This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/cities/live/2015/nov/09/guardian-mexico-city-week-live

The article has changed 29 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Guardian Mexico City week – live Guardian Mexico City week – live
(35 minutes later)
1.15pm GMT13:15
Throughout the day, our intrepid reporters at large – Martin Hodgson, Megan Carpentier and Ben Hicks – are escapading in various capacities throughout Mexico City. Ten points if you spot them, 20 for a selfie, 30 for a lock of Ben’s hair. That hashtag again is #guardianmexico
Megan and Ben are getting things started with a balloon ride to see the sun rise over the pyramids, obviously.
Sun rising over the pyramid at Teotihuacán #GuardianMexico pic.twitter.com/3an69ClK82
Martin, meanwhile, is visiting as many markets as he can in a day, starting with the Mercado de Jamaica and with any luck ending up in the Central de Abastos, the largest market in the city (indeed, with 30,000 tonnes of food daily, perhaps the largest in all of Latin America). As Melanie Smith writes: “It’s a heady, chaotic place where it is difficult to comprehend the scale of consumption within the city. It feels like a 24-hour engine that never switches off, where large and small scale meet; a place of overflow in all senses.”
CM
Updated at 1.29pm GMT
12.59pm GMT12:59
Running and cycling around busy streets in Mexico City, I’ve often felt the pollution bite at back of my throat - but air quality has improved markedly since the 1980s when it was named the most polluted city in the world. Much of this was down to moving oil refineries outside the Federal District boundaries and introducing cleaner buses.
Between 1990 and 2012, ozone levels have fallen from 43 to 27 parts per billion; sulphur dioxide from 55 to five parts per billion, and carbon monoxide from 84 to 10 parts per billion – and Mexico City’s Air Quality Index is now often in same range as some US cities.
Air quality has improved despite the growth of the city and an increase in the number of cars (to 5.5 million according to the latest estimates). City environment minister Tanya Müller has expanded the Hoy No Circula (Day without a car) initiative - where older cars are banned from being driven on certain days - much to the annoyance of some.
There are 42 air quality monitoring stations around city, with the data shown live on screens in Müller’s office overlooking the Zócalo main square. They are also publicly available via a website and an app.
Mexico City environment minister Tanya Muller explains the live pollution monitoring screens in @SEDEMA_CDMX office pic.twitter.com/sV9yMl2Ju5
But even though Mexico City has cleaned up its act, it still faces the problem of pollution washing into the Federal District from the State of Mexico to the north, which is then trapped in the city by a range of mountains. “Most days air currents move north to south, bringing pollutants from the State of Mexico into Mexico City itself,” says Müller. “Our main challenge now is that pollution travels.”
NM
Updated at 1.10pm GMT
12.50pm GMT12:5012.50pm GMT12:50
We can’t come to Mexico City without a mention of Lucha Libre – but the subject of one of our stories has used Mexico’s wrestling heritage as the inspiration for a very different line of work. Meet Peatónito, the pedestrian superhero fighting a one-man campaign to make his city more pedestrian friendly:We can’t come to Mexico City without a mention of Lucha Libre – but the subject of one of our stories has used Mexico’s wrestling heritage as the inspiration for a very different line of work. Meet Peatónito, the pedestrian superhero fighting a one-man campaign to make his city more pedestrian friendly:
“Lucha Libre is deep-rooted in Mexican life, but the idea [for Peatónito] came to me the day I took a few foreign friends along to see a fight. If we’ve had Superbarrio, why can’t we imagine the street as a wrestling ring?”“Lucha Libre is deep-rooted in Mexican life, but the idea [for Peatónito] came to me the day I took a few foreign friends along to see a fight. If we’ve had Superbarrio, why can’t we imagine the street as a wrestling ring?”
Meanwhile our Guardian Foundation colleague Ben Hicks went to a Lucha Libra bout yesterday – here’s his breathless report: Meanwhile our Guardian colleagues Ben Hicks and Martin Hodgson went to a Lucha Libra bout yesterday – here’s Ben’s breathless report:
“Sunday is family day at Lucha Libra. Six-year-old girls with their 80-year-old grandmothers roaring on their favourite wrestlers. Mexican wrestling has a reputation as the most entertaining in the world and it doesn’t disappoint. The wrestlers themselves represent extreme versions of every modern archetype: the classic masked man who body slams his opponents; the shadow, in black, growling and gurning at the baying crowd; the gay stereotype who kisses his opponents mid brawl. Tag teams and anarchy, titillation and tantrums. All the performers are highly skilled gymnasts and actors; this is Mexican culture at its most grotesque, yet strangely beautiful and life affirming.” MH Lucha Libre at the Arena Mexico #GuardianMexico pic.twitter.com/PADhEx5okY
Updated at 12.53pm GMT “Sunday is family day at Lucha Libra. Six-year-old girls with their 80-year-old grandmothers roaring on their favourite wrestlers. Mexican wrestling has a reputation as the most entertaining in the world and it doesn’t disappoint. The wrestlers themselves represent extreme versions of every modern archetype: the classic masked man who body slams his opponents; the shadow, in black, growling and gurning at the baying crowd; the gay stereotype who kisses his opponents mid brawl. Tag teams and anarchy, titillation and tantrums. All the performers are highly skilled gymnasts and actors; this is Mexican culture at its most grotesque, yet strangely beautiful and life affirming.”
MH
Updated at 1.22pm GMT
12.24pm GMT12:2412.24pm GMT12:24
The Guardian Cities team is staying in Condesa this week, in a street that featured in the canine classic Amores Perros (more of that later), and has recently been gripped by a worrying spate of dog-related crimes. We’ll be watching that story closely this week.The Guardian Cities team is staying in Condesa this week, in a street that featured in the canine classic Amores Perros (more of that later), and has recently been gripped by a worrying spate of dog-related crimes. We’ll be watching that story closely this week.
Another four-legged mystery we’re keen to investigate is the large black pig that supposedly gets taken for a walk on a lead every day in nearby Roma. Please tell us this is more than just a shaggy pig story – if anyone can provide us with visual evidence, email us at mexicocity.week@theguardian.com or tweet us using the hashtag #GuardianMexico.Another four-legged mystery we’re keen to investigate is the large black pig that supposedly gets taken for a walk on a lead every day in nearby Roma. Please tell us this is more than just a shaggy pig story – if anyone can provide us with visual evidence, email us at mexicocity.week@theguardian.com or tweet us using the hashtag #GuardianMexico.
Meanwhile, across mighty Chapultepec Park in Polanco, today marks the start of the Rockefeller Foundation’s second annual Chief Resilience Officer Summit, at which urban experts from across the world meet to share ideas and experiences that could make all their cities stronger.Meanwhile, across mighty Chapultepec Park in Polanco, today marks the start of the Rockefeller Foundation’s second annual Chief Resilience Officer Summit, at which urban experts from across the world meet to share ideas and experiences that could make all their cities stronger.
The man charged with making Mexico City more resilient is Arnoldo Matus Kramer, and we’ll be putting questions about the city to him in just over an hour’s time, live on the Guardian Cities site. There’s still time to send us your question. MHThe man charged with making Mexico City more resilient is Arnoldo Matus Kramer, and we’ll be putting questions about the city to him in just over an hour’s time, live on the Guardian Cities site. There’s still time to send us your question. MH
12.00pm GMT12:0012.00pm GMT12:00
Buenos días, Ciudad de México!Buenos días, Ciudad de México!
Welcome to the third of Guardian Cities’ special live weeks – after Mumbai and Moscow, this time we’ve relocated to the beautiful, much misunderstood capital of Mexico.Welcome to the third of Guardian Cities’ special live weeks – after Mumbai and Moscow, this time we’ve relocated to the beautiful, much misunderstood capital of Mexico.
What are we doing here? Simply, we want to get beyond the cliches and the stereotypes, and learn the realities of life in DF from the people who know best – its residents, wherever they live in this sprawling metropolis.What are we doing here? Simply, we want to get beyond the cliches and the stereotypes, and learn the realities of life in DF from the people who know best – its residents, wherever they live in this sprawling metropolis.
There will, along the way, be some difficult truths, but there will also be uplifting stories that reveal surprising new sides to the city – even, we hope, for those who have spent their lives here.There will, along the way, be some difficult truths, but there will also be uplifting stories that reveal surprising new sides to the city – even, we hope, for those who have spent their lives here.
Chilangos everywhere, we’d love to hear from you – here’s how to get involved, and even come along to two special live events (here and here) later in the week.Chilangos everywhere, we’d love to hear from you – here’s how to get involved, and even come along to two special live events (here and here) later in the week.
And if you haven’t already, what better way to kick off the week than by watching the rather brilliant video above, made by our new friendSantiago Arau – a photographer and film-maker who will stop at nothing to get the perfect picture. For another example, check out his photographs for Valeria Luiselli’s gorgeous piece about Mexico City’s rooftops.And if you haven’t already, what better way to kick off the week than by watching the rather brilliant video above, made by our new friendSantiago Arau – a photographer and film-maker who will stop at nothing to get the perfect picture. For another example, check out his photographs for Valeria Luiselli’s gorgeous piece about Mexico City’s rooftops.
Nuestra semana en vivo en la Ciudad de México es bilingüe, y muchos de nuestros artículos serán también publicados en español. Sin embargo, este blog en vivo será sólo en inglés – así que, si te gustaría comentar nuestra semana en español, por favor envíanos un email a mexicocity.week@theguardian.com, tuitea usando el hashtag #GuardianMexico o contáctanos por WhatsApp añadiendo el número +447881337758 como contacto y mandándoleel mensaje “subscribe” por WhatsApp.Nuestra semana en vivo en la Ciudad de México es bilingüe, y muchos de nuestros artículos serán también publicados en español. Sin embargo, este blog en vivo será sólo en inglés – así que, si te gustaría comentar nuestra semana en español, por favor envíanos un email a mexicocity.week@theguardian.com, tuitea usando el hashtag #GuardianMexico o contáctanos por WhatsApp añadiendo el número +447881337758 como contacto y mandándoleel mensaje “subscribe” por WhatsApp.
MHMH