Last month, two of my short documentary films were named official selections of the Shorts Mexico Film Festival in Mexico City. Never having been to Mexico before (and never having two of my films play in the same festival), it seemed like as good a time as any to make my first trip there. Moreover, Mrs. Perez and I hadn’t taken a trip together (just us) since our honeymoon (about 17 years ago!). So after breaking the news to our teenage daughter that she would be sitting this one out (she took it well), we headed down to Mexico City for five days.
The plan was to attend the screenings of my films (one on Friday and the other on Monday) and in between, try to see as much cool stuff as Mexico City has to offer. I made reservations for our stay at Hotel Catedral which is located walking distance to Zócalo, the common name of the main square located in the Centro Histórico (Historic Center) in Mexico City. Formally known as as Plaza de la Constitución (Constitution Square) and among the largest squares in the world, Zócalo has been a gathering place for Mexicans since Aztec times, having been the site of Mexican ceremonies, royal proclamations, military parades, Independence ceremonies and modern religious events.
I reserved a room at the hotel with the hopes that I’d be able to get a room in the upper floors with a view of the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral located in the heart of the main square (unfortunately, the hotel can’t promise you a room with that view so I was taking my chances a bit). We arrived at the hotel to find out that rooms with views of the cathedral were not available (wasn’t very happy about that) but the hotel has a 7th floor public terrace with a lovely view of the cathedral that made up for it.
So today I’m kicking off a series of photographs from our trip and we’re gonna start with my personal favorite style – street photography. A collection of images taken as we walked the busy streets of Mexico City’s Centro Histórico.
Enjoy…
Here’s a street-level, fisheye view of the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral (Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de la Santísima Virgen María a los cielos). Built in sections from 1573 to 1813, it is the largest cathedral in the Americas and seat of the Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Mexico…
Street vendors on the very busy streets of Zócalo…
Church of Santo Domingo, built between 1556-1571…
A statue of Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez, a heroine of the Mexican War of Independence, stands in the middle of the plaza across from the
Church of Santo Domingo…
Facade of Templo y Antiguo Hospital de la Santisíma Trinidad, built in 1530…
Monument to Enrico Martínez, cosmographer to the King of Spain, interpreter for the Spanish Inquisition,
publisher and hydraulic engineer…
This street vendor doesn’t look like she’s having all that great a day…
A little west of the Zócalo, you’ll find the Palacio de Bellas Artes, one of the most prominent cultural centers in Mexico City…
A fountain in Alameda Central, a public park just west of the Palacio de Bellas Artes…
Here’s a young girl enjoying the park’s many water fountains…
Skater kids in Mexico City? You bet…
The streets of the Historic Center were constantly packed with people and traffic leaving the center moved at a snail’s pace…
Mrs. Perez enthralled by “Ojos Abiertos, 30 años de Médicos Sin Fronteras”, a photography exhibit celebrating 30 years of Doctors Without Borders in Mexico, at the Centro Cultural de España en México, an old mansion that the Mexico City government ceded to the Spanish government in the late 1990s. In 2012, the center was expanded to include a new 4000 sq m wing and rooftop terrace designed by Mexican architect Javier Sánchez…
Outside of our hotel, a street musician and his daughter work the passing crowds (and by the way, we didn’t see one single mariachi the whole five days!)
Evening view of the cathedral from the terrace of Hotel Catedral (Mrs. Perez & I sipped many a cup of coffee from the terrace in our time there).
Also check out my photographs of the Museo Nacional de Arte, Museo Soumaya and the Holy City of Teotihuacán…
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