MORE such as the Museum of Modern Art, which holds more stunning murals by Rivera, Siqueiros and Orozco. The Castillo—the 19th century hilltop palace in which the ill-fated Emperor Maximilian lived while he built, among other things, Paseo de la Reforma—is free on Sundays; here a mes- merizing mural by Siqueiros depicts the 1910 revolution that created modern Mex- ico. The castle’s balcony offers sweeping views of the entire bowl in which Mexico DF lies at 7,600 feet—a view much improved from the notorious era 20 years ago when the city had the world’s worst air pollution. Last year, 248 days brought good air quality.