Puebla Centro
Puebla, Mexico |
Puebla, Mexico
I intended to only make a stop-over in Puebla to break the long journey from Mexico City and Oaxaca, not knowing what awaits me. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement.
Xanenetla – Graffitiville
I love murals and grafittis, so I just went photocrazy with this tiny pueblo. This is truly an off-the beaten track most tourists don’t get to see or even know of.
According to Roberto, this is the oldest pueblo in Puebla, but through the years it’s decayed and had become notorious for crimes, mostly drug related. The government decided to do something about it. Artists were commissioned to create murals. What’s unique about the graffiti or murals were they were designed to integrate with the surrounding.
Puebla
Roberto had to go to work and dropped me off at the Zocalo. I felt like I was in a town in southern Italy, like Bari. The cobblestoned streets with the ceramic tiled and stucco, baroque buildings gave a very European feel.
First stop, buffet breakfast at El Ranchito for $85. Nothing really that special. I did enjoy the squid and omelette. Good to start the day with a hearty brekkie!
There are 70 churches in this little town. Nearly every corner there’s a church. And not just a chapel, like those scattered all over Santorini and Mykonos — Puebla’s are grand churches with relief sculptures on the ceilings and intricately designed stained glass windows of saints and holy trinity. Unfortunately, a lot of them were closed and I didn’t get to go inside the UNESCO World Heritage listed church.
The most interesting sight is the Cathedral right in front of the Zocalo. It’s like an Italian duomo, very grand with gigantic pipe organs inside. All the walls were decked with Renaissance style painting. Inside is massive with very high ceilings.
Met with Roberto around 6:30 PM for dinner together with his friend who owns the restaurant and is also a couchsurfer host. Great chat about travels, the guy backpacked all over Europe, camping and hitchhiking with a friend, on a budget of less than a 1000 euros for 3 months! Not surprisingly, he said it was a life-changing experience.
Lucha Libre
I was so delighted when Roberto asked if I want to watch Lucha Libre! Of course! I was so looking forward to seeing it in Mexico City but missed it. So wouldn’t let this one pass, my last chance.
It was truly entertaining. I have never sen a wrestling match live before, and to see Lucha Libre, Mexican freestyle wrestling, is quite an experience. Bands were playing, and the arena was full — there were kids watching with their parents.
I was surprised that there were female luchaderos as well. Most of them didn’t wear the mask which is traditional for luchaderos. For the final fight, there wre around 12 of them on the rig, six luchaderos for each team. Roberto said, he’d never seen that before, it was unusual.
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