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Creative and Combative - Mexico City by Night

July 18, 2024

Mexico City used to inspire fear. But these days, the megacity is a hotspot for tourists. Still, the city has not lost its fighting spirit. Some use it to put on a show, while others simply try to survive.

https://p.dw.com/p/4i3dT
Creative and Combative - Mexico City by Night
Image: ZDF

With around 22 million people, Mexico City is the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world.

Creative and Combative - Mexico City by Night
According to Mexican tradition, the dead return from the afterlife on Dia de Muertos on 1 and 2 November to visit the deceased and pamper their souls with worldly pleasures. The Day of the Dead is one of the largest and most important popular festivals in Mexico.Image: ZDF

But this isn’t the only reason why it attracts increasing numbers of tourists each year. Indeed, the mega-metropolis has pretty much everything travelers could wish for: History, culture, art, music, excellent street food, Michelin-starred restaurants, spectacular nature and, of course, the people who call Mexico City home. Locals are known for their open, respectful and life-affirming vibe.

Creative and Combative - Mexico City by Night
A menu in Lalo Garcia's restaurant costs around €300.Image: ZDF

Lalo Garcia, for example, is a star chef on the Mexican culinary scene. He’s living the reverse American dream: he grew up in the USA as the child of illegal immigrant field workers and was deported to Mexico as an adult, to a country he barely knew. Despite these hardships, he has found success and happiness here. 

Creative and Combative - Mexico City by Night
Image: ZDF

Angel Palafox is a former pilot. He realized that you can make a lot of money in Mexico City by operating private ambulances. After all, there are far too few public ambulances to serve a city of 22 million people. Private companies fill the gap and make money from it. Some ambulances, like Angel's, are well equipped and have paramedics or doctors on board. Others are souped-up vans with minimal equipment. To get to the scene as quickly as possible, they follow the police scanner and search Facebook for posts about accidents. They hand out business cards outside hospitals in case an ambulance is needed. It’s a business proposition -- but the private ambulances also provide an important service in an underfunded healthcare system.

Creative and Combative - Mexico City by Night
Lucha Libre is a form of professional wrestling that was developed in Mexico.Image: ZDF

The film also follows a trans activist, someone who’s known as a ‘bicycle mayor’ and Mexican lucha libre fighters. All the protagonists are representative of how creative and combative the people of Mexico City are.

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