It's about midnight, and I'm at a party of young Mexican politicos in one of Mexico City's swankier neighbourhoods. A small crowd has gathered between the bar and a deep fryer, in which quesadillas are being cooked up. My new friend Enrique, a political analyst, hands one to me.
?Do you like it?? he asks, as I take a bite in front of the sniggering crowd.
?Yes, it's very good,? I say.
?When you're done, I'll tell you what's in it.?
I admit it wasn't the most comforting thing to hear, but I was sure that whatever it was, it couldn't be any worse than what I had already tried. A couple of days earlier, I had been invited to lunch at El Cardenal, an upscale Mexican restaurant in Mexico City's re-emerging historic centre. I played Russian roulette with the à la carte, allowing my host to do the honours of ordering for me. After soothing my nerves with a couple of margaritas, the plates began to arrive.
First came escamoles al epazote, a traditional Aztec dish of sautéed ant eggs. It almost looked like a hearty couscous, so I was able to get it past my lips, and to my surprise it was quite tasty. But with the second dish, there were no comforting comparisons, except perhaps for picturing short, fat pasta with lots of tiny legs. Yep, worms ? or if you prefer the El Cardenal moniker, gusanos de Maguey, worms of the Maguey plant. I might have tried something like it one night in college after finishing off a bottle of mescal. But that was one worm stewed in alcohol. Here were dozens, freshly fried.
So now, as I finish my quesadilla, I prepare myself for what Enrique is eagerly waiting to tell me. ?What was in it?? I ask.
?Excrement of the gods!? comes the reply.
Oh. Happily, this turns out to be much better than it sounds, as this is a direct translation of huitlacoche, a fungus that grows on corn. It could have been a lot worse.
If you think Mexican food is all about tacos and burritos, you wouldn't be too far from the truth. And until recently, if you imagined Mexico City to be a polluted, crime-ridden and traffic-jammed megalopolis, you'd have been right. But the city that champions urban sprawl is now in the throes of a full-blown cultural boom that extends far beyond its culinary arts.
Clues abound outside Mexico that this is so. Witness the recent international success of Mexican films like Amores Perros and Y Tu Mama Tambien (newcomer director Fernando Eimbcke's Temporada de Patos could be next). Contemporary Mexican art has also been enjoying worldwide acclaim.
But to many people who haven't visited Mexico City in recent years, its reputation is still as one of a city in perpetual decline ? and reputations can be hard to shed.
Fortunately, I had heard a rumour that Mexico City is a different place these days. As soon as I arrived, I followed the advice of a Mexican friend in New York and purchased a copy of dF, a local magazine and guide dedicated to ?what's happening? in the Federal District, or DF, as the city is also known.
Some cities best reveal themselves through leisurely strolls, but Mexico City is not one of them. Getting one's bearings here can be daunting, so I contacted the publisher of dF, Javier Arredondo, to gain some insight into the world's second-largest metropolitan area.
I met with Arredondo and members of the dF staff at the magazine's headquarters, a converted Art Deco house in Colonia Condesa, the city's trendiest neighbourhood and the heart of its creative culture. Arredondo says the magazine was conceived in response to the city becoming increasingly cosmopolitan.
And in many ways, Arredondo's one-year-old bimonthly publication has become to hip, young Chilangos (as residents of Mexico City are known) what Time Out is to New Yorkers and Londoners.
The glossy pages are a testimony to Mexico City's popular culture, subcultures and passing trends. Cover stories celebrate the ?New talents of Mexican cinema,? the city's best tattoo artists and the hottest designers.
?The city has changed a lot in terms of attitude,? Arredondo says. He likens the mood in Mexico City today to New York City's transformation from a ?dangerous, complicated? city in the 1980s to the ?wonderful, happening place? it is now.
?The attitude is very much like New York,? he says. ?We know there's traffic, we know it's expensive, but who cares? We have the best restaurants, the best bars. It's rough, it's tough, but it's still nice.?
Mexico City also has Rudy Giuliani, or at least the Giuliani Group, the consultancy formed by the former ?zero-tolerance? mayor of New York, who was hired in 2002 to help combat Mexico City's growing crime epidemic. Echoing the Business Improvement Districts, or BIDs, in New York, which flourished under the Giuliani administration, (which many credit with the Big Apple's turnaround), Giuliani's annual fee of $4.3 million is footed by a group of Mexican businessmen.
The private sector also came to the rescue of the historic centre, which has come to symbolise the revitalisation of Mexico City. Even before an earthquake in 1985 dealt the area a near-fatal blow, the centre had fallen into decay. It was seedy and dangerous, and Mexicans and foreigners alike stopped visiting the district's museums and colonial buildings.
But four years ago, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu put up $100 million to finance an ambitious restoration of the 660-block area that contains no fewer than 1,500 designated architectural treasures.
Since then, huge strides have been made, at least in the 34-block central area. And more than $400 million from third parties is being invested in the historic centre, according to Adrian Pandal, director of Historic Center Foundation, a private organisation set up to help manage the restoration.
?We are very, very committed to bringing back people to live in, work in and enjoy the historic centre,? Pandal says. ?It's the most important historic centre in America. It's a place that offers a lot. You have all these cultural activities and all this movement.?
Street vendors have been cleared out, the cobblestone streets have been swept, sagging facades have been restored, a heavy police presence has been established (crime is down by 28% in the area) and, most importantly, the crowds have returned. Here, you can trace the history of the oldest city in North America from the excavated ruins of the Aztecs' Templo Mayor to the Zocalo, the third-largest plaza in the world (after Tiananmen Square in Beijing and Moscow's Red Square), built on the orders of Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, who conquered Mexico for Spain.
There are also more than 60 museums, including the splendid and immaculate National Museum of Art and the newly renovated Palace of Fine Arts. In one day I visited the architecturally schizophrenic Metropolitan Cathedral, the Museum of the Image, the Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition at the Palace of Fine Arts and the beautiful Franz Mayer Museum. I also enjoyed a pleasant stroll through Alameda Park, the oldest park in the Americas which, until a few years ago, was strictly a no-go area.
The city still has its problems, and near-daily protests are a regular reminder of that. With all the political, economic and judicial powers concentrated here, the city has become a stage for protesters countrywide. Powers are so concentrated that, until recently, even the fishing ministry was in Mexico City and, when fishermen wanted to be heard, they left Mexico's 6,000 miles of coastline and headed to the landlocked city.
It often seems that anyone with a grievance and a banner can join a march. With otherwise unaffiliated groups ? teachers, taxi drivers, students, communists, campesinos, Zapatistas ? all marching at the same time, it is often unclear who is demanding what and why. Last year, machete-wielding farmers marched along Paseo de la Reforma and forced the Mexican government to back down on plans to build a new airport on their lands. A few months later, the farmers were back to protest the Iraq war, brandishing blades with Iraqi flags attached to the points.
Protests have become such a big part of city life that radio reporters now include them in their traffic reports. And politicians once even proposed that a special stadium should be built to host the marches to prevent the protests from regularly shutting down the city centre.
Mexicans are taking notice of the levels of discontent that run through Mexican society ? particularly the poorer parts. Recent projects, like the restoration of the historic centre, are taking a more dedicated approach to development, allotting funds for social services and job creation. Perhaps this also reflects the city's change in attitude.
After my fateful run-in with the quesadilla, I tagged along with Enrique to check out Condesa's thriving nightlife. The leafy residential neighbourhood sports a booming cafe scene, and the streets are lined with boutique clothing stores and design shops. As we drove south through the heart of the city, Enrique gave me a brief history of the evolving neighbourhoods ? Centro, Zona Rosa, Colonia Roma and, finally, Condesa. After we passed through the velvet ropes of Ixchtel, an upscale lounge popular with stylish Chilangos, I asked Enrique what he thought was different about Mexico City these days.
?I think Mexicans today have a different standard for themselves,? he said. ?Many of us have lived abroad (Enrique lived in New York for nine years) and know how things can be. And despite all the problems here, most of us choose to return, because this is where we'll find our potential. Sure, we are more cosmopolitan, but we are also very Mexican and proud of our heritage.?¡
A passion for protesting
Mexicans take to the streets regularly for a wide variety of causes. These are some of the protest highlights of recent months.
Last August, healthcare workers protesting pension cuts threw the severed heads of pigs at government buildings. Also in August, more than 1,000 jugglers, beggars and prostitutes marched in protest at the new Giuliani-designed zero-tolerance law. The same month, Populist mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador led 150,000 demonstrators to protest efforts to impeach him.
In July, farmers opposing free trade sacrificed a cow on Paseo de la Reforma. Cows were on parade in May, too, as farmers protested low milk prices. The mayor also led hundreds of thousands of Mexicans at the end of June to protest a surge in violent crime in the city.
President Vicente Fox's proposals to open the country's energy industry to private investment were denounced in February by protesters carrying portraits of Lenin, Engel and Marx. A couple of weeks earlier, hundreds of protestors stormed the president's ranch outside the city to demand restitution for Mexicans who worked in the US during and after World War II.
Where to eat
The makeover of Mexico City's historic centre is breathing new life into traditional and legendary haunts while opening its doors to a raft of newcomers. Here's a list of the restaurants and bars that have recently established, or re-established, themselves.
El Cardenal
Avenida Juárez 70, tel 52 55 5130 5300
Located in the lobby of the Sheraton Centro Histórico, this is sister to the original El Cardenal near the Zocalo. Serving up the best of Mexican haute cuisine, it's the place for power lunches.
Los Girasoles
Plaza Manuel Tolsá, tel 52 55 5510 0630
Borrowing from recipes that span from the pre-Colombian era through the conquest of Mexico, the menu at this relatively new spot is an education in Mexican culinary history. With outdoor seating, the restaurant is ideally located near the National Museum of Art.
Casino Español
Isabel la Católica 31, tel 52 55 5521 889
Even if traditional Spanish cuisine (paella, suckling pig) is not your thing, you should at least check out this building. It's a true mishmash of architectural styles, no balustrade has been left uncarved and there is marble, marble everywhere.
Sanborns Casa de Azulejos
Avenida Madero 4, tel 52 55 5518 0152
The ?House of Blue Tiles? is a sagging 16th-century building covered in traditional-style tiles. There are several dining areas, but the one in the courtyard is most pleasant. On the menu is a full range of reasonably priced Mexican and international food.
Bar La Opera
Avenida 5 de Mayo 10, tel 52 55 5512 895
Pancho Villa put a bullet hole in the ceiling and forever enshrined this watering hole. A bit weathered, with worn velvet seat cushions, the place still has a revolutionary feel and makes for a nice place to kill an hour or two.
El Nivel
Moneda 2, tel 52 55 5522 9755
If you're in Mexico City, you must visit a cantina. Established in 1855, this was the one that started them all. Beer and tequila flow, and if you're lucky, the place will live up to its reputation and turn a bit raucous.
Pervert Lounge
República de Uruguay 70, tel 52 55 5518 0976
Despite the name this is one of the trendiest places in the historic centre. Delivered by Mexico's best DJs, the music is eclectic, house and progressive. Drawing from God knows where, the decor is best described as kitschy.
GETTING THERE
Mexico City is served by British Airways from London Heathrow. Return lead-in fares start from £3,545 in first class , £2,045 in Club World, £1,040 in World Traveller Plus and £620 in World Traveller.
