Los Reyes Culhuacán

Any's have given me a huge room with one double and one single bed, a table and kitchenette with fridge as well as the bathroom. This part of the building probably goes back to the Porfirista period, named after the dictator who ruled the country from 1884 to 1911. Whatever one may think of his politics, this period left a legacy of pompous vaguely French-looking buildings; high ceilings, flowery cornices, chandeliers and creaking floorboards are standards.

After a lie down I start to explore the neighbourhood. The streets are named after other Mexican states so I feel half-way to Oaxaca and Veracruz already. I have the good fortune to be there just after the release of the film "Roma" which is named after this quarter and I make a pilgrimage to Calle (Street) Tepeji where much of the filming took place. Roma is an up-and-coming neighbourhood with quiet, leafy avenues, bars and restaurants, and reminds me of San Telmo in Buenos Aires and Barrio Brasil in Santiago.

The next morning Daniel prepares huevos rancheros, which are so good that I have them nearly every morning in Mexico. They're fried eggs bulked out with spicy "picante" sauce, sitting on tortillas (not the Spanish ones, these are prepared from maize and look like small pancakes) and the indispensable beans. And here, beanz meanz not Heinz but refried black or brown! There's a pleasant family atmosphere downstairs. The TV is showing videos of Latin American pop songs. Shakira is shimmying across the stage floor, leaving little to the imagination. Does she still do this or was this video made years ago?

It's a day for the city centre. Although huge tracts of Mexico City are dirt-poor, the nucleus is sophisticated as befits a 20 million strong city. In a former bank I visit a brilliant exhibition by Graciela Iturbide, who photographs in black-and-white, the subjects mainly of ordinary Mexican people, either at work or in carnival mode. Nearby, the main Post Office is a fantastic creation recalling the late Spanish Gothic period and it's worth the entrance just to buy stamps for my postcards. The service is amiable but at the time of writing, the second half of March, the cards still haven't reached their recipients; in contrast my brother sent me a card of a Maya site in the Yucatan which arrived home in a week---because he posted it in the USA. Outside there's a profusion of people in army uniforms playing the mournful sounds of barrel organs but I prefer the rock group round the corner, thumping out 1960s classics. Try to imagine "Born to be Wild" with a strong Mexican-Spanish accent!Read more