HELEN in México

I'm back from a short trip to Mexico City.

I came as representative of my home institution IN2P3, in the HELEN Steering Board. The number of attendants was quite small: Italy, Spain and France for Europe, and Brasil and México for Latin america. I was not among the most seniors there, and Verónica Riquer (our HELEN deputy coordinator) saved me from being the youngest one! (I was nevertheless the only guy who neglected wearing a tie...)

The scope of the meeting was rather technical: set up the schedule for the contract signature, discuss budget and procedures for grant attributions, and the like. I will not say much more on this topic, except that a web site is being set up, with all info on the program. Interested students from Latin America will find on this web site all they need for applications. I will point to it as soon as it is available.

Also, we scheduled another meeting, with representatives of all countries involved. This will occurr once a year, the first one
will be in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

The meeting place was El Colegio Nacional, which is an Academy of Sciences, Arts and Humanities, more or less like the french Collège de France. The building was typical colonial style, with nice inner patios and orange trees loaded with fruits. We worked in a spectacular library room, surrounded by manuscripts from the time México was Vice-Reign of the Spanish Empire. The lunch room had pictures of all the former members of the Colegio. I was a bit embarrassed at only being able to recognize the faces of Octavio Paz and Diego Rivera.

This feeling was easily dissolved by the influx of the Gevrey-Chambertin 1996 Premier Cru being served!

 

I also had a day off before coming back to California, so I made a very speedy walk around the Zócalo (México's big central square) before heading to Teotihuacán. It was not an ordinary day at the Zócalo. There was some political tension regarding an attempt to impeach the city major, so many people met there to demonstrate their support for him. At another side there was a concert scheduled, so when I passed by a north-mexican orchestra was playing. It was also the day the Pope died, so bells were ringing on the Cathedral, and people came for the mass. 

Couples dancing, demonstrators, people praying... The Zócalo is large enough to host three huge disconnected activities, all in a single place.

Then came Teotihuacán, "Home of the Gods". I had already been there when I was four, and it is one of my strongest memory recallings from childhood. The site is way too impressive to attempt any description. I hope that a couple of pictures say more.

Finally, a bit about food. First evening I had some enchiladas de mole pueblano at the Café Tacuba. I am a big fan of mole, but this one I will not forget soon. Home-made, dark, dense. And my last supper was at Samborn's. The location, with its azulejos and mural paintings (including one from Orozco) is more spectacular than the food, but my choice: tacos de cochinilla was not disappointing. The taste of sweet, marinated onions and green pepper suited well to the pork meat.