Speaker 1: You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope
Speaker 1: and iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Guess what Mango?
Speaker 1: What's that gave?
Speaker 2: So you know how the capital of Mexico is Mexico City.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I've played a lot of carbon San
Speaker 1: Diego as a kid. All right.
Speaker 2: Well, the funny thing is that it wasn't technically true
Speaker 2: when you first learned it. How do you mean, Well,
Speaker 2: until recently, the official name of Mexico's capital was the
Speaker 2: Distrata Federal, the Federal District, or DF for short, and
Speaker 2: that was the name that was on the books for
Speaker 2: nearly two hundred years, but it never caught on in
Speaker 2: other countries.
Speaker 1: So Mexico City wasn't officially called Mexico City. That's so bizarre.
Speaker 1: How come?
Speaker 2: Well it's because most countries have their own federal districts,
Speaker 2: so you know, it could get confusing if people don't
Speaker 2: know which one you're referring to. So instead, people just
Speaker 2: kept calling the capital Mexico City, which was the district's
Speaker 2: original name. That's what it was called prior to Mexico
Speaker 2: winning its independence from Spain way back in the eighteen twenties.
Speaker 1: Oh, that's fascinating. So it was Mexico City, then it
Speaker 1: was in Mexico City, and now it's Mexico City again,
Speaker 1: Like why to change?
Speaker 2: All right? Well, so you know how in Washington, DC,
Speaker 2: there's a movement to get representation in Congress. Sure, Well,
Speaker 2: in Mexico City, there's been this ongoing effort for the
Speaker 2: last forty years to help the district become more autonomous,
Speaker 2: and in twenty sixteen, then President Enrique pinonetto champion that
Speaker 2: caused in a big way when he officially rebranded the
Speaker 2: capital Mexico City. The restructuring from a district to a
Speaker 2: city granted it new political rights, including the ability to
Speaker 2: set its own budgets and even adopt its own constitution,
Speaker 2: which it did in twenty seventeen.
Speaker 1: So there's so much trivia, like global trivia that I loved,
Speaker 1: like that there was a part of Bangladesh that was
Speaker 1: in India, that was in Bangladesh that was in India. Similarly,
Speaker 1: the idea that Mexico City is not Mexico City. But
Speaker 1: I feel like that's a fact I would have dined
Speaker 1: out on for a very very long time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's tough to keep straight, but in this case,
Speaker 2: it's actually more than just trivia. And that's because one
Speaker 2: of the most unique aspects of Mexico City is the
Speaker 2: way it embraces both tradition and modernity. So on one hand,
Speaker 2: adopting the old name of Mexico City is a nod
Speaker 2: to the region's past, but it's also a nod to
Speaker 2: the future, like one where the city is hopefully less
Speaker 2: beholden to the federal government and has more of a
Speaker 2: voice in how it's governed. But that's just one of
Speaker 2: the many connections between the past and the present in
Speaker 2: Mexico City. There's a lot more to explore in today's travelogue,
Speaker 2: so let's dive in.
Speaker 1: Hey, their podcast listeners, and welcome to Part Time Genius.
Speaker 1: I'm Mongish particular, and today I'm joined by my good
Speaker 1: friend and writer researcher extraordinary for this show, Gabe lucy A.
Speaker 1: And on the other side of the soundproof glass downing
Speaker 1: a bottle of coconut flavored electro lit that is our
Speaker 1: friend and producer Dylan Fagan and watch him go. Apparently,
Speaker 1: the drink is a summer staple in Mexico City because
Speaker 1: it's load with electrolytes to help you stay hydrated in
Speaker 1: the high heat.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but our studios air conditions. So why is Dylan drinking?
Speaker 1: I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact
Speaker 1: that he was doing all those guitar solos with shredding
Speaker 1: in there for hours and hours. When you're practicing to
Speaker 1: leave it out all on the stage, you really need
Speaker 1: to hydrate.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I've heard Keith Richards was also big on hydration
Speaker 2: for that same reason. So is this kind of like
Speaker 2: Mexico's answer to Gatorade because this bottle looks way more medicinal.
Speaker 1: Yeah, apparently electroly it tends to be less sugary, and
Speaker 1: it's a little closer to what you'd find in an
Speaker 1: actual IV drip. But just like Gatorade, the drink is
Speaker 1: stocked at convenience stores and consumed by just about everyone,
Speaker 1: not just athletes. It also predates Gatorade by about fifteen years,
Speaker 1: having been invented in nineteen fifty, and this was in
Speaker 1: the midst of a cholera epidemic. The oral rehydration solution,
Speaker 1: which is also known as suero in Mexico. It helped
Speaker 1: save thousands of children's lives during this crisis, and ever
Speaker 1: since it's been the drink of choice not just for
Speaker 1: sick children, but for local athletes, hikers, or anyone else
Speaker 1: who feels a little out of sorts in the there.
Speaker 1: But there's actually another reason why the drink is so
Speaker 1: popular in Mexico City in particular, and that's because the
Speaker 1: region's high altitude. It's sometimes easy to forget since we
Speaker 1: usually associate high altitudes with cold temperatures, but Mexico's capital
Speaker 1: is actually twenty two hundred meters above sea level, or
Speaker 1: nearly a mile and a half. So it's pretty common
Speaker 1: for visitors to feel lightheaded or tired shortly after their arrival.
Speaker 1: But thankfully that can be easily fixed with a bottle
Speaker 1: or two of electrolt.
Speaker 2: All right, well, I just want to point out that
Speaker 2: part time Genius is not sponsored by Electrolyte.
Speaker 1: I mean, I just want to point out to the
Speaker 1: sponsors that we are open to it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, obviously, But now, okay, So I know you
Speaker 2: mentioned the elevation, but Mexico City's geography is unusual in
Speaker 2: lots of other ways too. For instance, another thing that's
Speaker 2: easy to overlook is that the current city is built
Speaker 2: on top of a dried up lake bed those seven
Speaker 2: hundred years ago the Mashika, who later became known better
Speaker 2: known as the Aztecs. They built the original Mexico city
Speaker 2: on an island in Lake tex Coco, but after the
Speaker 2: Spanish invaded in the fifteen twenties, the lake was drained
Speaker 2: to allow for greater expansion.
Speaker 1: You know, I've always loved that story that the Aztecs
Speaker 1: built their city on an island in the middle of
Speaker 1: a lake. But do you actually know the rationale for that,
Speaker 1: because I feel like I've always heard that but never
Speaker 1: knew why they chose to do that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it seems like a strange place to build a city,
Speaker 2: but with the lake and the surrounding mountains, it was
Speaker 2: a pretty secure place to build a city. Plus it
Speaker 2: had its own built in water supply. But according to legend,
Speaker 2: the real reason why the Aztec settled there was the
Speaker 2: fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. They were in their nomadic
Speaker 2: phase in the early fourteenth century, wandering from one place
Speaker 2: to the next, but they believed that their gods would
Speaker 2: eventually show them where to settle by sending a very
Speaker 2: distinctive sign an eagle perched atop a cactus eating a snake,
Speaker 2: and what do you know, it one day thirteen twenty five,
Speaker 2: while passing by Lake tex Coco, they looked out to
Speaker 2: a small island and saw exactly that. So with that
Speaker 2: divine stamp of approval, the Aztec set out to build
Speaker 2: an elaborate floating city, which they called Tenosh Teethlon, or
Speaker 2: Place of the Prickly Pear Cactus.
Speaker 1: It's funny because I hadn't associated the two with one another,
Speaker 1: but like that image of a golden eagle standing on
Speaker 1: a cactus chomping on a snake, that's actually the image
Speaker 1: on Mexico's flag.
Speaker 2: Right, yeah, exactly. It became a foundational symbol pretty much
Speaker 2: for the entire country, with the eagle representing the spirit
Speaker 2: of the Mexican people, and Tanosh Teethlan itself was, you know,
Speaker 2: pretty incredible. The city was built across a series of
Speaker 2: natural and artificial islands, the ladder of which were created
Speaker 2: using soil dredged from the lake bottom, and the city
Speaker 2: was laid out in a symmetrical grid, with four sectors
Speaker 2: surrounding a central area, which is where all the temples
Speaker 2: and palaces were located. But most impressively, the different sectors
Speaker 2: were connected to each other by four causeways or elevated roads,
Speaker 2: which also acted as barriers to separate the lake's brackish
Speaker 2: saltwater from its fresh water, so residents could also get
Speaker 2: around the city by boat thanks to this elaborate system
Speaker 2: of canals, a feature for which the Spanish would later
Speaker 2: dub tanosh Titlan the Venice of the New World. So
Speaker 2: for the next two hundred years, the Aztecs thrived in
Speaker 2: this floating capital. They conquered other tribes throughout the region,
Speaker 2: and eventually they became the largest and most populous city
Speaker 2: in pre Columbian America, covering more than five square miles
Speaker 2: and boasting upwards of two hundred thousand citizens.
Speaker 1: You think about this then, like the symmetry of the
Speaker 1: structures here, the fact that they built islands, It just
Speaker 1: sounds so impressive. They built up this real civilization. And
Speaker 1: then the Spanish cam right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Spanish explorer Hernand Cortes showed up in fifteen nineteen
Speaker 2: and he immediately set his eyes on the Aztec sophisticated
Speaker 2: city and all the treasure that he assumed was stored
Speaker 2: inside of it. He spent the next two years securing
Speaker 2: the support of local tribes who were you know, itching
Speaker 2: to overthrow the Aztecs, and then in fifteen twenty one,
Speaker 2: he and his troops laid siege to tein O Schtiethln.
Speaker 2: The battle lasted for ninety three days and a large
Speaker 2: portion of the city was destroyed in the fighting. So
Speaker 2: once the Aztec surrendered, the Spanish looted and burned most
Speaker 2: of what remained. Then they drained the surrounding lake and
Speaker 2: built Spain's new colonial center right on top of the ruins,
Speaker 2: creating what we know today as Mexico City.
Speaker 1: You know, it's one of those things that, like, it
Speaker 1: always astounds me that the conquistadors just like came in
Speaker 1: as one culture, wiping out another culture just to take
Speaker 1: what they wanted.
Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, it's a shame. And you know, the detail
Speaker 2: that really gets to me is that the Spanish used
Speaker 2: many of the same stones from Tano Schteethlan in the
Speaker 2: construction of their new city. So, for instance, one of
Speaker 2: the most famous buildings in the Zocallo that's Mexico City's
Speaker 2: main PubL book square is the Metropolitan Cathedral. It's the
Speaker 2: largest cathedral in Latin America and it was built directly
Speaker 2: on top of the Templo Mayor, the Sacred Temple complex
Speaker 2: at the heart of the Aztec capital. It's such a
Speaker 2: stark physical symbol of one culture, just kind of railroading
Speaker 2: and building over another. Like there's no subtext here, it
Speaker 2: is all text.
Speaker 1: There's actually an interesting PostScript to this that might make
Speaker 1: you feel a bit better. So the Metropolitan Cathedral is
Speaker 1: a very very big building, as you said, and since
Speaker 1: it's made of stone, it's also incredibly heavy, and it
Speaker 1: is so heavy, in fact, that it's actually sinking into
Speaker 1: the ground, with its south wing now almost a full
Speaker 1: meter lower than the rest of it. This development wasn't
Speaker 1: surprising in itself, because all of Mexico City is sinking
Speaker 1: by as much as fifteen inches per year because it's
Speaker 1: built on a lake bed right exactly. But the cathedral
Speaker 1: slow descent turned out to be a special case because
Speaker 1: the lower got, the more visible the ancient structures beneath
Speaker 1: it became. And what's amazing is that, like archaeologists hadn't
Speaker 1: been able to pinpoint the temple's exact location, but in
Speaker 1: the nineteen seventies they started finding engraved stone discs and
Speaker 1: other artifacts around the cathedral sinking base, and these discoveries
Speaker 1: led to extensive excavation, and now the remains of this
Speaker 1: temple Mayora are actually on full display for visitors. There's
Speaker 1: even a museum next door that spotlights many of the
Speaker 1: relics unearthed there.
Speaker 2: It really just goes to show you can't keep a
Speaker 2: good temple down. My mom always said that, Yeah. It
Speaker 2: is amazing though, that the European conquerors they tried to
Speaker 2: bury the region's past, but it literally rose to the
Speaker 2: surface in this case, and now it sounds like the
Speaker 2: city's kind of safeguarding it for the future. It actually
Speaker 2: reminds me of this quote. I came across on a
Speaker 2: site called Escaping Worlds. So this reporter, Lisy, she spoke
Speaker 2: to a bunch of Mexico City natives to get, you know,
Speaker 2: local perspective on the culture. And one of the people
Speaker 2: she talked to was this middle aged mechanic named Pedro.
Speaker 2: He tied the city's pass to the president in a
Speaker 2: really lovely way, so I wanted to share it, he said.
Speaker 2: Quote as tech legend says, Cortes burned the feet of
Speaker 2: our last as tech emperor because he was looking for
Speaker 2: his treasure. He would ask where is the treasure? And
Speaker 2: the emperor said, admire my treasure. It is before your eyes.
Speaker 2: He never understood that the Mexican treasure is the people,
Speaker 2: the town. Get to know the people and the country.
Speaker 2: Don't base your thoughts of Mexico on what the news says.
Speaker 2: We are more than bad news, tacos and beer.
Speaker 1: Although I do love tacos, and I feel like that's
Speaker 1: a lot more insightful than I think my mechanic has
Speaker 1: ever told me. Who just tells me I need to
Speaker 1: rotate my tires more?
Speaker 2: Well, I mean I've heard that's important too. But before
Speaker 2: before we start the next leg of our tour, why
Speaker 2: don't we take a quick break.
Speaker 1: You're listening to part Time Genius, and we're talking all
Speaker 1: about the many links between ancient Aztec civilization and modern
Speaker 1: Mexico City today. So, Gabe, we just spent a little
Speaker 1: time on Zacalo, which of course is a must for
Speaker 1: anyone who visits the Mexican capital, but now want to
Speaker 1: head south to a neighborhood called Hochi Milco, or as
Speaker 1: it's known in English, the Land of Flowers. It is
Speaker 1: a very special part of the city because it's home
Speaker 1: to the original Aztec cities last remaining waterways.
Speaker 2: Oh no way. I thought the Spanish strained the city's
Speaker 2: lake when they took it over.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but apparently like a handful of lagoons remained in
Speaker 1: the Mexico City basin, and the ones here are especially
Speaker 1: notable because they were and still are a vital source
Speaker 1: of food for the city. You know, you mentioned earlier
Speaker 1: that the Aztec extended the city's area by creating all
Speaker 1: these man made islands that were just above the water line. Well,
Speaker 1: those basically functioned as floating gardens, and farmers built rafts
Speaker 1: out of reeds, covered them in mud, and cultivated fruit
Speaker 1: and vegetables right there on the water. And as time
Speaker 1: went on, the rafts gradually rooted to the bottom of
Speaker 1: the lake and became islands.
Speaker 2: That's incredible. These guys are so ahead of their time.
Speaker 2: But you said these gardens are still in use today.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so some of them are. Chinampas, as the islands
Speaker 1: are called, were a main source of food for the
Speaker 1: city prior to the twentieth century, but rapid urbanization it
Speaker 1: obviously took a heavy toll on the practice. That said,
Speaker 1: Chinampa farming has been making this steady comeback in recent decades,
Speaker 1: and as many of these sort of like homegrown practices did.
Speaker 1: It actually got quite a boost from COVID nineteen and
Speaker 1: the pandemic when the industrial food supply was disrupted, and
Speaker 1: that whole chain was sort of like picked apart local
Speaker 1: farmers and rehabilitating chinampas to feed their city. And the
Speaker 1: project proved so successful that it's continued ever since, with
Speaker 1: more chinampas being restored every year.
Speaker 2: I'm kind of surprised they were able to grow enough
Speaker 2: food to make a difference like that, because I pulled
Speaker 2: up a picture here and these aren't very big islands.
Speaker 2: It's like maybe an acre or two tops.
Speaker 1: Don't let their size fool you, because according to our
Speaker 1: friends at Atlas Obscura, chinampas are actually one of the
Speaker 1: most productive forms of agriculture in the world. They produce
Speaker 1: as many a seven harvest per year, which this is
Speaker 1: astounding to me. And because of the rich lake soil
Speaker 1: and warm climate, they can grow just about anything, so
Speaker 1: you can have greens, herbs, flowers, fruits, you name it,
Speaker 1: which is how the Aztecs were able to sustain two
Speaker 1: hundred thousand people in such a small space.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that explains it. I mean seven harvests a year
Speaker 2: is really quite a lot.
Speaker 1: That's crazy.
Speaker 2: I am curious though, are the Chinampas off limits to
Speaker 2: everyone but farmers or is this something that's you know,
Speaker 2: opened to the public.
Speaker 1: I love that idea that like I would tease you
Speaker 1: about going there and then like you would actually show
Speaker 1: up and couldn't visit.
Speaker 2: Travel destination you can't visit.
Speaker 1: I mean, we probably should do an episode on just
Speaker 1: travel destinations you can't visit. But uh, you should absolutely
Speaker 1: check this one out. There's about one hundred miles of
Speaker 1: murky canals weaving through the Chinampas there, and visitors are
Speaker 1: welcome to explore them aboard these colorful flat bottomed boats
Speaker 1: they're called trahinneras, and you can do that or you
Speaker 1: can actually take a guided kayak tour. You should keep
Speaker 1: in mind that the trahinias provide more of a party atmosphere,
Speaker 1: so they can cloud and crowded, and they tend to
Speaker 1: like bump into each other a lot. So if you're
Speaker 1: looking for a more relaxed, informative visit, maybe the kayak
Speaker 1: tours more your speed. Uh. The kayak tours also provide
Speaker 1: a great chance to see the wildlife up close in
Speaker 1: this region, including more than two hundred species of birds,
Speaker 1: as well as the elusive axe lottel.
Speaker 2: Oh okay, you've piqued my interest. I love those weird
Speaker 2: looking salamanders. They've got those feathery gills on the side
Speaker 2: of their heads.
Speaker 1: I know, they are so cute and so weird and
Speaker 1: just so great. You know. And while most of the
Speaker 1: axe lottles actually alive today were bread and captivity, either
Speaker 1: as pets or as research subjects. That's actually what makes
Speaker 1: Mexico City so special in this regard. They are the
Speaker 1: last wild population of Acx lottls in the world. And
Speaker 1: these foot long amphibians, I actually didn't realize they were
Speaker 1: foot long, like I thought they were tinier. They used
Speaker 1: to thrive in the lakes surrounding Mexico City, but thanks
Speaker 1: to habitat loss and water pollution, they now exist solely
Speaker 1: in these canals. Wow.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I had no idea they could get that big either,
Speaker 2: And I also didn't know that Mexico City was the
Speaker 2: best place to find them. Do we know how many
Speaker 2: of these little critters are left out there?
Speaker 1: So the current estimate is between fifty and one thousand,
Speaker 1: which is few enough to qualify the species as critically endangered,
Speaker 1: but it is so hard to get an exact count
Speaker 1: because these little guys aren't easy to spot in this
Speaker 1: like murky water. And that's partially because there's another difference
Speaker 1: between the axe lottles that are bred, which are pink
Speaker 1: and white in color due to a genetic mutation, but
Speaker 1: these wild axe lottles, they're basically brown or gray, so
Speaker 1: they kind of blend in with the water.
Speaker 2: But they're amphibians, right, So why can't we just you know,
Speaker 2: count them when they come onto the land.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's something I was wondering too. But it turns
Speaker 1: out that axe lottels do this strange thing where they
Speaker 1: retain their juvenile characteristics into adulthood. So that's why their
Speaker 1: like eyes and limbs look too small for their bodies.
Speaker 2: And they've got that fin thing that runs down the
Speaker 2: length of their whole body.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and that external guill, that feathery thing that you mentioned.
Speaker 1: Most amphibians lose those by the time they reach adulthood,
Speaker 1: but axe lottles keep theirs, and they actually stay aquatic
Speaker 1: for life. They do have functional lungs, so they could
Speaker 1: go on land. It's not off limits to them, but
Speaker 1: they just prefer life in the water.
Speaker 2: Well fair enough. I mean, I love how bas are
Speaker 2: they are. It's really quite endearing. But it makes you wonder, like,
Speaker 2: what did the Aztecs think of these little weirdos swimming
Speaker 2: all over their city?
Speaker 1: They must have been aware of them, yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: they definitely were. The word axe lottle comes from the
Speaker 1: name for the Aztec god of fire and lightning, So
Speaker 1: I mean, I guess they have a pretty high opinion
Speaker 1: of these creatures, or at least thought there was, you know,
Speaker 1: something cool about them or unusual about them, which of
Speaker 1: course there is. You know.
Speaker 2: It is sad to think, though, that the species could
Speaker 2: disappear from Mexico after all this time.
Speaker 1: So there is a little bit of promising news on
Speaker 1: their front. Over the last few years, researchers have been
Speaker 1: working closely with Chinampa farmers or chinamperos to create dozens
Speaker 1: of axe lottle sanctuaries among the floating gardens. They've installed
Speaker 1: these bamboo cates along the shores to protect the creatures
Speaker 1: from invasive species. These are things like carp or tilapia,
Speaker 1: and they've also started relocating some of the ax lottels
Speaker 1: from the main canal systems to a series of interconnected
Speaker 1: ditches in the middle of certain shinapas. Of course, there
Speaker 1: are also a couple of places to see axe lottls
Speaker 1: outside of the canals. The Chapultepec Zoo has a special
Speaker 1: section devoted to the Mexican amphibians, and there's another museum
Speaker 1: in Preserve located in Park Tarango, which is an eco park.
Speaker 2: I love that. Lots of options to see these guys.
Speaker 2: And you know, we've talked a little bit about exploring
Speaker 2: Mexico by boat, but there's a super strange and important
Speaker 2: rule about driving in Mexico City that every visitor should
Speaker 2: know ahead of time, and I want to tell you
Speaker 2: all about it right after this break.
Speaker 1: Can't wait.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to part time genius. Okay, Mango. So, one
Speaker 2: thing that might surprise first time visitors to Mexico City
Speaker 2: is the sheer size of the place. The metropolitan area
Speaker 2: spans five hundred and thirty seven square miles and is
Speaker 2: home to just under twenty three million people. That's over
Speaker 2: one hundred square miles more than New York City and
Speaker 2: nearly three times the population.
Speaker 1: That is so many people to cram into a lake
Speaker 1: bed it I know in one place where you'll really
Speaker 1: feel the pinch is on the city's crowded highways. There
Speaker 1: are about five million vehicles registered in Mexico City and
Speaker 1: just as many more in the surrounding state of Estado
Speaker 1: de Mexico, and as you'd expect, the resulting gridlock is
Speaker 1: pretty unbearable, with the average resident spending roughly two hundred
Speaker 1: and twenty seven hours stuck in traffic each year. That
Speaker 1: is insane. You know, I have lived in Atlanta, which
Speaker 1: has a traffic issue. I've lived in New York, I've
Speaker 1: lived in Bombay, which also has insane traffic. But spending
Speaker 1: two hundred and twenty seven hours stuck in traffic each year,
Speaker 1: that's like ten full days in traffic. How do people
Speaker 1: stand that?
Speaker 2: It's awful? You know, that's been one of the main
Speaker 2: knocks against the city for decades, which is not to
Speaker 2: say the city officials haven't tried to solve the problem.
Speaker 2: For example, the most sweeping measure they've tried is this
Speaker 2: government program where you're only allowed to drive on certain
Speaker 2: days of the week, and the days when you can't
Speaker 2: drive are determined by the last digit on your license plate. So,
Speaker 2: for example, if your plate ends in a seven or
Speaker 2: an eight, then you can't drive your car on Tuesdays,
Speaker 2: and if it ends in a one or two, then
Speaker 2: you're barred from the road on Thursdays. That is wild,
Speaker 2: but I guess there's a certain logic to it. So
Speaker 2: what do you think is the worst number to get
Speaker 2: stuck with? Like, is there one that blocks you from
Speaker 2: driving on Saturdays?
Speaker 1: Or yeah?
Speaker 2: Kind of So. The program was started in nineteen eighty
Speaker 2: nine as a way to help improve the city's air
Speaker 2: quality while also cutting down on commuter traffic. So at first,
Speaker 2: the restrictions only applied on weekdays and only to drivers
Speaker 2: whose cars didn't meet certain emission standards. But as time
Speaker 2: went on and as pollution and traffic congestion continued to worsen,
Speaker 2: the scope of the program broadened a bit. So as
Speaker 2: a result, vehicles that only meet the weakest emission standards
Speaker 2: are now barred from the road on certain Saturdays as well.
Speaker 2: Vehicles with odd numbered plates have to stay home on
Speaker 2: the first and third Saturdays of the month, and those
Speaker 2: with even numbered plates can't go out on the second
Speaker 2: and fourth Saturdays. It's a lot to keep track of,
Speaker 2: but it's worth noting that the no Drive program only
Speaker 2: applies between the hours of five am and ten pm,
Speaker 2: so there is the seven hour window each day when
Speaker 2: anyone can drive without restriction.
Speaker 1: It's when the teens hit the cars and just cruise.
Speaker 1: I do feel like there should be an app to
Speaker 1: keep track of all this, right, Like, I honestly feel
Speaker 1: like I would be so bad at maintaining the calendar
Speaker 1: for this.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it is not the most popular program in Mexico City,
Speaker 2: as you can imagine. Opponents argue, you know that it's
Speaker 2: a pain to navigate, which it is, and it hasn't
Speaker 2: accomplished either of its stated missions so far.
Speaker 1: And oh noll.
Speaker 2: Worst of all, though, it mostly restricts low income residents
Speaker 2: as they tend to drive older, high emission vehicles. And
Speaker 2: of course it's led to some funny skirting of the
Speaker 2: rules because of that, Like some folks own multiple license
Speaker 2: plates and swap them out as needed, you know, to
Speaker 2: get that terminating digit for the day.
Speaker 1: That is very sneaky. So in theory, if someone was
Speaker 1: able to source five license plates with the right end digits,
Speaker 1: that they could drive with impunity any day of the week,
Speaker 1: whatever hoop do you were driving, you could get away
Speaker 1: with this.
Speaker 2: Right, yeah, right, but again, theoretically, we're not suggesting that
Speaker 2: listeners break international law just to avoid riding the bus
Speaker 2: on a Wednesday.
Speaker 1: Don't do that. So is this like a locals only
Speaker 1: kind of thing, or is this something that applied to
Speaker 1: unite like foreigners as well?
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, no, the program absolutely applies to Taurus.
Speaker 2: In fact, it's even more stringent for US because drivers
Speaker 2: with foreign plates are actually barred from driving on every
Speaker 2: Saturday as a month.
Speaker 1: That's almost easier though, twitch ones.
Speaker 2: Consult your calendar, right, But you know, while visitors can
Speaker 2: register for an exemption ahead of their visit, if you forget,
Speaker 2: you'll be subject to the same penalties for non compliance
Speaker 2: as the locals are. What does that mean Exactly, it's
Speaker 2: just a small fine, but when you factor in the
Speaker 2: towing and impound fees, you're still probably looking at a
Speaker 2: few hundred US dollars, not to mention at least half
Speaker 2: a day lost of your vacation. I mean nothing to
Speaker 2: sneeze at.
Speaker 1: No, completely. I feel like I've been on trips where
Speaker 1: a car is conked out like a rental car. It
Speaker 1: really throws off your timeline and schedule and feels a
Speaker 1: waste of time. So I feel like anyone who's listening
Speaker 1: should definitely apply for that tourist pass if you plan
Speaker 1: to visit my car right.
Speaker 2: Or better, yeah, leave your car at home and travel
Speaker 2: some other way instead. It will still be intensely crowded
Speaker 2: at the airport and on the subway, but at least
Speaker 2: you won't get fined for, you know, forgetting what day
Speaker 2: it is.
Speaker 1: Speaking of the subway system, El Metro, as it's known
Speaker 1: in Mexico City, that's another thing that might seem overwhelming
Speaker 1: to first timers. It has three lines, one hundred and
Speaker 1: ninety five stations, and about five million people rid it
Speaker 1: every day. But the surprising part is that it is
Speaker 1: shockingly easy to navigate. All of the stations are clearly
Speaker 1: marked above ground, and each one has a unique icon,
Speaker 1: which is usually something associated with the history or culture
Speaker 1: of that location. So, for example, if you want to
Speaker 1: visit the famous Chapultepec Park, you'd look for the stop
Speaker 1: labeled with the grasshopper, because Chapultepec means the hill of
Speaker 1: the grasshoppers.
Speaker 2: A subway icon system is such a good idea, But
Speaker 2: what's the significance of the grasshopper is the you know,
Speaker 2: is the park just like swarming with him or what
Speaker 2: is it?
Speaker 1: So no one really knows if the name is meant
Speaker 1: to refer to the shape of the hill or its
Speaker 1: abundance of grasshoppers, but the insects have obviously been this
Speaker 1: important part of Mexican culture and cuisine. This goes all
Speaker 1: the way back to the Aztec, so it's only fitting
Speaker 1: that they get their own metro stop. But the coolest
Speaker 1: part of the Mexico City subway system is that some
Speaker 1: of the stations also double as attractions in their own right. So,
Speaker 1: for instance, the Vivero's station is named for the popular
Speaker 1: plant nursery nearby, but there's also plenty of greenery right
Speaker 1: there underground. The entire station is made to look like
Speaker 1: a rainforest. It is complete with all these like imitation trees, animals,
Speaker 1: and even a suspended rope bridge above this salters. It's
Speaker 1: really pretty remarkable, and if you prefer your subway animal
Speaker 1: exhibits to be a bit more authentic, you also can
Speaker 1: hop over to the Talisman station, which uses a woolly
Speaker 1: mammoth for its logo.
Speaker 2: Oh WHOA please make my day? Tell me they've got
Speaker 2: a livew myth down there.
Speaker 1: Not a live mammoth, but at least not yet. They
Speaker 1: have bought one from Colossal Bussi. But they do have
Speaker 1: the next best thing. Back in nineteen seventy eight, when
Speaker 1: the station was under construction, the workers unearthed this nearly
Speaker 1: complete mammoth skeleton and the states all the way back
Speaker 1: to the ice age. But rather than ship it off
Speaker 1: to the museum, they decide to put the fossils right
Speaker 1: on display there where the animal died. It is pretty remarkable.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's so fun. And you know, I love the
Speaker 2: idea of visiting Mexico City, specifically for the metro stops.
Speaker 2: Would it be to just tour all the station attractions
Speaker 2: and not actually go above ground?
Speaker 1: I feel like it would be a good story. I'm
Speaker 1: not sure it's how I would want to spend my vacation,
Speaker 1: but I like it. On the plus side, it would
Speaker 1: be pretty cheap or budget friendly, Like the Metro fair
Speaker 1: for one ride is just five pesos, so about twenty
Speaker 1: five US cents.
Speaker 2: Oh well, I mean that settles it right there. Pack
Speaker 2: your bags, kids, we're heading for l Metro.
Speaker 1: I mean, you can take my kids. I'm totally happy
Speaker 1: with that. But before you go, let's take a quick
Speaker 1: detour and they hit up our back off. You could
Speaker 1: sapple dishes from all thirty one states in the Mexican capital.
Speaker 1: But if you want to try a homegrown specialty, head
Speaker 1: to a vendor on just about any street in Mexico
Speaker 1: City and grab yourself a guahalota. This simple carb on
Speaker 1: carbs which this of a steamed corn dough toamaal stuffed
Speaker 1: inside a bread roll. That is it. It is cheap,
Speaker 1: it is filling, it is highly portable. These sandwiches are
Speaker 1: typically eaten at breakfast and especially popular with commuters and students.
Speaker 1: And although the name is derived from the Nawattle word
Speaker 1: for turkey, the bird actually isn't an ingredient. Instead, most
Speaker 1: vendors use tamales filled with chicken, pork or chile pablana.
Speaker 2: That is quite a hearty breakfast. But why call the
Speaker 2: sandwich turkey if it doesn't include turkey?
Speaker 1: You know, it's another one of these things that no
Speaker 1: one really knows. But some people think it's because the
Speaker 1: round bread rolls resemble a turkey breast, and others say
Speaker 1: it's because of the sandwich is so high in calories
Speaker 1: that it'll fatten you up like a turkey.
Speaker 2: Oh, well, I suppose both could be true. But okay,
Speaker 2: here's a dish to try if you're feeling fancy and
Speaker 2: a little daring on your next vacation. It's often referred
Speaker 2: to as Mexican caviar, but locals know it better as
Speaker 2: awa utla, or seeds of joy. Your own level of
Speaker 2: joy may vary when you try this dish, though, because
Speaker 2: these seeds in question are actually the eggs of an
Speaker 2: ancient aquatic insect, the axayactyl, the waterfly said to have
Speaker 2: an intense fishy flavor. The tiny golden eggs are often
Speaker 2: used to make a savory pancake that's traditionally served with
Speaker 2: a tomatillo and serrano chili sauce. The practice dates back
Speaker 2: to the days of the Aztec Empire, when the fli's
Speaker 2: eggs were considered a sacred food of the gods. They
Speaker 2: were harvested from Lake tex Coco during the rainy season
Speaker 2: and were used for religious ceremonies as well as in
Speaker 2: the emperor's meals. And while they may no longer be
Speaker 2: thought of as sacred, the eggs are still a prize
Speaker 2: delicacy in the Mexican capital. The only problem is there's
Speaker 2: a lot less water in the lake today, which means
Speaker 2: much fewer eggs to harvest. As a result, only a
Speaker 2: handful of restaurants in Mexico City still serve awa utle,
Speaker 2: and the ones that do charge a pretty peso for it.
Speaker 2: Into the Mexico News Daily, the average price of waterfly
Speaker 2: eggs was about twenty three dollars per pound in twenty
Speaker 2: twenty two, and with more of lake text cocoa drying
Speaker 2: up each year, that price is bound to rise even higher.
Speaker 1: I mean, can you really put a price on an
Speaker 1: ancient insect egg pancake?
Speaker 2: Well, in my case, I don't think there's any price
Speaker 2: I would pay.
Speaker 1: But I mean it's not that different from like Llini's
Speaker 1: and caviar, right if the taste it's like the image
Speaker 1: that's hard to process in some ways.
Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, well I'm not eating that either, But.
Speaker 1: Well, for anyone who does try it, I've got the
Speaker 1: perfect beverage to pair with it. It's called polke. It's
Speaker 1: made from the fermented sap of the agave, the same
Speaker 1: plant that's used to make tequila and mezcal. But Polke
Speaker 1: is believed to be Mexico's oldest alcoholic drink. Oh, it's
Speaker 1: kind of like their meat or something much like waterfly caviar.
Speaker 1: The Aztecs considered polke a sacred gift from the gods,
Speaker 1: and only emperors and their priests were allowed to drink it.
Speaker 1: But when the Aztec Empire fell, polk became this drink
Speaker 1: for the people and it was widely consumed throughout central Mexico. Now,
Speaker 1: the popularity of the milky white beverage waned following the
Speaker 1: introduction of beer and distilled spirits in the sixteenth century,
Speaker 1: but polka never fully disappeared, and today the drinks experiencing
Speaker 1: this cultural resurgence. In Mexico City, you'll find numerous bars
Speaker 1: specializing in pulk known as pulcarias, and you can actually
Speaker 1: buy big plastic cups of it at street markets and
Speaker 1: also from floating vendors in the canals, which Cool's got
Speaker 1: a special and for anyone wondering what pulk tastes like,
Speaker 1: it's slightly sour and yeastya kind of like a kombucha
Speaker 1: but with a touch of sweetness, and the alcohol content
Speaker 1: is comparable to beer. You can also find flavored versions
Speaker 1: of it, so there's everything from like guava to celery,
Speaker 1: and as as long as you're of age, there's really no.
Speaker 2: Excuse not to try it sounds good. But moving away
Speaker 2: from food and drink for a second, did you know
Speaker 2: that Mexico City boasts the most museums of any city
Speaker 2: outside of Europe? Second only, Yeah, right, second only to London.
Speaker 2: The Mexican capital has more than one hundred and fifty
Speaker 2: officially recognized museums, and if you add in all the
Speaker 2: smaller institutions and galleries, that number sore is even higher.
Speaker 2: So some of the city's most famous repositories include the
Speaker 2: Palazzio de Beas Artes, which is the city's premier fine
Speaker 2: arts museum, the Museo Nacional de Entropoli HIHA, which has
Speaker 2: the best collection of Mexico's pre Hispanic artifacts, and La
Speaker 2: Casa Azul, or the Blue House, which is the home
Speaker 2: turned museum of renowned Mexican artist Free to Collo. But
Speaker 2: if you astray a little off the beaten track, you'll
Speaker 2: also find museums devoted to the history of caricatures, vintage toys,
Speaker 2: herbal medicine, and just about anything else you can think of,
Speaker 2: including both tequila and polka.
Speaker 1: That actually sounds so fun.
Speaker 2: I'd be all about it.
Speaker 1: Here's a quick one. Back in twenty seventeen, Mexico City
Speaker 1: became the first city in the world to launch its
Speaker 1: own official set of emojis. More than two thousand designs
Speaker 1: were submitted through a contest run by the municipal government,
Speaker 1: and from that twenty symbols were chosen to represent all
Speaker 1: of the different aspects of the city's culture. So the
Speaker 1: highlights were to include the popular street food elote, the
Speaker 1: corn dish, the face of Frita Callo, one of the
Speaker 1: party boats we talked about riding along those canals, and
Speaker 1: of course an axe Lottel eating a torda. I love that.
Speaker 1: Like an ax lottel was just cute enough. It also
Speaker 1: had to be more Mexico City. There were so many
Speaker 1: great submissions that the government ultimately decided to release way
Speaker 1: more than the initial twenty. They planned more than two
Speaker 1: hundred designs in total. The package was made available for
Speaker 1: free through the emoji See You DoD the Mexico app,
Speaker 1: and that means that anyone, including non residents, can use them. Wow.
Speaker 2: Well, it is not quite as highbrow as the city's
Speaker 2: museum scene or you know, an all subway tour of
Speaker 2: the city. But I love the idea of a whole
Speaker 2: stack of Mexico City specific emojis. I think you get
Speaker 2: the trophy this week. Congrats Mango.
Speaker 1: I know we've got to download them all, and it's
Speaker 1: obviously tough to compete with the tor To eating axe Lottel. Yeah.
Speaker 1: That wraps things up for today's Part Time Genius from Gabe, Mary, Dylan,
Speaker 1: Will and myself. Thank you so much for listening. If
Speaker 1: you enjoyed this episode, please come say hi on Instagram
Speaker 1: we are waiting at Part Time Genius, or leave us
Speaker 1: a review on Apple Podcast. We do read them all
Speaker 1: and we take them to heart. I know we've barely
Speaker 1: scratched the surface of all the amazing things Mexico City has.
Speaker 1: We didn't talk about luchadors with the arts or even
Speaker 1: get into some of the specific neighborhoods that are so fast,
Speaker 1: So please be sure to tell us what we missed
Speaker 1: and maybe we'll throw it all into another episode in
Speaker 1: the meantime. Thank you so much for listening. Part Time
Speaker 1: Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. This show
Speaker 1: is hosted by Will Pearson and me Mongish Heatikler and
Speaker 1: research by our good pal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's episode
Speaker 1: was engineered and produced by the wonderful Dylan Fagan with
Speaker 1: support from Tyler Klang. The show is executive produced for
Speaker 1: iHeart by Katrina Norvel and Ali Perry, with social media
Speaker 1: support from Sasha Gay, trustee Dara Potts and buy Any Shorey.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows
Speaker 1: them