El Eje Central -the Central Axis- is a major Mexico City thoroughfare that splits the city north to south. The ‘zero emissions’ trolley buses run up and down, in the opposite direction to other vehicles, between the north and south bus terminals located near the metro stations Autobuses Del Norte and Tasqueña, respectively. Be careful […]
Read moreStation / Estación # 153: Nopalera
Whilst Presidents Obama and Peña Nieto and Prime Minister Harper were discussing 20 years of NAFTA in Toluca yesterday, I made my way down to Nopalera station. Nopalera, of course, refers to the cactus from which the edible nopal pad is yielded. The area was once home to large farms dedicated to growing the nopal. However, it seems that […]
Read moreStation / Estación # 152: Mexicaltzingo
The slogan of the system is ‘el metro es……Cultura!’. I got a dose at Mexicaltzingo before I even left the station via a photography exhibition showcasing cultural events and well known Mexico City places and monuments. Included are images of thousands of naked folk in the zocalo in 2007, shot by Spencer Tunick, Paul McCartney rocking […]
Read moreStation / Estación # 151: Zapotitlan
I rode down line 12, almost to the southern end, and alighted at Zapotitlan. The station symbol shows a tree with three branches containing the sapote fruit. This represents the first part of the station name. The ‘titlan’ suffix means ‘between’, so Zapotitlan means between the sapote trees. Around the station I found what they […]
Read moreStation / Estación #150: Hospital 20 de Noviembre
This station, sandwiched between Insurgentes Sur and Zapata, takes its name (I’m sure you worked it out) from the nearby hospital. It, in turn, I assume, is named after the significant day in Mexican history of November 20 1910 when Francisco Madero crossed into Mexico from Texas to initiate the Mexican revolution. Fairly quiet streets […]
Read moreStation / Estación # 149: Calle 11
As I previously mentioned , line 12 intersects with 4 other lines. For this visit I joined line 12 at Ermita, a station at the southern end of line 2. As I’ve also said before some of the stations are huge, the long walk to change lines at Pantitlan is especially arduous. However, I have an […]
Read moreThe Subway Gangs of Mexico City [VICE Documentary]
VICE produces a lot of interesting documentaries, often focusing on social or political issues or movements. This short documentary, “The Subway Gangs of Mexico City”, focuses on the culture of groups of young Mexico City residents who use their ‘home’ metro station -where they meet up – as a base for their collective identity. The film […]
Read moreStation / Estación # 148: Insurgentes Sur [Project Resumption]
I’ve been back in Mexico City a few days. It has seemed a bit strange at times,walking around the streets of the ‘centro histórico’ where I used to live, visiting old haunts – everything familiar but with subtle changes, in my perspective also. The faces of the taqueros (taco vendors) and viene-vienes (unofficial parking assistants/car minders) I recognise have slightly […]
Read moreMCM PROJECT: 2013 in review
Long time, no blogging on here so…hi! At the end of this post there is a link to go through to the annual report 2013 from WordPress for the Mexico City Metro Project. In the year I made a grand total of 1 post! Having completed the station visits in 2012 and being absent from […]
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CAFE TACUBA – EL METRO (TRANSLATION)
Cafe Tacuba is a Mexican band and this is their homage to the Mexico City Metro. In case you didn’t know, the food and goods referenced in the song highlight the ubiquity of ‘los vagoneros’ – the roaming vendors who turn the metro into a mobile marketplace. The version I’ve embedded below is from their 1995 […]
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LATIN AMERICA FOCUS 