Visiting Mexico City’s Garibaldi |
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| One of my favorite parts of Mexico City was the Garibaldi neighborhood. Garibaldi itself is located in a not so posh area of Mexico City, but it has long been famous for its alcohol, shows, and especially live musicians and mariachi bands. Drinking is legal within the streets here, and you’ll find lots of beer bottles and cigarettes thrown about. I also came across several locals who were beyond drunk. One of them was Goth dressed up in all black leather complete with spikes and a Mohawk who could barely walk. A Colombian I met took a photo using flash which had some huge guy that seemed to be a foot taller then everyone else begin to scree the “f” word as he looked around for the person with the camera. Above are locals hanging out and drinking in the main street. On the right is one of the many musicians you’ll see standing around. I saw one drunk guy go up to a small band of three people and they played music for him which he sang along with as his friend recorded it with his cell phone. Below is the entrance to one of the many bars and clubs in Garibaldi. |
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| I didn’t go inside the bar on the upper left for a drink, but I do know it’s the most famous bar in Garibaldi. It’s often used as a scene for Mexican movies and had been a popular place since Mexico’s golden years in the 1950s. I did go to another restaurant and bar though that had a large stage and of course a live Mariachi band! I didn’t realize it until I got to Mexico, but to officially be a Mariachi band you must have 7 musicians, otherwise a different name is used. |
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| The show included lots of live music and tricks such as the man singing on the right and the man on the left performing tricks with a lasso. I wish I hadn’t taken a photo with flash so you could see movement, but I didn’t have a choice since it was pretty dark inside. The man with the lasso was very impressive. He did all sorts of tricks and throws with the rope and never once made a mistake. At the end of his show he did some kind of jump rope like movements with impressive speed. |
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| Another show I enjoyed was the Aztec show. This was also done in what seemed like near darkness except for a fire lit in the center. The performers danced around in circles around the flames while men and women dressed up in native clothing did several other rituals. Below on the left was a performer who came on and acted out a wildlife being hunted by a native. The performances ended with the hunter striking the deer with an arrow and the deer giving a full minute of convulsions before finally dying. After this some other dancers came up with masked like old people. One of them actually tried to pull me on stage, I almost got up and then hesitated and refused. I guess I learned from the my time in the Marines, never volunteer! Another dance that followed towards the end of the night, I had who I think is the same woman attempt to pull me on stage again. She must have sensed my hesitation so the second time I got up and had to try to dance with her on stage. |
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  One of the final shows of the night was an unexpected chicken fight. At first when they brought the chickens out I didn’t realize they were supposed to be fighting, but once they were let loose on the floor the chickens knew their purpose. There was no question who the winner was. One of the chickens fell over and almost seemed dead until it was picked up. On the upper right is the winner being proudly help by one of the dancers. On the left is myself posing with one of the performers after the show. |