CDMX Expats Blog/ Updated!

Here’s the updated post with more than anyone should want to read about Kevin & Ann’s 2025 self-deportation to Mexico City. —KJH [aka “El Gringo Viejo“]

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In the News en México
I realize it’s difficult enough to keep up with events back home let alone elsewhere, so as a public service I’m summarizing the latest top news stories here in México:

• Extreme Cold Closes Mexican Schools. With temperatures dipping down in the low 40’s Fahrenheit, the Mexican government recently cancelled school in 34 municipalities, and instructed school children to attend classes online instead. Source.
• Mayor Killed in Gang Hit. News in Mexico has been dominated of late by the killing of the mayor of the city of Uruapan during a local public celebration. (Uruapan is the equivalent size and rank in Mexico that Cleveland, OH is in the US.) The victim, the seventh mayor killed this year, was an outspoken opponent of organized crime and critic of the lack of effective federal response. He was shot seven times at close range by a 17 year old meth addict while the mayor was under “protection” by municipal police officers and 14 national guard troops. The latest reports indicate that the gunman was killed at the scene by the police after he had been disarmed and arrested. Under pressure, President Sheinbaum has announced a multi-billion dollar plan to address the problem, distancing herself from the prior “war on drugs” which she said was heavy handed and ineffective. Source.
• Mexico’s First Female President Groped, Pressing Charges. After the Mayor of Uruapan was recently killed, Mexico’s first female president was approached, embraced, and kissed by an inebriated man while she was walking on a crowded street accompanied only by a single aide, an incident caught on film. She is pressing charges, a move being criticized by her opponents as politically motivated to distract the public from other issues. None of the news stories seem to judge anything unusual about a sitting president walking on crowded public streets unaccompanied by security. Source.
• US “Doesn’t Want Mexico to Do Well”? Observing that the Trump administration has imposed tariffs on Mexican products, closed the southern border to Mexican cattle due to the risk of screwworm infection and revoked approval for 13 routes operated by Mexican airlines to the U.S., a reporter recently asked the President whether it appeared to her that the US didn’t want Mexico to do well? “Mexico is nobody’s piñata and Mexico must be respected,” Sheinbaum replied. “Protecting the United States from New World Screwworm is non-negotiable and a top priority of the Trump Administration,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins has said.
• Mexican State Considering Temporary Marriages. In a move aimed at relieving the strain on divorce courts, the State of Jalisco has received an initiative, presented by a state congressman, which would allow couples to enter marriage contracts lasting two to five years. At the end of the term, couples could renew the contract or let it dissolve automatically—no divorce proceedings required. No action is currently scheduled on the initiative, and there is no publicly available information about whether the congressman, Enrique Velázquez González, is currently married. Source.

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San Miguel de Allende: UNESCO Heritage Site or Disneyland?
Our second visitors Malena and Scott booked us all an Airbnb in San Miguel de Allende (SMdA), so we hired a driver to take us the four hour roadtrip from Mexico City. SMdA is a beautiful town rich in history dating back to the Spanish conquest and before, which has in recent decades become somewhat of a hotspot for American retirees and second home purchasers. Some impressions:

• As with several towns easily reached from CDMX like Puebla, SMdA has stunning stone cathedrals constructed (somehow) in the 1500’s and beautiful public squares, parks, and courtyards. In a tribute to Mexican zoning, they have preserved the historical aesthetic throughout, and even the Starbucks blends in seamlessly—which we agree is the nicest one we’ve seen anywhere. The cobblestone streets look like this:

• The highlightz of our visit turns out to the the Charco (reservoir) del Ingenio, a nearby botanical preserve with trails and a nice little cafe/bar, and watching the super moon rise over the sierra from a rooftop bar.
• My only reservation keeping this town from sanctuary status for me is precisely the inevitable result of its popularity with us interlopers from the north. With almost as many real estate brokerage offices as restaurants, it feels like the “road more traveled,” and the gated communities that authentically reproduce the native architecture (with modern appliances) for prices over USD$1M seem Disney-esque. I understand this appropriation brings much benefit and wealth to the area, and I don’t fault any of the snowbird residents, but I realize the feeling of “other” is a feature not a bug of our Mexico sojourn. Turns out I like it when the waiters don’t speak English to me after I’ve gone to the trouble of traveling to a Spanish-speaking country.

Photos

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Día de Muertos
We chose when to live in Mexico City because we we visited last April, we asked everyone what the two best months were—and the consensus was October and November, because they all said, “Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead). I assumed that this holiday was like the love child of Halloween and Mardi Gras, but it’s something different and unique. The idea is that at this time of year, the afterlife and earthly realm are closest, like the moon’s nearest transit causing high tides, and so we honor those family, friends, and pets who have gone on before us. Although there are large public parades, one in Mexico City first organized for filming the opening scene of the 007 move Spectre, mostly it is a day for families to get together for grateful remembrance of departed relatives, complete with offerings of their favorite foods and beverages.

We meet Mexican friends of Malena’s at the city’s public cemetery, which takes up square miles. There is a great variety of tombs, many with quotes chosen in honor of the deceased (see, photos below). I see this one posted on the side of a building, which I think would make a good choice:

Photos

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El Tiempo Vuela (Time Flies)
It’s a good sign, I suppose, that I’ve fallen behind in the virtual world of this blog post in favor of immersion in the unique rhythm of big city Mexican life. But I should take a brief “pausa” from our new daily routine of the unexpected to at least post a thought or two and some photos.

• Our first out of town venture is a two hour bus trip to the historic town of Puebla. Bus travel in Mexico is more comfortable than US airlines, except for the blaring soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings movie which someone thinks everyone wants to watch. Cathedrals built 500 years ago, and sumptuous restaurant meals, all good except the second coming of one of Ann’s dinners (but strong recovery).
• Our first visitors from home, who we now derisively refer to as “gringos”, were our good friends Ronnie and Steve. A good time was had by all, including clay court tennis at our club.
• If the “No Kings” rallies in the US were notable, they received scant press in Mexico because large political parades are weekly events here, as we observed, and without trumpets and drums, who cares?

Random photos:

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Cosas Diferentes Que Me Gusta [Things Which Are Different That I Like]
One of the joys of travel is discovering how things are done differently in other cultures which are actually better, leaving me to wonder, “Why don’t we do it that way?” Examples:

• I purchase tickets to the National Symphony, which are like US$15 apiece. (Okay, turns out the concert hall is not downtown, but in a southern suburb, but Uber can make up for a lot of mistakes.) In the lobby, they have set up chairs and televisions, and anyone can see and listen to the concert for free. Nice. (See, photo in gallery below.)
• Every Sunday in Mexico City, the main Avenida de la Reforma and various connecting streets are closed (or half-closed) to motor traffic, and hundreds of volunteers staff intersections while thousands of locals bike, skate, jog, or whatever to their hearts’ content—often with their dogs in a front basket or bike trailer. In Seattle, this would be like closing four lanes of Interstate 5 for inline skating. But not only do people not mind, they all seem to love it. Along the way, various groups display banners and signs, not all of which we could decipher, except the group advocating for marijuana legalization, which we figure out by the strong aroma wafting over the bikers pedaling by.
• On a sidewalk near our apartment, I notice a house key on the ground, only to discover that there are actually a number of them, impressed into the concrete when it was poured and so now a permanent feature. There was something about this joke played on pedestrians that I found whimsically humorous, and which I appreciated. Take something ordinary and make it interesting…
• Down the middle of many streets in our neighborhood, lush tropical gardens are maintained with lighted paths. Nice.

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Losing Track of Days
Ill-advised cultural comparison #42:

• Meaning of car horn honking in Seattle: “Okay, I’ve waited behind you through three cycles of the traffic light while you’re re-adjusting your aura or whatever, but c’mon…I’m going to be late for my acupuncturist appointment!”
• Meaning of car horn honking in Mexico City: “I’m driving!”

Recent photos:

October 4: Unpacking
Turns out there is an entire museum in Chapultepec Park devoted to corn, the staple of Mesoamerican diet for the last 9,000 years: Cencalli: Casa del Maíz y la Cultura Alimentaria. There are over nine million inhabitants in Mexico City, a dozen security guards in this museum, but only two visitors yesterday: Ann and me. We resolved to take a cooking class about how to make authentic tortillas.

Oh, and not sure why the local Starbucks is co-branded with Barbie, perhaps to sell a lot of pink coffee paraphernalia. And there are many statues of historical figures in the parks, including Winston Churchill (below) and Franklin Roosevelt. Nice.

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Thursday, October 2: Strangers in a Strange Land
In Robert Heinlein’s science fiction classic, a human raised by Martians returns to Earth to find the customs and practices perplexing compared to his adoptive parents on Mars. Waking up back in Mexico for our first full day, I know how he felt:

• Needing basics for our apartment (including potable water), we go to the nearby grocery store, and again make the classic mistake of bringing a food item (a loaf of bread) to the check out stand expecting to pay for it.
• Too late, I’m reminded of our time in Barcelona when we were constantly doing things like trying to buy produce, only to have the check out clerk ask, “How many grams of carrots is that?”
• Once again, the people behind us in line were thinking, “Oh for God’s sake, these dumb gringos didn’t ask the bread lady (who, in our defense, was on break) to wrap and price their bread!” Much confusion and staff work ensues, but like always is eventually resolved. How odd are the customs of these Earthlings, we muse.
• In the win column, we successfully sign up at the tennis club after getting our pharmacy physical exams (US$4 each, lots of forms and signatures), ride city bikes, have pizza for dinner, and catch the end of an open-mic comedy night in English (mildly humorous gay jokes).
• “Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.” —Bob Bitchin 

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Wednesday, October 1: Setting Sail to the New World
When Hernán Cortés landed in the New World, he reportedly burned the ships they had sailed over on to show his troops that they were there to stay. Some five centuries later, Ann and I are not quite so committed, but we have rented an apartment for two months in the trendy Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City, and flew here yesterday on one-way airline tickets with luggage containing our tennis racquets. Same idea, with less smoke.

Day 1 highlights/lowlights:

• Despite US government shutdown, the travel from Seattle to CDMX (Ciudad de Mexico) was eerily painless. The third person in our row of seats even got a last minute upgrade to first class, giving us the row to ourselves. We both commented that it was probably only a matter of time until something went seriously wrong.
• Turns out we didn’t have to wait to long for this, as when we groggily packed our luggage in the car arranged in advance to meet us at the airport, we somehow left Ann’s fancy Rimowa suitcase she purchased in Japan sitting beside the car as we drove away. Discovering this rookie mistake upon arrival at our apartment, I “volunteered” to make the return trip to the airport through the traffic-clogged streets to see if it could be recovered.
• Although it seems inconsistently true that “God watches out for fools and children”, we apparently fit into one of those two categories, and after some considerable discussion with airport lost and found (followed by much requisite official paperwork), Ann and her suitcase were eventually reunited.
• To celebrate, we went out to this wonderful restaurant around the corner called Botánico, rated one of the 50 best in the world. Well deserved hyperbole.
• Tomorrow, we unpack and explore our immediate environs, hopefully including the cupcake shop a few feet from our front door.