Pyramids and Ciudad de Mexico

Yesterday our group got to go visit two ancient Aztec pyramids. Called the pyramid of the sun and the moon. To get there we had to drive about an hour from the city center. On our way we made a stop at the famous basilica de la virgen de Guadelupe. The virgen of Guadelupe is an extremely important religious symbol in Mexico. The story goes that she appeared before an indigenous man named Juan Diego in 1531, speaking in his native language she wanted Juan Diego to ask the archbishop to build a church in her honor. When Juan Diego asked to see the archbishop he was dismissed. In order to prove that she was real to the archbishop the virgen turned some branches that Juan Diego picked into roses which were only found in Spain. When Juan Diego presented these roses to the archbishop, an image of the Virgen appeared on Juan Diego's cloak. With this proof a church was constructed in honor of the Virgen. To this day the image of the Virgen on Juan Diego's cloak hangs inside the basilica, only now it is framed in gold. The Virgen of Guadelupe was so important to the Mexican people because she appeared as a native women, she had dark skin and spoke the native language. Therefore, she was accepted by the indigenous population, as a result Catholicism became the dominant religion throughout the country.

At the site of the basilica there are multiple churches. The first Basilica created has sunk a lot, it is now extremely slanted. Therefore, in the 1970's a new Basilica was created.

Today, thousands and thousands of people come to honor the Virgen each day, many of whom bring flowers. Every week day there is a mass in the basilica each hour from 7am-7pm excluding lunch hours. The streets surrounding the basilica are filled with shops selling gold trinkets, candles, rosaries and other religious items. After our stop at the basilica we drove through the neighborhoods on the outskirts on Mexico city in order to reach the pyramids. The colors were overwhelming. The bright pink, turquoise, and peachy orange houses were mainly small and packed tightly together up the sides of the mountains. Some were daringly close to the edges of outcroppings. At the side of the highway were some horses peacefully grazing as cars zoomed by only fifteen or so feet away, making for a somewhat incongruous scene. The site of the pyramids was inundated with shops selling a variety of trinkets, sombreros, candy etc to masses of tourists. The site was once an old city with a long street stretching between to huge pyramids, pyramid of the sun and pyramid of the moon. The largest of which the pyramid of the sun is over 200 feet high. We got to hike up to the top, which was a tiring climb especially given the altitude. My lungs and legs felt like they were on fire by the time I reached the top but it was well worth it. The view was absolutely gorgeous. Looking down you could see what use to be the ancient city built by the Teotihuacanos. The ruins suggest how big the city was at one point, it is estimated to have been populated by around 125,000 people at one point. The pyramid seemed very extravagant since it is assumed to have just been used as a temple in order for the people to feel closer to the gods. It is amazing that it could have been built in a time before modern construction equipment, all with human power.

After our climb we took the bus to a nearby restaurant where we learned about the plant maguay or in english agave.

For centuries it has been very useful for the local people. It's fibers served as thread, and its' spikey core was used as a needle, the waxy coating on its' leaves was used as paper, furthermore it produces a substance which was used as soap. Most famously however, when fermented it's juice is used to produce pulque. It is a tradicional beverage with a low alcohol content of only around 2%. We were able to sample it, it had a smell like yeasty bread, and pleasantly sweet flavor almost like slightly yeasty honey. This morning we went to a huge indoor market. To walk there we passed dozens of street venders selling a variety of foods, mainly consisting of tortillas and meats. The market was made up of an overwhelming amount of colors. The most popular items were, painted ceramics, brightly colored clothes, beaded bracelets and small trinkets. I bought a belt from a vender who actually cut it to the correct size right in front of me. Walking back was difficult on the crowed main street, there were so many people that to walk you had to weave in between people and really watch where you were going to avoid collisions. It is amazing how colorful Mexico is, in contrast to Wisconsin. So far I am definitely loving all of the bright colors.