Last night I found out too late about the death of Carlos Monsiváis to go to the wake, and did not know how public the event was, anyway, although it was announced in the papers. Now, again by reading the papers too late, I know one could have gone to the wake; there was also an event one could have attended today.
So I have missed everything. Had I attended either of these events I could have written them up in Monsiváis’ style. Now, there is nothing to do except wonder who has inherited his cats. He wanted his ashes scattered in the Zócalo, he said, so that his funeral could be centrally located, but really they are going to be kept in a fairly nearby, and appropriate museum.
While these events I cared about, but did not know about, were taking place, I was in the Museo Nacional de San Carlos, another place I highly recommend. It is located near you, in a lovely eighteenth century palace, built originally for the Counts of Bellavista. Its collection is truly stellar. There are wonderful Gothic paintings from Catalonia and Aragon, brilliant examples of work by painters including Cranach the Elder and Zurbarán, stunning nineteenth and twentieth century pieces, and a lovely collection of sculpture.
There is also a very good bookstore, with records, DVDs, arty cards, and other Fun Things for sale. There I learned that the web guide I have been using, DF A LA MANO, is also an excellent book. I also discovered an ultra-hip magazine, Algarabía, which describes and promotes itself as a “magazine that generates addiction.” The topic of the current issue is SEXO, so be prepared for what you may see if you click that link.
The museum is on a lovely, quiet square with a park and fountain. On the other side is a pretty, but down at the heel hotel, the Carlton. This website still gives it two stars, but I wonder: it is now one of those places where guests hang their laundry up on clotheslines in their rooms, and by looking through the front door I saw that a single room costs $9 and a double room just over $20.
I am wondering what the situation really is: is it an antro de mala muerte, or is it an amazing find one could recommend to the younger set, at least, to stay in? Its setting and location seem to be very good.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
Hey, as long as people don’t hang up their laundry in MY room… for that price, why not?
God, Carlos Monsiváis and Jose Saramago both die in one week? This is so horrible.
The hotel sounds not bad at all, though.
Sorry for the unrelated comment but you had mentioned a while back possibly requiring your students to blog and I ran across this:
http://chronicle.com/blogPost/How-are-you-going-to-grade/24935/
Human, THANK YOU! I’m seriously threatening to do it in the fall, so this is really timely. I’ve started working on the class blog and posted the URL to Facebook; if I weren’t supposed to be anonymous here I’d post it right now.
Clarissa & Crowdnoise: yes, everyone’s dying, it’s like having your parents die and not knowing whether you’re up to replacing them or being them.
Hotel, I’m not sure: if it’s turned into a place where tv-addicted workers or market workers stay, or if they rent any rooms by the hour, it could be noise 24/7. I think a twentysomething couple or a man should go try it out. I dare someone.
In Puebla, I fairly recently stayed in a hotel costing $14 and while it was decent, it was very substandard in several ways due to thin walls, nonexistent bed springs (lie down and your back curves and touches the floor), very poor light, and very loud televisions. In the end I took my blanket and rolled myself up on the patio with the Indians, having identified this as the quietist location. (Here in the DF I am paying $20 but it is because it’s by the month; the same place by the day would be $45, which is about what you have to pay by the day to be fully middle class, I’ve found lately in urban Mexico.)