Las Estacas y México D.F.

It feels like I’ve been here much longer than a week.

Saturday, Rob took us BCAers to Las Estacas, a beautiful area for picnics and wasting away one’s afternoon. There was a river to float in and coconuts to drink from and rope swings from the trees. It was kind of nice to take a break from the city and experience Mexico from the viewpoint of a spoiled tourist.

On our way to the park, we went through the Zapata Museum, based in the ex-home of Emiliano Zapata, a national revolutionary hero who happens to be from Morelos, the state of which Cuernavaca is the capital.

We took public transportation to Mexico City early Sunday morning, which was kind of tricky with our large group. First we toured the Blue House of Frida Kahlo. A good deal of it pertained to Diego Rivera, which kind of irked me although I like his art more than hers in general. Then we hung out in the downtown area, stopping to tour the National Palace, where Diego Rivera painted some of his most famous murals. We also walked through he ruins of the ancient city Teotihuaca, which was destroyed by Hernan Cortez and covered by what is now Mexico City.

The day was concluded by watching bullfights. For some reason, I had never realized that the matadors always kill the bull. Like, that's the point. Why had I thought the bullfight tradition was exactly like the rodeo? Anyway, I was ignorantly taken aback throughout a good portion of my experience. Nevertheless, it was fascinating, especially to watch the audience. There were three matadors, and each had two rounds of fighting. This is how each set goes down: 1) The bull is released into the rink, obviously agitated in some way. 2) The first picadores enter. These guys have pink capes and run the bull around to make him tired. They are soon followed by more picadores on horseback. The horses are covered by padding that must protect them because the poor things are rammed into by the bulls, who often get their horns stuck in the shield. 3) Enter three more picadores, except these guys have stake-like weapons to draw the first blood of the bull by trying to get these things stuck into the back of their necks. This looks more difficult to me than the final slaying of the bull because of the close proximity. 4) Finally, the matador comes out. He proves his bravery by sticking out his crotch and holding his red cape close to his body (or, better, behind him) and coaxing the bull to run towards it - ¡Olé! This is the part of bullfights we're all familiar with, and apparently the only part that I ever considered. 5) Finally, the matador gets the killing sword out and tries to push it into the bull's heart through its shoulder. If he's a good matador, the first hit will be fatal, and the drunken crowd will stop yelling insults at each other and start waving white handkerchiefs to show their approval. The judge will indicate his verdict by a wave of his own. 6) The bull is pulled out of the stadium by two horses. If the matador received approval from the judge, he takes this time to prance around the arena in his glittery vest and gets sombreros and scarves thrown at him from the audience.

It's nice to be able to say that I've seen a Mexican bullfight, but I'm pretty sure I'll never go to another.