MEXICO CITY (MEXICO)
05 March - 07 March 2017
Planning our trip to Central
America happened at around the same time that Christmas was starting to stick
its head over the garden fence, meaning that it was close enough for us to
feel its presence. Somehow in those weeks of planning and contemplation when I was trying to conjure up a present for Inga, I came across the understanding
that Metallica were travelling around the same parts of the world that we were
going to be in as they took to their Hardwired to Self-Destruct World Tour. And
hey, didn’t I just have the greatest piece of luck, Metallica were going to be
performing at Foro Sol, Mexico City on 05 March! All it took for me to lock in
these tickets as a Christmas present was a small tweaking of our entry and exit
into Havana, and there it was, Metallica in Mexico.
Metallica - World Wired Tour - Foro Sol - Mexico City - Mexico
Metallica - World Wired Tour - Foro Sol - Mexico City - Mexico
Metallica - World Wired Tour - Foro Sol - Mexico City - Mexico
Metallica - World Wired Tour - Foro Sol - Mexico City - Mexico
Years earlier Inga & I had
written out a bucket list of bands that we wanted to see together. Looking back
now, we’ve seen nearly all of them since the writing of our list but back then,
Metallica was an early tick on the ‘completed list’.
Getting into Mexico City worked
perfectly, a flight out of Havana to Cancun and then the connecting flight to
Mexico City. This was the key element to
getting to the concert on time, and with budget flights you can just never
be so sure, delays & cancellations are just part of the game when you’re
flying on the cheap. So I breathed a *sigh* of relief when our flight from Cancun took off on ti,e.
Metallica - World Wired Tour - Foro Sol - Mexico City - Mexico
Metallica - World Wired Tour - Foro Sol - Mexico City - Mexico
Metallica - World Wired Tour - Foro Sol - Mexico City - Mexico
Metallica - World Wired Tour - Foro Sol - Mexico City - Mexico
Metallica - World Wired Tour - Foro Sol - Mexico City - Mexico
Metallica - World Wired Tour - Foro Sol - Mexico City - Mexico
In Mexico City we stayed at the Hotel Sport Aristos CDMX, which I have to say was just a
stroke of genius. It literally is the closest accommodation that you can get to Foro Sol stadium and it came as a God send both for getting back home after the show
but also prior to the event. What I didn’t know when I was picking up tickets before the concert was their
requirement to see my passport as it was the ‘only form of viable ID’ that a foreigner could offer as acceptable identification. So, had we not been located within striking distance of the stadium then
the hassles of having to get back into the city and then out the stadium once again would have
been completely horrendous.
Mexico City does it right
Concerts in Mexico City. Wow. CDMX, you
guys know how to do it right!
Admittedly, the crowd at Foro Sol was not as raucous as an
Argentinian crowd but the passion and emotion was still there. But even before the main event, the merchandising available was just on another level. Now both of us
have been to many concerts, in many parts of the world, but here at Foro Sol
the choice was remarkable. I’m not sure of all of it was entirely legitimate
but considering we were actually in the grounds of the stadium then there had
to be some associated with legitimacy, right?
Another thing they got right.
Queues, or rather, the lack there of. Now there was 65,000 people on the night
we were there but we could walk straight up to a bar and order drinks, we could
walk straight into a bathroom without having to wait in ridiculous lines. How
is it that a venue like this can manage so much better than any Australian
event we’d been too…here’s a hint….more staff, more facilities. You can cater
for the masses if you have all these elements in place.
Metallica - World Wired Tour - Foro Sol - Mexico City - Mexico
Metallica - World Wired Tour - Foro Sol - Mexico City - Mexico
Metallica - World Wired Tour - Foro Sol - Mexico City - Mexico
Metallica - World Wired Tour - Foro Sol - Mexico City - Mexico
The parade of Molten Black trying to make their way home
How were Metallica?
They certainly beat all my expectations by an
extremely large margin. Personally I was never a major fan of this band in my earlier years, there
were occasional songs that I’d come across that I'd enjoy but the ‘black army’ never
aligned to my sense of self and neither did their music….but, as the
day to their concert approached I gradually got into them more and more so by
concert time I was more excited about Inga’s present than she was Of course being such a major global band theirs a universal appeal that exists for a reason. There's a connection they've formed through their music that obviously speaks to a couple of generations of teenagers and angry 20 somethings. From
their music, to the show, the spectacle and the crowd, this was one fantastic
night and I’m certainly glad that we had the opportunity to see them perform
here, the atmosphere, to throw in a line of absolute cliché, was electric.
Ciudad de Mexico - Mexico
Plaza de la Constitucion - Zocolo - Ciudad de Mexico - Mexico
Ciudad de Mexico - Mexico
Ciudad de Mexico - Mexico
Plaza de la Constitucion - Zocolo - Ciudad de Mexico - Mexico
CPlaza de la Constitucion - Zocolo - Ciudad de Mexico - Mexico
Teotihuacan
The day after the epic show at
Foro Sol, I suggested that we head out to Teotihuacan, an ancient Mesoamerican
city located very close to Mexico City itself, about 40kms north-east of the city, known as an architectural site
of significance because of its fantastic pyramids and one time populous.
An extremely impressive location,
I would say easily that this site is far more impactful visually than the more famed Chichen
Itza in the Yucatan.
Teotihuacan - Mexico
Teotihuacan - Mexico
Teotihuacan - Mexico
Teotihuacan - Mexico
A fairly vast complex, it's estimated that
at its zenith, approximately 1500 CE (Before Common Era), it was the 6th
largest city on the planet with a population of 125,000+. From my own perspective its the scale of the
complex and the nature of the structures that made this a true highlight, especially when comparing it to equivalent locations
that we went to, only surpassed, I believe, by Tikal whose location in the jungles of
Guatemala made it feel more mysterious and exotic to me.
Indeed the history of Teotihuacan
far more mysterious than that of Tikal, as is the reason for its existence. The
origins if its founders are uncertain and it existed as the largest centre of
Mesoamerica almost 1000 years prior to the Aztec epoch. All these elements
should make this location more popular than it seems to be. Certainly it is
known well enough but it has none of the ‘parade’ and circus associated with
Chichen Itza.
Teotihuacan - Mexico
Teotihuacan - Mexico
We spent a fantastic few hours
walking around, climbing up the Pyramid of the Sun, which is the largest
structure of its site in the Western Hemisphere, (standing at 66mtrs). It
dominates the central –eastern space at Teotihuacan residing on the Avenue of
the Dead and being the main draw card of the site. Certainly climbing to the top
of the structure is as challenging as the awe it inspires, standing at 2300mtrs
above sea level each step you take feel like three on a stepper in the gym.
A truly great experience and one
that I’d be happy to do again when my son gets old enough to understand what
he’s looking at.
Ciudad de Mexico - Mexico
Ciudad de Mexico - Mexico
Mexico City
We didn’t allow ourselves a lot
of time in Mexico City, so leaving any great observations to the last time I
was here and the entry associated with it, what I did find on this occasion was
an abundance of culinary options. It’s Mexico of course and the food they’ve
given to the world is magnificent, but, perhaps it was the lack of my own observations on my last visit here in 2011 but
it seemed that food offerings were everywhere. Cheap, delicious and in
plentiful, this has to be a culinary hot spot that is cruising under the radar
at the moment!
