Above, a representation of the Templo Mayor adorning the walls of the buildings on the west side of the Zocalo. I took this on Friday during a stroll around Centro for a post at La Plaza, on Mexico's bicentennial of independence. At night it is lit up and looks incredible.
It's on this Wednesday night, September 15, starting at 6 p.m. with a parade choreographed by Ric Birch, who put together Olympic ceremonies at Barcelona in 1992 and at Sydney in 2000. Then there are performances on three stages by Kinky, Lila Downs, Espinoza Paz, Los Tigres del Norte, and many others. I feel a bit of excitement in the air finally, but maybe I'm just projecting.
After all, I don't have to cut across Reforma everyday and have to suffer it being shut down for three days.
The New York Times and the Associated Press both go long on the grim mood in Mexico in 2010. The A.P. quotes a priest at a shelter for Central American migrants in Oaxaca, and left me nodding: "I think that nationalism isn't much help any more. ... I think what we need is new humanism, that places value on the individual human being."
Meantime, or quickly down the road, maybe we could use a real audit on those millions of pesos being spent on the party. As ever, I'll be here to witness and keep my mind open and deliver myself to the fiesta, without resistance. Relatives are coming into town as I type, so things should get suitably saucy, soon.
* More later.