To the heart of México

At 9am on a November Sunday, when the city was not awake yet, my cab stopped in front of the airport. Sunglasses on top of my head and a smile on my lips, I started walking with light and fast steps, wheeling a small, pink suitcase behind me… full with skimpy little summer clothes and bathing suits. Yeah! I see you smiling… I stopped in front of the AeroMéxico desk greeting in Spanish my dear Christian, at duty much earlier than me. Chris is the roommate of the ex-boyfriend of the girl that my sister shared an apartment with during her study abroad year in Barcelona, Spain, and whom we’ve found in San Diego, CA a few years latter. Now, he was the one that took care of the details for my trip, way south of the border, to his home country.

An hour later I was already in seat 1A, Business Class this time, with a glass of jugo de naranja in my hand, browsing through a presentation magazine for Mexico and curiously waiting to meet my travel companion. Unluckily, I’ve got the most annoying, impolite and blunt traveler equipped with a combo of Dorobanţi Blvd. pair of shoes and the breath of a very long night in Gaslamp District. Thanks Heavens, he felt a sleep as soon as the plane took off! So, I could admire in silence the identical image I saw on maps, now in front of my eyes, of the city/port of San Diego while the plane left Lindbergh Field … and two hours later, when we landed in Los Cabos, the one of the pick of Baja California dipping in the perfect turquoise of the Pacific.

Cabos turned out to be a short stop, good enough to get into the atmosphere and to get the Mexican stamp on the passport. Everybody that works in the airport is extremely kind. Amazingly, the laziness and the Latino calm didn’t seam to annoy behind the genuine smiles. There was no track of disgust like in Tijauna, in this oasis at the end of the desert, but only elegance and good will.

The second part of the trip to Mexico City brought me a Belcalian-type^* of trip companion. A chatty guy, between ages, who pretended to be a lawyer, owner of the Cruz Azul football team, linked to a few high end hotels and involved in concrete businesses in Mexico. What can I say?! too much information for a two hours flight. Anyways, before we landed in the capital I already had enough details about the city as well as the phone number of my companion, along with the invitation to fly with his helicopter to the concrete plant and hotels at the Pacific coast… whereas I was headed to the opposite direction.

... I was heading to a city full of history, culture, people with different features and pasts, dust, cars... life. The exploration started in a car full of noisy and happy girls reunited after four years. One was driving, another was playing the guide, and I was snapping pictures of a city always moving. Switched from English to Spanish, which I surprisingly manage very well! In the sound of our intertwined voices we left the Benito Juárez airport, passed the outskirts of the city and headed to Paseo de la Reforma – the bulevard that divides the capital Ciudad de México.

Before arriving here, all I had in mind were the independence angel statue and the other huge flag similar to the one in Tijuana. But, driving through Plaza de las Tres Culturas I learned that in México (the local name for the city), actually three cultures are traditionally melting: the pre-Columbian, the Spanish and the Mexican one, resulted from the first two. One can find here Tenochtitlan temples, ruines of Spanish conquistadors, and political parties’ modern buildings. No wonder this is the city with most muzeeums in the world, and largest quantity of culture per capita.

We circled the downtown framed by Paseo de la Reforma, Alemada Park and the central square. It is incredible how many cultural elements can be found at every step. The entire square is surrounded by Spanish architecture buildings which serve as ministers’ offices nowadays. Others are just breathing art. Casa de los Azulejos or the “house of tiles” is a restaurant of an almost European beauty, rich in culture and history, older than the Mexican revolution. Palacio de Bellas Artes built in art nouveau style is ‘la piece de resistance’ of the historical downtown. I had never seen it before in any of my friends’ pictures. I didn’t know anything about it and therefore it became the first reason to return to México City. The building deserves to be discovered entirely – as a lyric theatre, as a permanent art collection, as a host of Rivera’s work, and as the Museum of National Architecture of Mexico. In the center of the square, raises the proud twin of the flag I saw in Tijuana – one of the largest and tallest examples of national pride. Having in mind the dimensions of the other one and the impact it provokes when saw even from the US land, compared to the immensity of the central square that seams to mirror the immensity of Mexico itself, the grandeur sadly disappeared… However, the place still has that vibe of a meeting place for youngsters like Piccadilly Circus in London, St Michel in Paris, Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona or University Square home...

Following the traffic on Paseo de la Reforma we finally saw the towering column of the independence angel, the symbol of the capital. Rolling down to the park/forest Bosque de Chapultepec, the prime water resource of the Aztecs in the past and the main fresh air resource of Mexicans today – the Center park-like green oasis offers the chance to change the stereotype against Mexico as a third world country to a modern one with a envied civilization. The park hosts castles, gardens, monuments, artesian fountains, museums, royal hunting areas, a zoo, a lake, restaurants, and recreation spots.

As night felt, we left the busy downtown for the outskirts of San Ángel si Cayoacán. The artist Diego Rivera and his wife, Frida Kahlo lived in San Ángel, and because of their impact the town became historical monument of Mexico. In Cayoacán I was to spend the evening and night before my Mayan experience. Here is where the artist transformed in popular feminine hero, Frida Kahlo was born and died. Here is where we walked through typical Mexican bazaars with sugary fruits, traditional delights, souvenirs, parks and terraces filled with people even in the late hours of night. Still, what surprised me the most was the fact that the mass at Iglesia de San Juan Bautista – the main cathedral – was still on, that Sunday night, even after 7pm…

I ended the night in my friends’ living room, learning how to drink tequila Mexican style, as a medical remedy and without morning repercussions.

^* Gigi Becali is a controversial Romanian EU Parliament member, an “urban character”, who owns the Steaua Bucuresti soccer team and some real estate business. However, as his base profession he is a shepherd.

Baja – South of the border

One of the reasons behind my moving to California was also the possibility of visiting Mexico. It is such a large and complex world, much more developed than the Americans think, and with such a similar culture to ours, that I have the impression I will feel like home at south of the border. For many months I hoped, I tried, and I did not succeed to travel over the border that lies south of San Diego. I've been close though – at the end of the tram line, at the outlet mall, last time I even crossed the pedestrian bridge... I've got to the gate where I would've had to take just one more step... And now... finally! I went to Baja!!!

When traveling from US to Mexico by car, you don't even realize when you stepped from one world to the other. I guess some people don’t even think about this. One blink of an eye and you're already on the other side of many's dreams and tragedies. Found at 32km south of San Diego, CA the Tijuana border is the most transited international border in the world. Highway I-5 was drawn parallel to the Pacific Ocean, on a length of 2 222km, to create a direct connection, from the Canadian border (at north) to the Mexican border (at south), and at the crossing point it splits in eight lanes – five on the south bound, and three for the north bound. The crossing time in any of the senses can be overwhelming at certain times of the day, but we tricked the dead traffic around noon and didn't spend more time than we would waste at a street light. So, we crossed. Between the two borders there's no neutral zone or “nobody's country”... there's no exit from US sign, nobody checks your passport. You just see ¡Bienvenido en Mexico! and that's it!! you're in Mexico. You're already in Tijuana.

Like any other border city, Tj seams a poor town, with many precarious neighborhoods, with bad quality roads and cars, with people concentrated on producing as much as possible from tourists. I heard many people referring to Tj as to a tourists’ trap for bad quality souvenirs sold at exorbitant prices. On a first glimpse this is exactly what it suggested to me too and somehow, it reminded me of the peripheral street of Alexandria, TM. The architectural leit motif seams to be the unfinished building, on one or all exterior walls, the rusted fence and the cracked concrete more than we ever saw back home. The only thing that kept reminding me where I was, was the multitude of flags fluttering everywhere out of beautiful and strong Mexican pride.

As soon as we left the border area, we turned right and headed to Playas de Tijuana. Obviously, the beach of the city, which is after all situated on the shores of the Pacific, on the north of Baja California peninsula, unraveled a series of surprises. This is where I saw some images which I believe I should've picture, but whom somehow did not cross my mind before arriving there.

First was the image of the famous border fence that separates US from Mexico. The one well praised by the previous administration and which appeared in the press maximum reinforced with man power, as well as top defense technology so that the sinners from the south to not have any chance on penetrating the American dream. To my surprise, the American defense, in this case, leis in a poor and ugly fence built from rusted tin, which needs to stand for 3141km, from Texas to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean (?!?!).

The next image that impressed me popped up when we were driving on a road parallel with the border fence. Being on a hill I could observe on the clear horizon the skyline of downtown San Diego, which is of course on the other side of the fence. For a moment I stopped to think: What could it be in the souls and minds of the people that get here? Many have the fortune of succeeding in crossing this line drawn by man and society, but others never had and never will. Instead they will live with the tragedy of an unfulfilled dream in their hearts, looking towards the horizon to the virtual answer of all their troubles... I smiled, sad at this life's irony and to the image in front of me, realizing what little value I give right now to my situation, to the life that I so easily choose where to live – today here, tomorrow somewhere else, while others raise the drama to the rank of destiny.

The last image was the one that encompassed the beach, and brought up a mix of feelings. One weird when I've got to see the urbanized image of San Diego in the background, when the shores should be dedicated only to the wideness of the ocean; another of disgust at the view of the lamentable construction development which looked pathetic and lacked the picturesque of the buildings we saw on the beaches of Vama Veche; and another of astonishment when I saw the fine sand, totally unattained, and the water, much cleaner than the polluted one by the San Diego harbor.

Back in Tijuana I discovered a dirty town, deserted of monuments or historical buildings, but rich in loungers, street vendors and touts ready to get your dollar from the pocket for any trifle, buildings with multiple destinations and sidewalks in decay.

The only attraction for me at that point remained the huge Mexican flag which can be seen even from San Ysidro, CA, on the American land, north of the border. The flag has two more replicas in Mexico City and Guadalajara, and despise its enormous dimensions it is visible from such a distance also because it is anchored on the tallest hill of Tj.

However, the goal of this trip was not to spend the time of my life in a border town, but to go down on the coast to the shore villages, famous for the beach parties and especially for the local cuisine based on lobsters, typical to Baja. I think the villages become more and more luxurious and pretty as you go lower into the south, to the tip of the peninsula, towards Cabo San Lucas. We, on the other hand, didn't have the time and stopped only in Rosarito and Puerto Nuevo.

Both beaches were deserted by tourists in the middle of the day, but even then the terraces built on the beach could create the image of a perfect place for nocturne extremely animated parties. The streets were filled with souvenir stores: vivid colored ceramics, different dimensions, forms and textures hammocks, folkloric decorations, and toys. Well, when it comes to food, however, Baja is extraordinary through the explosion of testes and aromas. The tortilla soup, for example, totally different from the one served in California, is more spicy and for sure better, while the fried lobsters are served with rise, tortilla and Mexican beans in quantities that could feed a whole family!

On our return we stopped at a Taco Shop Drive in – which was totally insalubrious. The restaurant is actually a grill set under a shed, exposed to sun and dust, next to a bar with high chairs, behind which you could park you car. I didn't even want to try thinking at the provenience of the meat, where or how it was maneuvered, or if in this country they have the BBB (Better Business Bureau). I focused on the purifying power of fire and charcoal, in the same way we do at home when we are attracted by a grill full with delicious mici on the side of a road. And that was the right attitude!!! as I never had in my whole life a better taco as the one I ate on the side of a dusty road in Tijuana!

He! He! I totally recommend.

Soundtrack:

Crossroads

San Ysidro/Tijuana - music of Bic Runga – Gravity

Recently I discovered that the tram that passes by my house goes all the way to Mexico, to the border city of Tijuana. This idea exited my adventurous spirit who wanted to be so close and still not there... Off topiiiiiiiiic..., the tram also stops to an Outlet Mall that just happens to be there. ;)

Therefore, I bought a tickets, jumped in the tram and started so the adventure!

I passed downtown, the industrial district, some villages, colored wild flowers bordering the tracks, Tijuana river, all the way to San Ysidro – the border town of the Southern California.

Amazing how fast you reach an end of a road.

One crossroad up I passed a bridge (which has also a side walk!) built over the highway I-5 which crosses the two countries. I've got there around noon. So, the view had to impress me on my return, in the evening, when I walked the same road towards the tram station. The bridge offers a perfect view over the hills and towns from "the other side". What catches the attention, though, is the huge Mexican flag that flutters in the wind and obviously can be observed from an impressive distance. Hm... great idea!, but what just happened with the American patriotism?... Probably was all wasted through the building of some 500km of fence dedicated to the limitation of southern immigration?!

The moment that moved me:

Through the evening, an amazing number of Mexicans get back home from work, at the south of the American dream. Simple humans, that live their lives between two worlds, were walking home with different vehicles – cars (apparently bought and registered in California, because I have not seen even one car with Mexican license plates), Tijuana charters, tram, coach, on foot, etc. I was the only white person, but not Hispanic (!) that crossed the bridge in the opposite side – towards San Diego, not Mexico. All the people that walked against me had the same facial features, same road to home, and for sure the same cultural baggage. The ones that walked alone seemed generally sad, while the one walking in groups were happily chatting. Another Hispanic stereotype related to machismo – that attitude which falsely breathes "I'm always fine", rain or shine... On the middle of the bridge I took a look at the entire immediate section of the highway. On the north bound the traffic was fluid – one or two cars here and there, while on the south bound – jam on all seven lanes!! Bumper to bumper. My friends tell me this seems to be every evening's scenery, at the most crowded border in the world. For a second I tried to think about all the souls that managed or not to cross this border. What did this mean for each of them. I felt a mix of romanticism, drama and ignorance. How much do we actually know about these people? How much do others actually know about us? What is actually our road in this life?

I got back on the tram. Only now I realized how empty it actually is, when going back to the city...

The sun set over the Pacific, bringing night over Mexico... as well as over all of us, isn't it? Life goes on.

Note: George Lopez could raise the moral, right about now.

Places I've been and I love

Visited Lived in Wanna go to

1. Ro: Bucharest, Vama Veche (2001- _)
2. Hungary: Budapest (2003)
3. Austria: Vienna (2003)
4. USA: New York [NY], Niagara [NY]('04,'08); Honolulu [Oahu, HI], Lihue [Kauai, HI], Lahaina [Maui, HI], Hilo [Big Island, HI]; Los Angeles [CA], San Francisco [CA], San Diego [CA] ('07-'09); New Orleans [LA]; Las Vegas [NV] (2009); Washington, D.C.; Boston [MA]; Miami [FL], Key West [FL] (2010)
5. France: Paris, Normandie, Cote d'Azur (2004-2005)
6. Czech Republic: Prague (2005)
7. Italy: Milan ('05, '06,'10), Venice (2005), Rome (2007), Florence (2007), Verona (2010)
8. Germany: Köln (2005)
9. Monaco: Monte Carlo (2005)
10. Netherlands: Amsterdam, Rotterdam (2005)
11. China: Shanghai, Beijing (2005)
12. Switzerland: Lugano (2006)
13. Spain: Barcelona ['06,'09,'10,'11], Granada, Seville, Ceuta (Africa), Ibiza; Madrid, Toledo (2006); Bilbao (2010); Tarifa (2011)
14. Turkey: Ankara (2006)
15. Vatican City (2007)
16. Mexico: Baja, Mexico City, Playa del Carmen (2009)
17. Bulgaria: Balchik Castle (2010)
18. UAE: Abu Dhabi, Dubai (2011)
19. UK: London (2011)
20. Morocco: Tangier