Wednesday, April 15, 2009

El Centro Parte 2

There are many "vendedores ambulantes" or sidewalk merchants in almost any place in Mexico, but Mexico City has the most. The goverment has tried literally "to get rid" of them, but it is an impossible task. There are just too many. And many people say the city wouldn't be the same without them.

So today I will post about what is sold near the Cathedral, and the ways how some people make money.





Embroidered bags.



Hats and wall hangings.


"Cuarzo" braceletes.




I love these dolls!



More bags, wallets, backpacks made out of
handwoven cloth, or embroidered with flower motiffs.
I like these too.





And now what people do: an organ grinder.
They are making a comback with the goverment's help.
I love their music.




Some breakdancers.



They bring their own disc jokeys, and
dance pretty cool.




And these guys. They charge for having a picture taken with them
And many actually DO pay for that. That woman, for example.






Last, but not least, are "Los Danzantes".
This is my first attempt to upload a video.
I will not be posting many videos because
I want to keep my blog one of photographs. But there is
no way to describe the dancing happening in various
parts of downtown. Hope you like it.

Tomorrow El Centro parte 3 with "La Limpia" or the cleansing. Hasta mañana....



7 comments:

Angie said...

Comment on Los Danzantes: Those of you who live in Saouthwest U.S.A have probably seen similiar dancing by American Indians.

Angie said...

Sorry, Southwest...

Anonymous said...

They are similar to Native Americans. Those are elaborate headdresses.

I'm sure the sidewalk vendors add a lot of flavor to the city and I would think tourists would find it interesting. A lot of American cities have vendors like that: Santa Fe, San Francisco, etc. I guess residents and tourists are usually of different minds on many things :)

Cool photos, interesting items. Did you buy a doll?

Angie said...

You are right. Also, the ones who complain the most are the shop-owners who pay rent for their shop. They feel they are cheated by people who pay nothing and usually get the tourists before they even reach the shop door.
No, I didn't buy a doll. We were a bit low on "funds" that day.

Unknown said...

Ayy Angie! Me gusta leer mucho de ti otra vez! Que bueno que fueron a DF y mas que nos tomaste tantos fotos y los pones diariamente! Me da mucho gusto leer tus lineas! Creo que tu amistad con este Candance en linea es bien fresa:-))) muchos besos seguimos leyendo tus lineas y los extrenamos mucho! cuidate y que estas muy bien!

Michelle said...

Love the video! It looks like such a fun place! I spent several months in Guanajuato working, but never made it to D.F.

Found your blog via the spaghetti dude, I made the hot dog dish too!

Singing the Sky

Angie said...

Michelle, I live one hour from Guanajuato.
And, yes, you have to go to Mexico City. It is really so diverse there!!
You can never get bored there.