el regreso del bigote

my work on the mexico city project - more specifically the MILAGRO field campaign - has brought me back to my beloved mexico city. what does one do when returning to mexico? well, the first thing one should do is appropriately prepare for the journey by growing a mustache. naturally, i was prepared. i was ready for the work part too, but not quite as excited as the return of the vaunted stache. afterall, el bigote carried me through many long and dark nights during the field campaign during march 2006. when work gets you down, it's easier to snap out of that funk when you realize that you have a 'stache on your face. a 'stache commands respect and demands hard work. anything less requires a goatee or a beard or no facial hair at all.

enough about the 'stache though - i'm just happy to be back in mexico city, as this place is one of my favorite on earth. i heart mexico city. even beyond my stache-o-philia, this city never ceases to amaze me. just today, during our lunch break, we witnessed 'veracruznos' (people from the state of veracruz) protesting in the central historic district, urging for an investigation (and punishment) for a senator in the mexican assembly, who is also the ex-governor of veracruz (dante delgado). this, however, wasn't like a lame MoveOn protest, or something akin to the protests in the united states. this protest had men lined up along the sidewalk, stripped down to their underwear. with just their boots, underwear, and hats in the appropriate places, they were a unifed chorus of chants and slogans. to top it off, a small group of women (who were, coincidentally not small women) were dancing around in a fountain in front of el palacio del bellas artes; for you non-spanish speakers, that means palace of fine arts. that's right, 6 naked women from veracruz were co-chillin in the fountain out in front of the palace of fine arts, while just across the streets tens (maybe 100+) men danced around and sang in their underwear. this is downtown mexico city!! try to imagine this in front of the guggenheim in NYC or the MFA in boston ... not going to happen. the best part was that people would stop, check out the scene, and just keep on moving. same old day, same great city.

what a way to welcome back El Bigote!! i was tempted to strip down and lend my support to the protesters, but i figured that it would be bad publicity for the MILAGRO campaign. to make up for the time between my posts, i've decided to post a record 4 pics today. the first one is of me and i call it the poster 'stache (that's me in front of the poster i'm presenting at the meeting); the other three are self-explanatory after the anecdote above, giving you a feel for the setting, and an actual visual (all G-rated though).