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Mexico, you are so colorful!

Sunday, February 27th, 2011

By Maangchi

Since I came back from Mexico, the country has never left my mind.

I tried to eat, do, and see as much as I could in Mexico, but I only experienced a small fraction of what the country has to offer. I’ll definitely go back again. I’ve been traveling for many years, and Mexico is among the most fascinating and fun of the places that I’ve ever been to. The people are so friendly and the food is so delicious, it reminded me of another favorite country of mine, Thailand.

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If I had to describe Mexico in one word, I’d have to say: colorful. The country is full of beautiful color. Yes, as Frida Kahlo, one of the most popular Mexican artists said: “What would my country be without color!” Vivid colors are everywhere in Mexico: clothes, art, food, pottery, market… check out the colorful stuff I brought from Mexico.

This blog post is the first of many that I’ll write about Mexico. I have hundreds of photos to choose from so I hope you’re in a Mexican mood! If not, you surely will be by the time I finish.

So first, let’s look at some places in Mexico and their color:

Amigos! I chose this cactus tree to take a photo together. Cactus! remember me! I wish you better health from NYC! : )

Awesome view! Let’s go to see the pyramids of Teotihuacan!

Did I go up to the top of this pyramid? Of course! I saw one lady coming down barefoot carrying her high heeled shoes. Barefoot must be better than wearing high heel shoes!

The recipe of the pyramids! : ) Hello, everybody! This pyramid is made with chunks of stones, rock, dirt, sand, and adobes. They are all non-spicy!  lol

The most famous painter in Mexico is Diego Rivera. He was also notorious for his rocky relationship with Frida Kahlo. He made her both happy and sad and then happy again.
His murals are all over Mexico City.

A woman grinding corn to make tortilla in a mural painted by Diego Rivera.

The mural showing preparation for a sacrifice during the Aztec era painted by Diego Rivera.

Diego painted this for Rockefeller Center in New York City, but Rockefeller didn’t like it and had it destroyed.
So he made it all over again in the Palacio de Bellas Artes. It’s really incredible when you see it large sized!

The Frida Kahlo museum in Mexico City is in her colorful former home.
Her kitchen is really awesome, but they wouldn’t let me take a photo there.

I didn’t know much about Frida. All I knew about her was she was a famous artist who has thick and connected eyebrows. : ) They don’t allow us to take photos of her artwork displayed inside the house. She went through physical and mental pain through all her life until she died at the age of 47!

Just outside of Frida’s bedroom. She spent a lot of painful times there. Can you see the mirror over the bed? Her mother installed it for her. Frida drew many of her self-portrait by looking in the mirror remaining in bed during her recovery from her surgery.

Great square area called the Zocalo or Constitution Square in Mexico city.

Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts).

Pulque bar! Busy all day, even on a weekday.

Mexico City: laundry is drying and also being used as a curtain. Good idea!

Row, row, row, your boat! Xochimilco canal tour. Riding the colorful gondola was very fun.

The bus known as a “chicken bus” lead me to Tlacolula Market in Oaxaca. More market photos will be posted in a later blog.

Cobblestone street in Oaxaca.

The Zocalo in Oaxaca. Oaxans must love balloons. There are so many balloon sellers and I saw many people buying them.

People play with their balloons until late night in the Zocalo – they launch them into the sky over and over with their friends and children.

Oaxca view from my hotel rooftop.

This is someone’s house. Unique murals look cool!

The beach in Purerto Escondido. Strong waves make this area famous for surfing but dangerous for swimming. But every evening, I played with the waves. When a wave comes, I jump, and usually laugh loudly. : ) “ah ha ha ha!” Fun, fun!

Hey the Sun! See you tomorrow morning!

One of the local boys said that famous surfers sometime die here while surfing. The boy said, “I got injured a few weeks ago while surfing, too. I had to get my 2 wisdom teeth extracted” I said, “You are not wise now because you lost your wisdom” : )

I want to go here again! Fishermen bring fresh fish every morning. I went there every morning to buy fresh fish while I was staying there. Some locals recognized me by the second day : )
I took this high class bus to go to Mexico city from the beach. I took it at 6:00 pm and arrived at about 6:00 am next morning. They gave us this free stuff: Samples of shampoo, soap, instant coffee, soda, a not delicious sandwich, pepto bismol! haha!

My favorite coffeeshop in Puerto Escondido! On the way back home from the fish market at the beach, I stopped by this coffeeshop. It was very tasty!

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Posted on Sunday, February 27th, 2011 at 8:21 pm. Last updated on August 24, 2011.
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15 Comments:

  1. Myeongwol Mexico joined 3/11 & has 14 comments
    Posted April 1st, 2011 at 1:18 pm |

    Hi there Maangchi!!! I´m glad you liked Mexico…what can i say…indeed my country is full of colors, just like Korea does too!!! So you visited the pyramids of Teotihuacan…well done!!! I visited recently and my poor legs were suffering hahaha.

    Now i´m in the mood of cooking!!!!! I´ll be trying jjinmandu!!! (Finally i got my bamboo steamer!!!! I´ll share some pics!!!

  2. elyzmarti Mexico, City joined 3/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted March 8th, 2011 at 12:48 am |

    Hi, I’m sooo happy that you liked my country and the people. It’s great that you posted all those pictures about Mexican culture like pyramids of Tenochtitlan, the house of Frida Kahlo and the Zocalo, so that everyone can see or get to know my country a little more. Thanks!

    Some years ago I had a Korean roommate, she use to cook for me a lot of dishes and she also took me to a lot of korean restaurants, I loved korean food. And thanks to you I’ll try to make my own korean food.
    When I had to come back to my country, she came along with me. I cooked for her a lot of spicy food and other kind of dishes, and she began to like Mexican food.

    Whenever you come back to Mexico, feel freely to let me know, and I’ll show you the other house of Frida Kahlo, the anthropology museum, the Zoo, and a lot of other places. And well you’ll have your own interpreter of english and spanish for any doubt you could have.

  3. oksipak California joined 1/11 & has 72 comments
    Posted March 2nd, 2011 at 9:48 am |

    QUOTE: I had to get my 2 wisdom teeth extracted” I said, “You are not wise now because you lost your wisdom” : )

    That’s funny! Curious as how the boy responded. Very colorful vacation you had, I see…The Zocalo in Oaxaca and the “Unique Mural” of someone’s house are the two favorites. Someone told me very long time ago to visit Oaxaca but I have yet to do that so now I’ve visited via Maangchi. ;)

  4. Earthangel626 New York joined 11/10 & has 8 comments
    Posted February 28th, 2011 at 11:08 pm |

    Wow Maangchi, these are great pictures and certainly great memories I’m sure! I love the colors! Looking at them made me very happy! Thanks for sharing!

  5. bo Hawaii joined 7/10 & has 49 comments
    Posted February 28th, 2011 at 10:56 am |

    So beautiful! I’m hoping you’ll make something Korean/Mexican. It seems to be the rage all over now….. Like maybe a bulgogi or kalbi burrito?

    • Donella joined 5/10 & has 9 comments
      Posted February 28th, 2011 at 11:43 am |

      My husband and I have made galbi tacos. They are very good. especially with fresh corn tortillas. We saw a show where they were doing it from a food truck in California and made it our selves since no one in our area made them. We tried them with shredded cabbage and kimchi in them too. Very good.

  6. mokpochica Michigan joined 1/09 & has 89 comments
    Posted February 28th, 2011 at 9:52 am |

    I love Mexico! The people are so friendly. I really wanted to go to Xochimilco and the Frida Kahlo museum when I visited, but missed them so I loved seeing your photos. Now I have some new places to put on my list too. :)

    Have you tried chapulines? They are fried grasshoppers. We had a food day in Spanish class and I was surprised that some of my students made fried crickets this year–they tasted authentic too!

  7. Gold Medal Cebu City, Philippines joined 2/11 & has 2 comments
    Posted February 28th, 2011 at 3:18 am |

    Hello Maangchi,

    Not only are you a great cook, but also a good photographer and picture model. You have good taste. Your life is as colorful as Mexico.

    If you run of Korean recipes to teach over the internet, may I suggest that you initiate teaching other international dishes as well, only the dishes or recipes that you truly like. Especially, now, that you have gone international in your travels, and you are becoming an international celebrity.

    • Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,019 comments
      Posted March 2nd, 2011 at 10:36 am |

      ” I suggest that you initiate teaching other international dishes as well, only the dishes or recipes that you truly like..” That’s a great idea. I really want to show my readers real Oaxacan style BBQ. Let’s see! : )

  8. Maha Al Debes Jordan joined 12/10 & has 29 comments
    Posted February 27th, 2011 at 10:01 pm |

    You got Great photos & Interesting journey
    I’m happy for you

  9. LuccaQ Buffalo,NY joined 6/10 & has 30 comments
    Posted February 27th, 2011 at 9:17 pm |

    What great pictures. You definitely have me in a Mexican mood now! I’m going to make some pozole this week (it’s a Mexican stew). I’ve been hearing alot about Oaxaca lately. It’s supposed to be a wonderful place to visit with some of the best food. I can’t wait to see and hear more about your trip!

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