Fiesta Mexicana!

During the day on Saturday, I went out to the shopping centre across the road and hoped to find a guitar to play. Just because I haven't played one since I left. I didn't want to impress anyone, or feel like I needed a guitar to justify my current position of "traveller", I just miss it. Luckily I found a spot in the store focusing on musical instruments. There was an electric guitar, which was out of tune, and an acoustic guitar, which was locked on its stand. The bass guitar wasn't really going to satisfy my craving, but it was better than nothing. Until I realised it only had three strings. And so the void in my life continues for a little while longer...

In the evening there was a party at the hostel. There had been parties the previous two nights which I had made an appearance at, but Saturday was supposed to be the main one. It was a costume party, but because I hadn't been sure whether I would see Makocha this weekend, I hadn't actually organised anything. There were a few people from the hostel going who didn't have costumes, it wasn't mandatory, but a most had made an effort. Fortunately, Beatriz had a spare 'Mexican Wrestler' (Luchadores) mask for me. Unfortunately, it didn't fit too well so I spent the entire time walking round with my eyes half closed, stitching grazing my forehead and concern about my inevitable 'post-wrestler-mask' hair.

Whitney's mask was clearly a much better fit than mine

Another English guy, Pranav, had moved into the hostel on Thursday night, who worked for BBC Sport. He had a fair bit of time off, and his job included doing the live commentary updates for Cricket (I wasn't able to discuss much on this topic, but remembered to inform him that Flintoff was on my flight), Rugby and occasionally football. I was quite envious of his job, but apparently his department is steadily having to move to Manchester, which was enough for me to reconsider probing for details as to how to get such a role. Pranav actually moved out Saturday afternoon when he heard about the party planned for the evening. It was understandable; he was still suffering from jet lag, and didn't want to spend three of his five nights in Mexico City not sleeping due to the parties upstairs. I mentioned to him about possibly going to the football the following day though, and he seemed keen.

Which brings me to.... Sunday 24th October. 17:00. Club America vs Guadalajara Chivas. The two biggest teams, in terms of levels of support, and naturally, levels of hatred amongst other supporters, in Mexico. Venue: Estadio Azteca. The fifth largest stadium in the world, but the biggest 'well known' one. A capacity of 105,000 and has held two World Cup finals, as well as being the setting for the infamous 'Hand of God' goal.

Nine of us left the hostel at 2:30, and we met three others on the way, after we had eaten at a market stall. It seemed to take a lifetime to decide how to get to the stadium, and once we were there there were more reasons why we had to wait to buy tickets (during which time Molly was interviewed by national television. I wouldn't have minded doing it, but not being able to speak the same language as the interviewer would have been a considerable barrier). We finally purchased them at 16:57... Pranav and I were getting a little restless; for most of the group, this was a day out at a football match, to me (and probably Pranav too), this was a football match which was doubling up as a day out with friends. No football fan likes to miss the kick off, which is what we managed to do, despite leaving the hostel 2.5 hours before the match...

Nevertheless, the main thing was that we were seeing a game at this stadium, and what a stadium it is. There are no seats inside, just rows of concrete. Due to our late arrival, there didn't seem to be any spaces for twelve bums, so we kept climbing the steps until we reached the very back row. It was high, but the view was still good.

Estadio Azteca: Club America v Guadalajara Chivas.

Beatriz was adamant that we would be supporting America. I was happy to go along with it, seeing as they were the home side, although I would have preferred to cheer for Chivas, as they play in red and white stripes, the Colungas support Chivas, and America are known to be media favourites, yet generally disliked amongst those who aren't heavily influenced by the press. I was surprised however, at how much the fans mixed, outside and inside the stadium. People with Chivas shirts sat alongside those sporting America colours, and even the 'Ultras' appeared to be no more than flag-waving-jump-up-and-down fans, rather than the brawling, missile-throwing nutters I was expecting. Maybe that's a good thing, but it seemed people were more intent on eating, chatting, taking photos and unthinkably, even the one thing no true fan should EVER do at a football match... having fun.

The Azteca is the third World Cup final stadium I have visited this year. Wembley in March (I think it was March...) for the prestigious Johnstone's Paint Trophy, and the Olympic Stadion in Berlin for a drab 0-0 between Hertha Berlin and Vfl Bochum. Having seen one game abroad end in a 0-0, I was hoping for a little more excitement, and definitely at least one goal in Mexico.

Final Result: Club America 0 - 0 Guadalajara Chivas.

Balls. By the end I was cheering anyone who came near the penalty area, but it wasn't to be. In a sure sign of a dull game, the Mexican waves started near the end. Normally I'm not a fan of these, but as I was in Mexico, possibly in the stadium where it gained its notoreity, I was happy enough to participate.

[L to R:] Sara, Chris, Carlos, Molly, Beatriz, Whitney, Eduardo, Whitney, Pranav, Me, Suha, Hugo.

After the football, a few of us were led by Hugo and Suha (who work at the hostel). I thought we were heading to the Metro but they were looking for the fair. It turned out that we had been going the wrong way and it was all a bit confusing. We spoke to the others, who we had separated from, and decided to meet them for dinner in Coyoacan. Before we hailed a taxi, Chris decided to nip down a side-street for a quick toilet trip. As we waited on the main road, about 30 seconds after Chris had disappeared, a police car emerged from the same side road. Whitney was quick to observe, stating "I hope they haven't just seen Chris". Then the car door opened, the two policemen got out and marched back down towards the beleaguered urinator. At a cost of 200 pesos, it was certainly the most expensive piss Chris hasd taken in a while, but a bribe was a better option than an arrest. Once this incident had passed, we all clambered into a taxi and headed for Coyoacan. When I say 'all', I mean 6 of us, and when I say 'taxi', I am talking about a normal saloon. Hugo and Whitney shared the front seat, whilst Suha sat on the floor in the back. Naturally, because the football had just finished, almost every other vehicle was a police one, and it seemed inevitable that we would get pulled over by the same policemen who had just busted Chris in the alley, and on seeing his face they wouldn't be overly happy.

But fortunately, we were ok, and got to Coyoacan without any problems. The Bazar was also open, so I managed to get Makocha the gift (because I'm going to leave soon) I had travelled to Coyoacan for on Thursday without success. We ate at a nice Cantina, although sometimes the number, and brashness of smokers in Mexico can be quite annoying. It's a shame people have to light up every few minutes, but especially when you're confined to a seat and have food in front of you, it would be nice if now and again smokers had the courtesy not blow it straight into your surrounding air. Before we headed into the Cantina we were stood in the Coyoacan plaza, and Quentin Tarantino walked past. I only saw him from the back because I'm generally pretty terrible at noticing things when I'm out and about (there have been so many times in London where a friend has said "did you see her?" and by the time I've emerged from my daydream and adjusted my short-sighted eyes the girl in question has gone), but it was still cool that he was there!

I have more to write about, but will either update this post or make a new one later.

Twig