Some old, some new and all colorful

orange bldg & multi colored beetle, originally uploaded by sindlinger.

Two things hit me immediately as our taxi took us from the airport to the hotel. One was the use of color everywhere, the other was the tension between things in decay and things being renovated. This theme was consistent through most of the places we visited, resulting in a series of visually interesting contrasts.

Everything had a sense of energy or progress. It was as if the ongoing, relentless ebb and flow of the city's daily activities were made visible and represented in the external appearances of the buildings, the cars, the signs.

This isn't unlike other cities we have been to [e.g., Lima or Buenos Aires], but we didn't spend enough time in Lima to see if it was something that is widespread, and our sense of Buenos Aires was that it was maybe more common in a couple of neighborhoods [Palermo Viejo, La Boca]. In Mexico City, it seemed to be pervasive - at least through every part we saw.

Originally posted 4/8/07