 |
|
 |
| |
 |
| |
|
Presenter Toby Amies hooks up with alternative
arts guru Pancho Lopez, who exercises his democratic
right to eat wherever he damn well pleases by staging elaborate dinners
in public places – including a traffic island smack in the middle
of a busy Mexico City thoroughfare.
Pancho’s friend Kimberley Sumano
guides Toby through the historic canals of Xochimilco, where they also gather
flowers for the forthcoming Day of the Dead celebrations. Kimberley
introduces Toby to peroxide-topped La Lucha Libre hard man Shocker
who kits him out in wrestling gear and initiates him into the mysteries
of the world’s most theatrical fighting organisation.
Kimberly and Toby celebrate Dia de Muertes
(Day of the Dead) with traditional Aztec rituals and dancing
in Xochimilco. The following night Toby and Pancho experience the
Day of the Dead in a more contemporary way in Mixquic, with a feast
and candlelit vigil in honour of the dear departed.
Pancho takes Toby to the counterculture El Chopo market
where he meets social activist Daniel Sanchez,
who conducts an orchestra playing instruments recycled from
the city’s trash.
Toby helps documentary filmmaker Andrea Álvarez
gather Super 8 footage behind the scenes at a bullfight at the city’s
Plaza de Toros before taking to the ring with Shocker in a La Lucha
Libre wrestling spectacular. Toby’s regains his equilibrium
by helping Daniel’s friend Tareke Ortiz play
a unique composition written for the bells of the city’s magnificent
Metropolitan Cathedral.
 |
While in Mexico City the Lonely Planet Television crew stayed at the Galeria Plaza.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |