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Spanish Word of the Day
| March 5th, 2016 at 5:54:03 PM permalink | |
| Wizard Administrator Member since: Oct 23, 2012 Threads: 239 Posts: 6095 | Enough about Izy. Next here are some pictures of the Glorieta. I took the stairs to the top. Had it to myself, I might add. Very tight steep staircase. Much narrower than that of the Victory Tower in Berlin. Speaking of which, it would be interesting to see a comparison of the two.      Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber |
| March 5th, 2016 at 8:26:44 PM permalink | |
| Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 |  The MNA (URL corrected by admin) is the most popular museum in the city, which means that hundreds of thousands of school children go there. But it is pretty impressive. Trivia question #1)What is the relationship between the 'Halls of Montezuma' and Montezuma? Trivia question #2) Where is La Casa Azul?  |
| March 5th, 2016 at 8:44:21 PM permalink | |
| Wizard Administrator Member since: Oct 23, 2012 Threads: 239 Posts: 6095 | I could search, but that would be cheating. To be honest, I don't know the answer to either question. Hopefully Nareed can do better. Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber |
| March 5th, 2016 at 11:01:23 PM permalink | |
| Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 |
OK, I will add in a spoiler. The Marine Corp hymn refers to the Battle of Chapultepec in September 1847. It was a United States victory over Mexican forces holding Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City . The castle, sitting atop a 200-foot tall hill, was an important position for the defense of the city, so when it was captured, the fall of Mexico City came shortly after. It is probably one of the two most important battles in Mexican history as well (along with The Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862). Every city in Mexico has a street that honors the Niños Héroes, the six Mexican teenage military cadets who died in the battle. But Chapultepec was an empty sacred hill in Montezuma's time. The Halls of Montezuma was his palace 3.5 miles away next to the present day zocalo and under the lake. The castle was built in the 18th century.  Another point was that the "shores of Tripoli" refers to the Barbary States seizing American merchant ships and holding the crews for ransom, demanding the U.S. pay tribute to the Barbary rulers. It was the motivation for the founding of the US Navy nearly half a century before the Mexican American war. So to be accurate the hymn should say "From the Shores of Tripoli to the Battle of Chapultepec" which sounds horrible. In 1928, President Álvaro Obregón divided the rapidly growing Federal District area into thirteen boroughs (delegaciones), with what was then the city proper designated as the Cuauhtémoc borough. The population of this borough (8000 acres) in 2010 was 531,831 at a density closer to Brooklyn than Manhattan. The population of the entire Mexico City region was about 500,000 in 1900  This interactive map shows the individual neighborhoods as well superimposed on the streets. http://eldefe.com/mapa-colonias-delegacion-cuauhtemoc/ The blue house was constructed in 1904 in an area that was still relatively rural and separate from Mexico City’s urban sprawl. A young woman was born there three years later and lived her whole life of 47 years and died in one of the rooms. Four years after her death, her husband gave the house to the government to create a museum. |
| March 6th, 2016 at 7:25:20 AM permalink | |
| Wizard Administrator Member since: Oct 23, 2012 Threads: 239 Posts: 6095 | Thank you. I had no idea of any of that. Trivia time! Who was president of Mexico for less than one hour? Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber |
| March 6th, 2016 at 7:46:44 AM permalink | |
| Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 |
I will go with Santa Anna,because I remember him being President multiple times. La Casa Azul was the home of Frida Kahlo and is in the Colonia del Carmen neighborhood of the borough of Coyoacán . http://www.museofridakahlo.org.mx/ .jpg) |
| March 6th, 2016 at 7:58:45 AM permalink | |
| Wizard Administrator Member since: Oct 23, 2012 Threads: 239 Posts: 6095 |
Wrong. Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber |
| March 6th, 2016 at 2:23:04 PM permalink | |
| Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545 |
On Mexican history? Yeah, right :) Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER |
| March 7th, 2016 at 4:07:22 PM permalink | |
| Wizard Administrator Member since: Oct 23, 2012 Threads: 239 Posts: 6095 | I don't think anybody is going to get the answer to who was president of Mexico for less than one hour. The answer is Pedro Lascuráin  Moving right along, the layout of Mexico City is a lot like Washington DC. Mostly a square city blocks but some major diagonal running avenues. The result of this are lots of traffic circles, in both cities. Here is a nice fountain, with a statue of Diana the hunter in the middle, at the center of one such traffic circle.  Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber |
| March 7th, 2016 at 5:09:15 PM permalink | |
| Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545 |
HA! I wish. I effing, really wish! You must not have strayed too far from the mayor avenues, which kind of make sense. You should try the suburbs sometime. They're a nightmare of short streets, circles, streets that double-back, improvised tunnels and overpasses, and more (or less). Also the "freeways" can be a nightmare, especially where they've been "improved" to "deal" with traffic.
I like that fountain. Did you see a dilapidated building at one corner near the fountain? there's an underground parking garage operating there and nothing else. Years ago it was one of the better movie theaters. The last few years it survived as a Cineplex, then it died. Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER |