Singing “Cielito Lindo” at the Polls: A Megacity Field Journal
Everyone dreads getting an SSSS code on their boarding pass. Now imagine that AND getting pushed to standby.
It gets worse.
You’re informed that it’s too hot for any flights to be taking off, so your crew is unsure when you can get home. Even worse, the city’s running out of water. Election day is around the corner. Barricades are up around federal buildings.
What a time to travel.
As all this was going on around me at Benito Juárez Intl. Airport, I decided to chronicle my travels across Ciudad de México, the capital of Mexico, and the largest city in all of North America. The trip, for all difficulties encountered, was a real treat, especially considering the absolute urban studies nerd that I am.
As we descended, a week earlier, upon the hazy valley in which CDMX lay, I was awestruck by the distinct natural landscape of a city encircled by mountains. I was also quite giddy about perusing the bustling streets home to 22 million people.
I sometimes forget that I, myself, live in a megacity. Despite knowing most subway stops across Brooklyn and Manhattan, I stick to paths well-trodden by my years of commuting between school, work, and home. In this way, I’ve compressed New York’s grand scale into a navigable vignette.
On the other hand, the area of CDMX, the colloquial name for the Mexican capital, was a land still uncharted for me . . .
I originally came to Mexico as part of a student pilgrimage to the Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe. The goal of this experience was to refocus on our faith after the school year. However, the timing of our visit made it nearly impossible to avoid the political and environmental conditions across the city:
- The critical water shortage caused by a country-wide drought and an unreliable, leaky urban water system causing 40% loss of water in transit. In less than a month, the city was to hit “Day Zero.”
- The stifling air pollution causing 1 in 17 deaths. In fact, we experienced the hottest recorded day in CDMX at 34.7 degrees Celsius (94.46 F).
- The unstable foundation sinking at different rates across the city (up to 20 inches per year), thus contributing to the degradation of water infrastructure.
Being that Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patroness of the Americas, perhaps it is fitting that I reflect on them as part of my pilgrimage.
All three of the above-mentioned issues can be attributed to the city originally being founded atop a mountain lake bed at a remarkably high elevation (2,240 meters above sea level). Ignoring politically-charged commentary on climate change, it’s important to acknowledge that nearly half of the global urban population will face urban water scarcity by 2050 simply by the nature of where certain cities are located. And if people think they can “wait it out,” I stress that water access is an issue that transcends class borders — there is only so much private water you can truck in or guard.
I first realized these issues, often hidden from tourists, when I wasn’t permitted to flush toilet paper in any public restroom I entered. Indeed — the infrastructure was fragile and water scarce. By the end of the trip, the bulk of my spending hadn’t been on colourful trinkets, but ash gray toilet paper, often hand-rolled by women guarding the stalls.
Something that wasn’t, in fact, hidden to tourists was the overwhelming political plastering of the city. Though 2024 is generally a historic year of elections with about half of the world voting, CDMX takes the prize for most advertising I’ve ever seen. Every street corner, every storefront, every laundry line featured a poster of a candidate with hands made into a thumbs up, peace sign, or a heart. They were all smiling so intently as if to call out to each passerby, “Cielito Lindo!” (Spanish for lovely sweet one), as the famous mariachi song goes, to please, please vote for them!
Many a voter have expressed their agitation at this overwhelming waste of public money. You couldn’t escape it in rural Mexico either — on our drive to nearby Puebla, every wall and fence, no matter how obscure, was painted with a slogan.
To give some more context, unlike in the US, the Mexican political landscape is dictated by coalitions. The most recognizable parties across these coalitions include the:
- right-wing Partido de Acción Nacional (PAN)
- left-wing Partido de la Revolución Institucional (PRI)
- left-wing Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (Morena)
Interestingly enough, Morena’s popularity have led PAN and PRI to join forces. Nevertheless, it is expected that current President AMLO’s Morena party will maintain its power, this time with a female successor.
(Update — Morena indeed won.)
Other Observations
1. The quirks and controversies of the transit system.
If you told me I would see something akin to a ski lift in the skies above CDMX, I would have never believed you. But lo and behold, the teleférico system has quickly become one of the coolest pieces of public transport I’ve ever seen.
This aerial tramway carries 90,000 passengers a day between the favelas nestled up high in the mountains and city center. On one hand, it forms an essential economic passage and lifeline. On another, it creates a barrier between classes — after all, up in the air, you float above gang-controlled territory. Either way, it looked so futuristic that I desperately wanted to try out the system, but was advised against it for safety reasons: I didn’t speak Spanish and no taxi would be willing to rescue me if I got stranded in a narrow alleyway in the hills.
Another transit surprise was the London-esque, double decker red Metrobús. Complete with a specially designated traffic lane running down the middle of large avenues, it was clear that CDMX’s scale necessitated special concessions for public transit.
Lastly, though not in CDMX, the Maya Train is worth a mention. It is a rail line running through the Yucatan Peninsula, and the final Mexican transit innovation by President AMLO before his term is over. The line has garnered nationwide controversy for its devastating environmental repercussions. It was originally meant to shift tourism’s wealth from the coast inland (sorry Cancún) and create thousands of new jobs, but engineering difficulties and heritage preservation incentives inflated costs. This is a huge setback for much needed train service across previously inaccessible parts of the country.
2. Two extremes in the food scene.
Thanks to widespread food carts, there were endless affordable and fresh, warm food options across the city. I’m going to miss my Agua de Jamaica (hibiscus tea) and will fondly remember the nifty trick of squeezing lime into certain soups for an extra kick of flavour. At the same time, I was really concerned by the dominating presence of very processed candies, cookies, and chips in Oxxo, a popular deli chain. I couldn’t find any foods with less than 10 ingredients at these stores which were often the main venues open late at night.
3. A true home for contemporary art and diverse architecture.
According to Mexican poet Cesar A. Cruz, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” CDMX had exactly that — each neighborhood offered something completely different in terms of style, public spaces/displays, and the pace of life — the city was alive in a more vibrant way than even NYC.
The main neighborhoods visitors, including myself, usually experienced were:
- Centro: tourist hotspots
- Condesa: hipster eats and galleries
- Polanco: upscale shopping and fine dining
I spent each evening exploring, trying to get a good look into how various communities live. Condesa was by far my favourite because of the youthful culture and sheer amount of greenery — it felt like you were under a jungle tapestry. In fact, it reminded me of a mix of Rome’s Trastevere district and Kraków’s Planty Park. Locals, however, have become weary of the flood of digital nomads gentrifying their neighborhood; indeed, I heard more British English than Spanish there.
Polanco felt international in a different way. Like LA’s Rodeo Drive or Manhattan’s Madison Avenue, it had a major shopping boulevard with multi-story designer shoppes and side streets beckoning you to indulge in tasteful French sweets. Upon seeing what some might call a ridiculously flamboyant white geometric horse sculpture outside an apartment building, I shivered. So many people just a bus ride away were without water. The price of one dinner could feed their family for who knows how long.
CDMX was full of juxtapositions and extremes.
Interestingly enough, there was once a proposal to build an earth-scraper, that is, the opposite of a skyscraper, within Zócalo, the main plaza in CDMX. It was abandoned for good reason because its development would weaken the already sinking historic district. Still — it sounded so, so cool.
4. Safety.
People have a lot of different opinions about the safety of megacities. After all, surveillance, formal and informal, manifests differently based upon the country you’re in.
CDMX felt relatively safe, besides being warned not to venture into the mountains. Sure, a few times, I was caught off guard by someone unexpectedly coming up to me, even when I was sitting deep inside a restaurant, but they were usually just selling individually-wrapped candies or stuffed animals.
The time I felt most unsafe was when I was walking to a Lucha Libre show and I had to go through doors in built in street blockades. They were originally meant to prevent protestors from drawing graffiti over government buildings (apparently teacher unions), but having been left standing, they attracted the wrong type of crowd.
5. The future of Catholicism.
I greatly enjoyed my visit to Our Lady of Guadalupe, which I learned is the second most visited pilgrimage site in the world after the Vatican. The complex was huge and full of gardens and smaller shrines. A day easily went by. In fact, I was really pleased to find a painting of the Polish Black Madonna of Częstochowa at one church. My homeland of Poland and Mexico have long had close ties given their mutually understood Catholic heritage and the links formed by Pope John Paul II’s multiple visits. They remain some of the most Catholic countries in the world, though I wouldn’t be surprised if the future of Catholicism rested primarily on Latin America.
However, Mexico was not always such a Catholic country and many of the city’s churches are built atop what were once pyramids and platforms for human sacrifices. The most famous of these pyramids are in the pre-historic Aztec city of Teotihuacán, located 30 miles outside of CDMX.
For historic reference, here is a broad timeline of Mexican history:
- 250s — Height of Mayan Empire
- 1320s — Aztec Empire
- 1520s — New Spain by way of Hernán Cortés and Catholic missionaries
- 1810s — Mexican War of Independence from Spain
- 1910s — Mexican Revolution and Constitution
The Mexican Revolution’s opposition to clerical power and restructuring of government a hundred years after independence ensured an especially rigorous separation between church and state that continues to this day — my tour guide mentioned the President is not allowed to display any personal religious affiliations while in office. The population is nevertheless very religious, so I’m curious about the relationship this new administration will build with them.
Overall, this trip showed me more than ever before that, as William Gibson once claimed, “The future is here — it’s just not evenly distributed.” Some things desperately made me want to live in CDMX. Others reminded me just how lucky I am to call NYC home.
I’m really looking forward to investigating more megacities . . .
