May 25, 2022 • 35 mins
With Not Lost’s executive producers breathing down his neck for an actual dinner party, Brendan and Danielle Henderson head to CDMX to see if mi casa is really su casa. From dance lessons to shamanistic rituals, they strive to understand this vast metropolis… while also finagling an invitación fiesta. Will the masked wrestlers of Lucha Libre bodyslam our duo into understanding the coolest city in North America? Or will Montezuma’s notorious vengeance take them out instead?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:15):
Pushkin. Hey, Brendan, this is Christie from Topic I'm Missing.
You're on your flight to Mexico City right now. We
just wanted to make sure you receive my email because
they haven't hear back from you. So there just is
We really want to proper dinner party from you this episode.
Not like an art loss or a pizza party, but
(00:37):
like an actual dinner party at the home of a
local person. It's like you promise when you pitch just
a podcast. Remember, Okay, let me know if you have
any questions. Oh. Also, I was looking over your receipts
and you can't expense cocktails on non travel base and
I'm going to assume that was a mistake. Okay, assimi, Ago,
(00:58):
this is not lost. Each episode, a friend and I
go somewhere to find ourselves and yeah, try to get
invited to a dinner party. Um, Brendan, friends is this week?
My friend is my frequent co conspirator, the writer Daniel Henderson,
and the somewhere Mexico City. Driving through a neighborhood, you
(01:26):
see people kind of just going about their Friday morning
routine and then you kind of turn on an avenue
and it's very open and the city lake. Yeah, it's cool.
After dropping our things off at our renter department, Danielle
and I cruised the streets of Mexico City in the
back of maneuver. We passed clusters of people gathered near
food carts and coolers filled with twenty five cents Tomali's.
(01:48):
The streetscape shifts from neo colonial buildings and big trees
to low slung auto repair shops baking in the sun.
So where we go, we're taking this uperwear. I thought
we started the Zokolo, the main square, which is the
center of Mexico City, of the city of twenty million
and growing. And so we're meeting Professor Pavel Maldonado and
(02:12):
he's a professor of culture at the University of Mexico.
So I thought he could kind of get us our bearings.
Because I get to do this all day, I could
just be in the super Well. There's a lot of
color here. It's like red grid white. Also, a woman
wearing an aren't like he has a uniform with CDMX.
It looks like she works for the city cleaning the
sweeping the street. I like uniform culture. I feel like,
(02:35):
don't don't expand on that that it's such a privilege
in New York. No, it doesn't, or why I've warned
them like I don't. Danielle might not share my appreciation
for chic workwear, but it was important she and I
were on the same page about our mission in Mexico,
because yes, we were going to learn about the secrets
(02:57):
of masks, wrestling, eat great food, and get private dance lessons. Well.
He also had a very specific objective. She was really
adamant that we have to have a dinner party this trip.
I mean, that's on you. It's just not realistic for
a travel show. I think it's if we were here
for a week, sure, for two days. I mean, like, honestly,
(03:17):
I feel like at the beginning of the show, I
did think it was a good idea, But as you've
pointed out to me, in other places, like we do
get good conversations with people while we're meeting them, so
it does seem a little superfluous maybe to go to
their home, but I don't know that's the show they bought.
In a moment, the light shifts in the back of
our uber are dense surroundings, cars, peddlers, pedestrians give way
(03:42):
to sky and space. Yeah, it is legitimately the biggest
flag I've ever seen in my life, Mexican flag. We've
entered the Zokolo, one of the largest city squares in
the world. Casually dressed in a Bart Simpson T shirt,
Professor Pavel Maldonado fits right in with the other locals,
just doing their thing in the Zokolo's vast, shadeless expanse.
(04:04):
You know, guys work here at the Socolo, the santric area,
and this plast is supposed to hold one hundred thousand
people if you want to be you know heard nowadays
saying whatever this the play were used to come even
from Mexicans that are now from Mexico City. Did he
of coming to Socco? It's like wow, you know, like
the big deal. You know, you may think that it's
kind of touristic, like I get a picture of selfie,
(04:26):
you know, with a flat but actually I would say
that probably nine out of ten Mexicans you know, have
this picture as a Facebook profile, you know, at least
once in their lives. What is it like to live
in the middle of all these millions and millions of people?
Is the city where everything can happen? You know, it's funny.
Salvador da Lee came here once only watching his life
(04:48):
and he was like, um, I don't know, like kind
of jealous because he was like, you know, the city
like so surreal, you know, even more than my art.
Do you guys know? By the way, what's the definition
of the word Mexico do you guys know it? No? Well,
the word Chico, like from Mexico, means center, So the
(05:09):
word Mexico mins the belly, bottom of the universe, the
center of the universe. What's going on? Well, you know,
this plas is like so popular. You know, people who
you know have here or said some protests or some
meetings and like, you know, people trying to get some
more riots. You know, in general, get right, but also
(05:31):
like the place where you have all these massive concerts,
free concerts. I also think it's it's kind of interesting
that there's such a rich history of heavy metal music here. Yeahs,
who are your bands? Guns and Roses and yes, you
know kids like or Ozzie Osbourne, y alltise like heavy
metal bands were like like you know, it's this white
(05:52):
guy with his long hair. You know here in Mexico
we carried to ideas a stigma like that brown skin
people are not attractive. So yes, when the Spanish came here,
of course, the idea of being indigenous, you know it
would be brown skin was like, you know, that's not cool,
you know, But the slash was like, yeah, this guy's bronsky.
I love that slash was the gateway. Yeah, we're literally,
(06:14):
I mean so we're literally on top of a Naztec ruin, right, Yeah,
that's right, you can see it. Actually, what does it
feel like to live in a city where the past
is underneath you and the future is rapidly being built
around you? Many people they will say like, oh, you know,
people here we have no memory. I think that's why
we're not so aware of who we are. And if
you're not aware of that, you're you're not aware of
(06:36):
who you can bet. We hear drums and follow their
sound to a far corner of the Zokolo, we find
a roped off area of dark stones and partial stairs
remnants of a temple built in the fourteenth century for
worshiping the God of Rain and the God of war. Nearby,
(06:59):
a group of men and women dressed in n Aztec
clothing with painted faces feathers and skull masks, bang on
drums and dance. This place was so important before the
Aztec civilization. It was a place where you can get
in contact to the you know, the gods, the gods
you know paid reviews are do you are these people
actual Aztecs? No? Uh, they are. They went to Nyu,
(07:24):
most of these people are. They're really like shamans or
you know, educated people you know in these fields. Which, yeah,
there's such of the culture. This place is so important
and so popular, not only among visitors but also among
locals because it's the place. Would you get the olympias?
You know you have olympia, you know, to clean like
negative vibes that you received from the order from your enemies.
(07:45):
Olympia is an Aztec healing ritual meant to cleanse the spirit.
It evolves being immersed in a percussive sound bath, rubbed
with fresh herbs and the fog of insects. That's also
a good preparation for chicken. You're heartbroken, you know, your
job play as well. Come canna get olympia, man, Maybe
I need to get one. Yeah, you know, I think
(08:06):
I need some bad vibe removal. How do you do.
Pavel approaches the shaman and lets him know him in
the market for Olympia, You're leaving everything behind. You know,
this is the new Brands and you know, yes, I'm
wishing for this show to succeed because i want this
to be my new future. And then also I'm wishing
for a dinner party to happen by the end of
(08:28):
this weekend. Raid close your right, please. The sound of
the shell is gonna made out the spirits. This bad vibes,
his bad souls escape from Brandon's body. But this rituals
before and after the combats. It's the way that you
(08:50):
can be protected. This is a new beginning for Brandson,
you know, and it's a new beginning for all of us.
Right now. I emerge ears ringing, smelling a bit like
a hippie dorm room and invigorated. You're you're a new
(09:11):
person now. That was smoky but interesting. I smelled a
lot of sense. He made me close my eyes. I
feel ready to roll. Not wanting the effect to wear off,
I decided to put some of my newly cleansed vibes
to work. Part of the thing we're doing is we're
trying to get invited to someone's house for dinner. The
(09:32):
idea thinking that getting in someone's home will really understand
the culture. So I wonder, Daniel and I maybe induced
a dinner party. You can invite your friends over, and
I would really like to have you on my blaze.
But uh, I get it, it's a big ask. Well
how about this. I have faith that I'm going to
find someone will be game if I do. Would you
maybe be willing to join us? Yeah? You know, you
(09:52):
can kind of meet with a a scalt man. Oh nice,
I could do with a shot of mescal to Washtown
Pavel's rejection for here in the belly button of Mexico,
a huge space dedicated to social gatherings. You think people
would jump at the idea of hosting a dinner party,
but alas, it seems like good vibes alone aren't enough.
(10:13):
We need to up our game. So that's what we do,
all right, So our next job is dance lessons. Wait,
you're you're having dance lessons and I'm going to hang out.
We are We are going to have dance lessons, hopefully,
because we are in a city where apparently everyone dances
all the time, all ages old, young, For formal occasions
(10:35):
and NYM formal occasions. I'm so excited to watch you
do that. I personally know dance because I cannot dance.
I have no moves. I've got great rhythm, I don't
enjoy I don't know how to say it, but like,
I'm at odds with my body and I don't want
(10:57):
to do anything that I know will make me look
and feel foolish. Dancing is for like beautiful people who
like to be seen, and I don't like that. M
I'm an old person with a sword back, and I
like that. It's also a way to get lost. Let's
let's think of it as a window into the culture,
and we'll see. We'll take it from there. We'll go inside,
(11:18):
we'll meet Rosa. We'll definitely gonna good meet and check
it out and and watch thank you, goodbye, goodbye. Let
me take it advil just in case I feel the
spirit hit me. I should also take my hand I
depressed them in case I feel spirit happy Rosa, Hi,
(12:00):
hi Thaniel. For the reason we wanted to come here,
or I wanted to come here, is because it seems
like dancing is a very big part of the culture here.
You usually like people come here to Mexico City. I
don't know, like to know the city or the museums
or the historic part, but not that like social aspect
(12:20):
of life like in Mexico City. What are the most
kind of common dances of this form? It would be
salsa of course, dance on. I think it's one of
the we're gonna learn how to do dance on here
in Mexico. You've seen maybe you've seen it since you
were a kid, so maybe even if you don't dance, well,
(12:43):
you kind of know how to do it, like you
know how it feels, it moves more like in a
natural organic way. Americans. It's really funny because they look
really Americans, so it's really easy to see that you're
not like made to dance. Now you're on her side.
(13:04):
Hold on a second, but actually it's I know you're
saying Americans are just a little whatever stiffer. I would
say trunk, like like you see that part of the
tree trunk or like trunk. So you just moved like
like a trunk. You know, you just walked like Frankenstein.
(13:29):
Not to put you on the spot here, but what
did you think about me when you saw me coming
in I thought, okay, Brandon's American. God, Oh my god,
you're right, And yet somehow I'm offended. I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
I do walk like I came off a horse. You
(13:51):
can be as great as you want, like because you're
you can have fun and you can learn. And that's
what this is all about, like having fun. No, I'm
resistant to death. I didn't tell her we were coming
until we were on your way, and then she said,
already knew. And then she said that I will watch
(14:14):
you dance because I'm not gonna dance, but I feel
like Danielle will be an excellent dancer. Yeah, I think
you're gonna be great. I'm so tall, I'm too big.
I don't think that's only like stereotypes. This is not ballet.
We're not in Russia. You just have one right foot
and one foot. You just have to like know how
(14:34):
to use them. So I think everybody can have that
kind of like redemption. All right, well, let's do it.
You need to be a little bit closer than that.
I know you hate this, but okay, at this point,
Danielle and I are standing nose to nose. We look
like wax figures on a wedding cake, one arm around
(14:57):
each other's back and the other stretched out in a
right angle, poised to dance. So the basic step of
dancer's a box. Okay, dan you know you're gonna start
with your right foot backwards one two, three, four? Okay.
(15:19):
So they are turning right now. They are doing it
pretty much well. I would say they're dancing dance on
for almost five years, Danielle. She seems like like this
gorgeous European girl with the ballroom tenderness in your body
(15:43):
and Brendan postures. He really really needs to have more
confidence while leading. They seem they're having fun. Also, are
you are you sure you've never done this? You're sure? Okay? Okay?
(16:07):
Who said in the car that you are going to
get good at this? And I wasn't. Wow, it's so cool, like,
see you can do this. Well, this has been amazing.
And I believe you when you say it's social therapy. Um.
One of my forms of social therapy is entertaining at home.
And so I'm wondering, yeah, are you interested in dinner parties? Yeah?
(16:27):
I love dinner parties, So could like it could Danielle
and I and if we found some other people who
like come to your place like tomorrow and we could
prepare dinner. A lot of people here in Mexico say, yeah, okay,
well but Mikasa. It's only Mikasa, okay, So, oh my god,
I can't believe Mikasa's Tukasa is not a real thing.
(16:47):
And I can't believe you're laughing. You know, I need
to have a dinner party. That was hilarious though, because
I told you that would happen. That was awesome. Well,
I'm glad that you overcame your anst about it, but honestly,
like it's Friday night and we have zero attraction on
the dinner party front, I'm a little concerned. Well let's
(17:09):
say we don't get a dinner party tomorrow, mors, what
should we do? I mean, are they going to cancel
the show? I'm going to owe them all the money
for all the shows? And then it's like, oh, two
people just went on vacation and recorded a bunch of junk,
Like that's crazy, Like have you ever seen that show?
Like what's the log line on that show? Back at
our lodgings for a much needed siesta. I think back
(17:31):
when something roads that told me, you need to lead
with more confidence. If I really want to get people's
troncos around a table for a dinner party, I'm going
to need to assert myself. Fortunately for me, our next
stop is a masterclass in power and grit. This is
definitely the most hectic street life I've encountered since I've
(17:51):
been here. Well, Friday night Friday night fights, all right,
So we're approaching the thing. So we're in Roma, and
once we get on the other side of this drag
woking in Doctores and Doctores is the home of Rana
Amico where we're going to watch Luja. We're on our
way to Luca Libre with Asa Merit, an American journalist
(18:12):
who lives in Mexico City and spend a year working
on a documentary about its infamous mask wrestlers. What does
Lucca libre mean? Literally translated? So, Luca libre means free fighting. So,
I mean, there's so much to be said about to
what extent its scripted. It's not scripted, but in its
early days, much of Luca Libre wasn't as scripted as
(18:35):
narrative based as it is as it is today, and
so that's why it was called free fighting, and so
what's up with the masks like that? To me? When
I think of lucha libre, that's the thing that pops
in my mind. Okay, So the masks are key to
each of the wrestler's identities, all right. So in the
old tradition of luca libre in the golden era, was
(18:55):
these luchadors who went their whole life without revealing their identity.
So they would even wear their mask in public. They
would wear their mask on the plane and the security
they had passports they had their mask on and no
one really knew. And Alsanto, the most famous luch store
of all time, he had like a closet in his
house and his children thought he was a traveling businessman
until he was like they were like eight, and he
(19:16):
finally spilled the beans. So the mass traditionally is this symbol,
and it's a way for the wrestlers to keep their anonymity.
But it's also integral to the storytelling of lucha libre.
So Luca lira is all about good and evil. You
have the rudos kind of like rude if you think
of it that way, the bad guys, and then the
technicos like technical and the technicos are the good guys,
(19:39):
and so essentially what you're seeing in a Lucha Libre
match is a very sort of mythic, archetypal, iconic battle
between like the very good and the very evil. I
think the theater element is really important to understand that
there's a certain catharsis that's happening for some audience members
that's really different than the thrills of watching Game seven
(20:02):
of the NBA Playoff. Do you have any theories in
your studies of this, like why these mass characters resonate
so powerfully with people in Mexico and in Mexico City,
specifically of the dozens of wrestlers and Luca Libre filmmakers
and everyone I spoke to, Like, though, there's one anecdote
that I will never forget, and it's this woman who
described to me how she liked Luca Libre and the
(20:26):
masks to Diodos Martos and so Diodo Swartzi's Day of
the Dead is this annual holiday here in Mexico where
families get together and remember those who have passed away.
So she was explaining that to me, and she said, hey, listen,
like Day of the dead. It's it's not just like
we're getting around thinking about her relatives. We really believe
that they are there with us in the room. It's
(20:48):
the same with Luca Libre, like we believe. And she
described Mesco as this nation with imagination, and there were
there were hints of that from so many of the
people I talked to, that the mask was this incredible
tool for someone's imagination. We merge into a mass of
humans squeezing their way into the arena and finally surface
among thousands of hands surrounding an illuminated wrestling right. The
(21:12):
air smells of booze and fried food. The energy is crackling.
All eyes are focused on the center of the ring,
where two topless, masked men repeatedly crashed into each other.
So what you got going on right now is this
is like you got the same thing as the w W,
where you got like tag team type situation. So the
(21:33):
guy of the gold mask just stepped out and his partner,
which I think is the dude with the blue bandana
around his head, went in and he is getting double teamed,
unsurprisingly by the poor sported. He's about the really hurt,
he's about double job. Here comes the gold guy gold
(21:53):
Mask is back. Oh that sounded like a hurt Oh
I it, but I want the gold mask guy to win.
That's because since we've been here, he's been getting hurt
(22:15):
the most, so I kind of want him to overcome that.
You said earlier that you have a problem with the
word xpat. You think of x pats and you kind
of think of like people living around the world, and
they're kind of like rich neighborhoods going to their American schools.
If you come to Mexico to live in Mexico and
are earning in a currency either in the United States
(22:36):
or in Western Europe, the quality of life available to
you is like an entire social class hire. I mean,
something also comes to mind, how many Mexicans are called
expats in the news in America. They're called immigrants and
there's a threat they're like invading us or they're immigrants.
But there's never like, oh, there's a big XPACT community
in Brooklyn, or there's a big XPACT community in Los Angeles. Yeah, no, exactly.
(23:00):
You know, I prioritize being of this place, not of
somewhere else who happens to be here. Yeah, Well, two
body slamming. I mean, look, they're made to be as
dramatic as possible, right, so they're always really dramatic. Mucha libre,
(23:23):
a made up social occasion that inspires camaraderie and provides
an outlet for emotions and the imagination. Kind of like
my idea of a good dinner party. Except at dinner
parties the stakes are nothing less than body slammy are
collective on we un till it begs the reff for mercy.
I asked, as if he's ready to enter the arena
with me. Sorry, man, I just had a kid. No way, really, yeah,
(23:46):
seven days ago, right, okay, Well, thanks for taking us
on this stour. This wasn't good. We had only one
more day left in Mexico City and still no plans
for a grande dinner fiesta. During my flight down here,
(24:21):
I read a book about screenplays. Apparently in every movie,
from Harry Potter to Parasite, there comes in all is
lost moment. This is the part of the story where
our hero has no hope, his dreams have shattered, and
his chance of success is practically zero. Asa shutting us
down for a dinner party wasn't that moment? No are
(24:46):
all is lost moment would come the next morning when
Danielle wakes up with a crippling stomach helmet. Yes, that's
stomach helmet. The stomach helmet not uncommon to tourists in Mexico. This,
this is the moment all is lost. After loud sobbing
in the shower like an out of tune Mariachi band,
(25:07):
I get dressed and drag mysel helf over to what
was supposed to be our final meetup, but for our
triumphant dinner party. Omar. Yeah, yeah, hey, Brendan, nice to
meet you. Thanks so much for meeting us. Now our pleasure.
Tell me what our planets. Omar Rodriguez Graham is a
successful local painter with very cool glasses frames. I thought
it'd be good to meet up here because this is
(25:28):
like the iconic spots see murals in Mexico, you know which,
It has murals by the Dria Sicos and a couple
of other guys. You know, it's a pretty beautiful building already. Yeah, stop,
and we haven't even looked at Meurle yet. Well, let's
go take a look, all right. Cool? We pause in
front of a huge abstract mural the size of a billboard.
(25:51):
There's magenta feel, purple, lavender, gray, red color. I thought
you were only a sound guy. So yeah, we're in
like this big four story hall with a lot of
like Art Deco motifs that have in Mexican and eyes
that's like art Deco meets as tech. Yeah, exactly exactly.
I grew up here. I was born in Mexico. My
(26:12):
father was a painter, but he also did a set design.
So when I was a child that come to Baya
to see his opera as he did, or to see
the other plays that he worked on, and so like,
there was always like a very special place in my
heart for the murals, and I do think it's it's
something very particular to Mexican art, if I remember or
(26:33):
the history correctly. The first mural was done by Diabo Rivera,
so is a Rivera and it basically shows like the
power of man, of science, of technology. The mural we're
looking at is called Man Controller of the Universe. In
the center is a worker wearing overalls and holding a lever,
crowding him on all sides, or people, soldiers, workers, and
(26:56):
scenes a laboratory, a battlefield, all meant to depict the
modern condition. It's clearly political. In one corner, kids of
different races hold hands one on the other, a group
of oblivion rich people sip cocktails. The murals seems to
be saying, now that man can control the universe through technology,
what is he going to do with it? A lot
(27:17):
of the murals in this building really have a lot
of social criticism there, really are trying to portray the
fight of the common man, the upheavals of society, nationalism, globalization, war,
and in a way it's also very relevant today, you
know what I mean. Social criticism in art in the
commercial sphere is really complicated because, like I know a
(27:41):
lot of artists that they're like, no, let's fight for
the common man, like very socialist ideas at anti capitalist
art works, but then they're like selling their works for
like hundreds of thousand dollars, you know, like where's that
money going. Listening to Omar, I thought about how traveling
the world via dinner party wasn't exactly curing cancer or
moving the needle politically. And after taking in more murals,
(28:04):
some depicting the hearts of colonization, others documenting social decay,
I share some of my misgivings with Omar. Well, it's
it's I think that's something that is always like hanging
on my shoulders as well. You know, it's tricky because,
you know, like our privilege, like for me to be
making paintings or for you to just be traveling around
recording a podcast, is really due to the fact that
(28:25):
we're kind of working on the shoulders of like masses
of humanity. It's a problem to deal with. I don't
know how to respond to it. You know, there is
an equality, and I think the first step is to
acknowledge it, you know, to understand that your privilege comes
from someone else's suffering in the end. You know, but
that doesn't mean that you should waste your opportunities, you know.
(28:47):
That's rather how do you take advantage of them responsibly?
And how do you give back however you can? You know,
this was good food for thought, just the type of
conversation I'd hope to achieve if I'd successfully pulled off
a dinner party. In fact, Omar was exactly the sort
of guess I'd want there, and come to think of it,
(29:08):
it was also so exactly the sort of person I'd
want to host it. What's your budget. I mean I think,
I think I would. I I can make it work.
The company specifically told me, like had of a dinner party,
so it's budget for it. But yeah no, no, I
could favor the food and like that, could you absorb us? Yes? Yes,
why don't we do like a potluck type of thing? Okay,
like everybody pinching a little bit, I need to call
(29:30):
in a backup. With a possible pot luck pending and
a co host unable to leave sight of a latrine.
It was time. I led with confidence. I put a
call into a friend of a friend a food and
wine with it, and I told him I needed dinner
party fixings for a group that evening, and I do
whatever it took. I'm Niels Bernstein. I split my time
between Mexico City and New York. He told me to
(29:52):
meet him at Mercado de Medagine one hour. Okay, here
we are. This is my favorite carnita stand that it's
looking good. There's a piggy bank here. Oh it's our
humor right here. Oh there we go. Yeah, you need
lines and salsas. Just you gotta, you know, rig everything
to taste. Brain case is whoa I've never eaten a
(30:15):
brain brain eye uterus. Not my favorite. Here, I like
a lot. There's these spicy pickled onions, which I think
we might just make our own. Okay, okay, some haban
arrows here which we can use for the marinated onions. Yeah,
they're like little jewels, deathly spicy jewels. My Irish stomach
is quaking. If you want to get some mail, larva
(30:36):
is over. You're chaing that out. Okay, so let's go
get some salad fixings. Here we're looking at some star fruit,
some pomegranate, various plums and cherries, a lot of different citrus.
All right, thank you, Mercado. What is it again, Mercado
medine gassias, Adios Mercado Medeline. And then showtime along with Omar,
(30:58):
his wife Morgan, and their dog Nioki, a local friend,
and a roommates, as well as Omar's downstairs neighbor who
brought us guitar in a bottle of mescow old. Look
these guys, they're excited you're here. Oh this way soon
dinner was served, So karamitas and mills brock. What else
(31:23):
do you have for dinner? This is the solid of
laga and cherry Tomato. We talked about the city. This
is a friendly city. Are happening, everybody can feel that
you are income. We talked politics. Party in Power now
(31:44):
was trying to cut financing for political parties, and I
was happy and relieved, not only because I could return
to New York and let my bosses know I'd pulled
off an actual dinner party dinner party, but because I
was reminded that my pensiont to break bread with strangers
wasn't frivolous after all. Dinner parties a recess for grown ups,
(32:05):
a rare space where people can gather and not be
under the watchful eye of a ball us, a needy child,
or an impatient waiter. There are gatherings that are intimate
and have the power to transcend cultural barriers. There are
places where we get to play, entertain argue, and feed ourselves,
not just their bodies, but our souls, newly cleansed or not.
(32:26):
And dinner parties are a lot harder to manifest than
you'd think, even at home. So when we are able
to make them happen, we should relish it. Welcome to
all of our expats. Whatever I was sad, d wasn't
with us can't you just picture her showing off her
dans On moves in the corner. But I still feel triumphant,
(32:49):
like a masked Luca Libre wrestler, topless and gold shorts,
waving my clasped arms over one shoulder and then the
other like a champion. The lead producer on this episode
of Not Law was the unflappable Tally Abacasas. The show
(33:13):
was also produced and written by me Brendan Francis Nunham.
Our associate producer was Jackson Musker. Our story editor for
this episode was Mira bert Win Tonik. The show was
mixed by Hannis Brown and a big thanks to my
friend and this episode's travel partner, Daniel Henderson. Not Lost
as a co production of Pushkin Industries, Topic Studios and iHeartMedia.
(33:35):
It was developed at Topic Studios. The show's executive producers
are me Christi Gressman, Maria Zuckerman, Lisa Langang, and La
Tom Mullad. Production assistance on this episode also came from
Jacob Smith, Amy Gaines and Julia Barton at Pushkin. Our
theme song was created by Alexis Georgiopolis rhymes with Metropolis
(33:56):
and muchos gracias to Professor Pavel Maldonado, Rosa maracarman, Asa Merritt,
the Great Nils Bernstein, and I am forever indebted to
Omar Rodriguez Graham, his wife Morgan, and their dog Joki
for their hospitality. If you want to see some pictures
of where we went or learn more about our guests,
you can head to not Lawshow dot com. And if
(34:18):
you could just take a moment right now you're not traveling,
or maybe you are, if you just head on over
to Apple Podcasts, rate and review us. Oh man, you
are going to feel so great and we will too.
It's an easy win win. You can learn more about
Topic Studios at Topic studios dot com and to find
more Pushkin podcasts, listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
(34:42):
or wherever you listen to podcasts. I'm Brendan Francis, Newnham.
Until next time, bonvoyage
Pushkin. Hey, Brendan, this is Christie from Topic I'm Missing.
You're on your flight to Mexico City right now. We
just wanted to make sure you receive my email because
they haven't hear back from you. So there just is
We really want to proper dinner party from you this episode.
Not like an art loss or a pizza party, but
(00:37):
like an actual dinner party at the home of a
local person. It's like you promise when you pitch just
a podcast. Remember, Okay, let me know if you have
any questions. Oh. Also, I was looking over your receipts
and you can't expense cocktails on non travel base and
I'm going to assume that was a mistake. Okay, assimi, Ago,
(00:58):
this is not lost. Each episode, a friend and I
go somewhere to find ourselves and yeah, try to get
invited to a dinner party. Um, Brendan, friends is this week?
My friend is my frequent co conspirator, the writer Daniel Henderson,
and the somewhere Mexico City. Driving through a neighborhood, you
(01:26):
see people kind of just going about their Friday morning
routine and then you kind of turn on an avenue
and it's very open and the city lake. Yeah, it's cool.
After dropping our things off at our renter department, Danielle
and I cruised the streets of Mexico City in the
back of maneuver. We passed clusters of people gathered near
food carts and coolers filled with twenty five cents Tomali's.
(01:48):
The streetscape shifts from neo colonial buildings and big trees
to low slung auto repair shops baking in the sun.
So where we go, we're taking this uperwear. I thought
we started the Zokolo, the main square, which is the
center of Mexico City, of the city of twenty million
and growing. And so we're meeting Professor Pavel Maldonado and
(02:12):
he's a professor of culture at the University of Mexico.
So I thought he could kind of get us our bearings.
Because I get to do this all day, I could
just be in the super Well. There's a lot of
color here. It's like red grid white. Also, a woman
wearing an aren't like he has a uniform with CDMX.
It looks like she works for the city cleaning the
sweeping the street. I like uniform culture. I feel like,
(02:35):
don't don't expand on that that it's such a privilege
in New York. No, it doesn't, or why I've warned
them like I don't. Danielle might not share my appreciation
for chic workwear, but it was important she and I
were on the same page about our mission in Mexico,
because yes, we were going to learn about the secrets
(02:57):
of masks, wrestling, eat great food, and get private dance lessons. Well.
He also had a very specific objective. She was really
adamant that we have to have a dinner party this trip.
I mean, that's on you. It's just not realistic for
a travel show. I think it's if we were here
for a week, sure, for two days. I mean, like, honestly,
(03:17):
I feel like at the beginning of the show, I
did think it was a good idea, But as you've
pointed out to me, in other places, like we do
get good conversations with people while we're meeting them, so
it does seem a little superfluous maybe to go to
their home, but I don't know that's the show they bought.
In a moment, the light shifts in the back of
our uber are dense surroundings, cars, peddlers, pedestrians give way
(03:42):
to sky and space. Yeah, it is legitimately the biggest
flag I've ever seen in my life, Mexican flag. We've
entered the Zokolo, one of the largest city squares in
the world. Casually dressed in a Bart Simpson T shirt,
Professor Pavel Maldonado fits right in with the other locals,
just doing their thing in the Zokolo's vast, shadeless expanse.
(04:04):
You know, guys work here at the Socolo, the santric area,
and this plast is supposed to hold one hundred thousand
people if you want to be you know heard nowadays
saying whatever this the play were used to come even
from Mexicans that are now from Mexico City. Did he
of coming to Socco? It's like wow, you know, like
the big deal. You know, you may think that it's
kind of touristic, like I get a picture of selfie,
(04:26):
you know, with a flat but actually I would say
that probably nine out of ten Mexicans you know, have
this picture as a Facebook profile, you know, at least
once in their lives. What is it like to live
in the middle of all these millions and millions of people?
Is the city where everything can happen? You know, it's funny.
Salvador da Lee came here once only watching his life
(04:48):
and he was like, um, I don't know, like kind
of jealous because he was like, you know, the city
like so surreal, you know, even more than my art.
Do you guys know? By the way, what's the definition
of the word Mexico do you guys know it? No? Well,
the word Chico, like from Mexico, means center, So the
(05:09):
word Mexico mins the belly, bottom of the universe, the
center of the universe. What's going on? Well, you know,
this plas is like so popular. You know, people who
you know have here or said some protests or some
meetings and like, you know, people trying to get some
more riots. You know, in general, get right, but also
(05:31):
like the place where you have all these massive concerts,
free concerts. I also think it's it's kind of interesting
that there's such a rich history of heavy metal music here. Yeahs,
who are your bands? Guns and Roses and yes, you
know kids like or Ozzie Osbourne, y alltise like heavy
metal bands were like like you know, it's this white
(05:52):
guy with his long hair. You know here in Mexico
we carried to ideas a stigma like that brown skin
people are not attractive. So yes, when the Spanish came here,
of course, the idea of being indigenous, you know it
would be brown skin was like, you know, that's not cool,
you know, But the slash was like, yeah, this guy's bronsky.
I love that slash was the gateway. Yeah, we're literally,
(06:14):
I mean so we're literally on top of a Naztec ruin, right, Yeah,
that's right, you can see it. Actually, what does it
feel like to live in a city where the past
is underneath you and the future is rapidly being built
around you? Many people they will say like, oh, you know,
people here we have no memory. I think that's why
we're not so aware of who we are. And if
you're not aware of that, you're you're not aware of
(06:36):
who you can bet. We hear drums and follow their
sound to a far corner of the Zokolo, we find
a roped off area of dark stones and partial stairs
remnants of a temple built in the fourteenth century for
worshiping the God of Rain and the God of war. Nearby,
(06:59):
a group of men and women dressed in n Aztec
clothing with painted faces feathers and skull masks, bang on
drums and dance. This place was so important before the
Aztec civilization. It was a place where you can get
in contact to the you know, the gods, the gods
you know paid reviews are do you are these people
actual Aztecs? No? Uh, they are. They went to Nyu,
(07:24):
most of these people are. They're really like shamans or
you know, educated people you know in these fields. Which, yeah,
there's such of the culture. This place is so important
and so popular, not only among visitors but also among
locals because it's the place. Would you get the olympias?
You know you have olympia, you know, to clean like
negative vibes that you received from the order from your enemies.
(07:45):
Olympia is an Aztec healing ritual meant to cleanse the spirit.
It evolves being immersed in a percussive sound bath, rubbed
with fresh herbs and the fog of insects. That's also
a good preparation for chicken. You're heartbroken, you know, your
job play as well. Come canna get olympia, man, Maybe
I need to get one. Yeah, you know, I think
(08:06):
I need some bad vibe removal. How do you do.
Pavel approaches the shaman and lets him know him in
the market for Olympia, You're leaving everything behind. You know,
this is the new Brands and you know, yes, I'm
wishing for this show to succeed because i want this
to be my new future. And then also I'm wishing
for a dinner party to happen by the end of
(08:28):
this weekend. Raid close your right, please. The sound of
the shell is gonna made out the spirits. This bad vibes,
his bad souls escape from Brandon's body. But this rituals
before and after the combats. It's the way that you
(08:50):
can be protected. This is a new beginning for Brandson,
you know, and it's a new beginning for all of us.
Right now. I emerge ears ringing, smelling a bit like
a hippie dorm room and invigorated. You're you're a new
(09:11):
person now. That was smoky but interesting. I smelled a
lot of sense. He made me close my eyes. I
feel ready to roll. Not wanting the effect to wear off,
I decided to put some of my newly cleansed vibes
to work. Part of the thing we're doing is we're
trying to get invited to someone's house for dinner. The
(09:32):
idea thinking that getting in someone's home will really understand
the culture. So I wonder, Daniel and I maybe induced
a dinner party. You can invite your friends over, and
I would really like to have you on my blaze.
But uh, I get it, it's a big ask. Well
how about this. I have faith that I'm going to
find someone will be game if I do. Would you
maybe be willing to join us? Yeah? You know, you
(09:52):
can kind of meet with a a scalt man. Oh nice,
I could do with a shot of mescal to Washtown
Pavel's rejection for here in the belly button of Mexico,
a huge space dedicated to social gatherings. You think people
would jump at the idea of hosting a dinner party,
but alas, it seems like good vibes alone aren't enough.
(10:13):
We need to up our game. So that's what we do,
all right, So our next job is dance lessons. Wait,
you're you're having dance lessons and I'm going to hang out.
We are We are going to have dance lessons, hopefully,
because we are in a city where apparently everyone dances
all the time, all ages old, young, For formal occasions
(10:35):
and NYM formal occasions. I'm so excited to watch you
do that. I personally know dance because I cannot dance.
I have no moves. I've got great rhythm, I don't
enjoy I don't know how to say it, but like,
I'm at odds with my body and I don't want
(10:57):
to do anything that I know will make me look
and feel foolish. Dancing is for like beautiful people who
like to be seen, and I don't like that. M
I'm an old person with a sword back, and I
like that. It's also a way to get lost. Let's
let's think of it as a window into the culture,
and we'll see. We'll take it from there. We'll go inside,
(11:18):
we'll meet Rosa. We'll definitely gonna good meet and check
it out and and watch thank you, goodbye, goodbye. Let
me take it advil just in case I feel the
spirit hit me. I should also take my hand I
depressed them in case I feel spirit happy Rosa, Hi,
(12:00):
hi Thaniel. For the reason we wanted to come here,
or I wanted to come here, is because it seems
like dancing is a very big part of the culture here.
You usually like people come here to Mexico City. I
don't know, like to know the city or the museums
or the historic part, but not that like social aspect
(12:20):
of life like in Mexico City. What are the most
kind of common dances of this form? It would be
salsa of course, dance on. I think it's one of
the we're gonna learn how to do dance on here
in Mexico. You've seen maybe you've seen it since you
were a kid, so maybe even if you don't dance, well,
(12:43):
you kind of know how to do it, like you
know how it feels, it moves more like in a
natural organic way. Americans. It's really funny because they look
really Americans, so it's really easy to see that you're
not like made to dance. Now you're on her side.
(13:04):
Hold on a second, but actually it's I know you're
saying Americans are just a little whatever stiffer. I would
say trunk, like like you see that part of the
tree trunk or like trunk. So you just moved like
like a trunk. You know, you just walked like Frankenstein.
(13:29):
Not to put you on the spot here, but what
did you think about me when you saw me coming
in I thought, okay, Brandon's American. God, Oh my god,
you're right, And yet somehow I'm offended. I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
I do walk like I came off a horse. You
(13:51):
can be as great as you want, like because you're
you can have fun and you can learn. And that's
what this is all about, like having fun. No, I'm
resistant to death. I didn't tell her we were coming
until we were on your way, and then she said,
already knew. And then she said that I will watch
(14:14):
you dance because I'm not gonna dance, but I feel
like Danielle will be an excellent dancer. Yeah, I think
you're gonna be great. I'm so tall, I'm too big.
I don't think that's only like stereotypes. This is not ballet.
We're not in Russia. You just have one right foot
and one foot. You just have to like know how
(14:34):
to use them. So I think everybody can have that
kind of like redemption. All right, well, let's do it.
You need to be a little bit closer than that.
I know you hate this, but okay, at this point,
Danielle and I are standing nose to nose. We look
like wax figures on a wedding cake, one arm around
(14:57):
each other's back and the other stretched out in a
right angle, poised to dance. So the basic step of
dancer's a box. Okay, dan you know you're gonna start
with your right foot backwards one two, three, four? Okay.
(15:19):
So they are turning right now. They are doing it
pretty much well. I would say they're dancing dance on
for almost five years, Danielle. She seems like like this
gorgeous European girl with the ballroom tenderness in your body
(15:43):
and Brendan postures. He really really needs to have more
confidence while leading. They seem they're having fun. Also, are
you are you sure you've never done this? You're sure? Okay? Okay?
(16:07):
Who said in the car that you are going to
get good at this? And I wasn't. Wow, it's so cool, like,
see you can do this. Well, this has been amazing.
And I believe you when you say it's social therapy. Um.
One of my forms of social therapy is entertaining at home.
And so I'm wondering, yeah, are you interested in dinner parties? Yeah?
(16:27):
I love dinner parties, So could like it could Danielle
and I and if we found some other people who
like come to your place like tomorrow and we could
prepare dinner. A lot of people here in Mexico say, yeah, okay,
well but Mikasa. It's only Mikasa, okay, So, oh my god,
I can't believe Mikasa's Tukasa is not a real thing.
(16:47):
And I can't believe you're laughing. You know, I need
to have a dinner party. That was hilarious though, because
I told you that would happen. That was awesome. Well,
I'm glad that you overcame your anst about it, but honestly,
like it's Friday night and we have zero attraction on
the dinner party front, I'm a little concerned. Well let's
(17:09):
say we don't get a dinner party tomorrow, mors, what
should we do? I mean, are they going to cancel
the show? I'm going to owe them all the money
for all the shows? And then it's like, oh, two
people just went on vacation and recorded a bunch of junk,
Like that's crazy, Like have you ever seen that show?
Like what's the log line on that show? Back at
our lodgings for a much needed siesta. I think back
(17:31):
when something roads that told me, you need to lead
with more confidence. If I really want to get people's
troncos around a table for a dinner party, I'm going
to need to assert myself. Fortunately for me, our next
stop is a masterclass in power and grit. This is
definitely the most hectic street life I've encountered since I've
(17:51):
been here. Well, Friday night Friday night fights, all right,
So we're approaching the thing. So we're in Roma, and
once we get on the other side of this drag
woking in Doctores and Doctores is the home of Rana
Amico where we're going to watch Luja. We're on our
way to Luca Libre with Asa Merit, an American journalist
(18:12):
who lives in Mexico City and spend a year working
on a documentary about its infamous mask wrestlers. What does
Lucca libre mean? Literally translated? So, Luca libre means free fighting. So,
I mean, there's so much to be said about to
what extent its scripted. It's not scripted, but in its
early days, much of Luca Libre wasn't as scripted as
(18:35):
narrative based as it is as it is today, and
so that's why it was called free fighting, and so
what's up with the masks like that? To me? When
I think of lucha libre, that's the thing that pops
in my mind. Okay, So the masks are key to
each of the wrestler's identities, all right. So in the
old tradition of luca libre in the golden era, was
(18:55):
these luchadors who went their whole life without revealing their identity.
So they would even wear their mask in public. They
would wear their mask on the plane and the security
they had passports they had their mask on and no
one really knew. And Alsanto, the most famous luch store
of all time, he had like a closet in his
house and his children thought he was a traveling businessman
until he was like they were like eight, and he
(19:16):
finally spilled the beans. So the mass traditionally is this symbol,
and it's a way for the wrestlers to keep their anonymity.
But it's also integral to the storytelling of lucha libre.
So Luca lira is all about good and evil. You
have the rudos kind of like rude if you think
of it that way, the bad guys, and then the
technicos like technical and the technicos are the good guys,
(19:39):
and so essentially what you're seeing in a Lucha Libre
match is a very sort of mythic, archetypal, iconic battle
between like the very good and the very evil. I
think the theater element is really important to understand that
there's a certain catharsis that's happening for some audience members
that's really different than the thrills of watching Game seven
(20:02):
of the NBA Playoff. Do you have any theories in
your studies of this, like why these mass characters resonate
so powerfully with people in Mexico and in Mexico City,
specifically of the dozens of wrestlers and Luca Libre filmmakers
and everyone I spoke to, Like, though, there's one anecdote
that I will never forget, and it's this woman who
described to me how she liked Luca Libre and the
(20:26):
masks to Diodos Martos and so Diodo Swartzi's Day of
the Dead is this annual holiday here in Mexico where
families get together and remember those who have passed away.
So she was explaining that to me, and she said, hey, listen,
like Day of the dead. It's it's not just like
we're getting around thinking about her relatives. We really believe
that they are there with us in the room. It's
(20:48):
the same with Luca Libre, like we believe. And she
described Mesco as this nation with imagination, and there were
there were hints of that from so many of the
people I talked to, that the mask was this incredible
tool for someone's imagination. We merge into a mass of
humans squeezing their way into the arena and finally surface
among thousands of hands surrounding an illuminated wrestling right. The
(21:12):
air smells of booze and fried food. The energy is crackling.
All eyes are focused on the center of the ring,
where two topless, masked men repeatedly crashed into each other.
So what you got going on right now is this
is like you got the same thing as the w W,
where you got like tag team type situation. So the
(21:33):
guy of the gold mask just stepped out and his partner,
which I think is the dude with the blue bandana
around his head, went in and he is getting double teamed,
unsurprisingly by the poor sported. He's about the really hurt,
he's about double job. Here comes the gold guy gold
(21:53):
Mask is back. Oh that sounded like a hurt Oh
I it, but I want the gold mask guy to win.
That's because since we've been here, he's been getting hurt
(22:15):
the most, so I kind of want him to overcome that.
You said earlier that you have a problem with the
word xpat. You think of x pats and you kind
of think of like people living around the world, and
they're kind of like rich neighborhoods going to their American schools.
If you come to Mexico to live in Mexico and
are earning in a currency either in the United States
(22:36):
or in Western Europe, the quality of life available to
you is like an entire social class hire. I mean,
something also comes to mind, how many Mexicans are called
expats in the news in America. They're called immigrants and
there's a threat they're like invading us or they're immigrants.
But there's never like, oh, there's a big XPACT community
in Brooklyn, or there's a big XPACT community in Los Angeles. Yeah, no, exactly.
(23:00):
You know, I prioritize being of this place, not of
somewhere else who happens to be here. Yeah, Well, two
body slamming. I mean, look, they're made to be as
dramatic as possible, right, so they're always really dramatic. Mucha libre,
(23:23):
a made up social occasion that inspires camaraderie and provides
an outlet for emotions and the imagination. Kind of like
my idea of a good dinner party. Except at dinner
parties the stakes are nothing less than body slammy are
collective on we un till it begs the reff for mercy.
I asked, as if he's ready to enter the arena
with me. Sorry, man, I just had a kid. No way, really, yeah,
(23:46):
seven days ago, right, okay, Well, thanks for taking us
on this stour. This wasn't good. We had only one
more day left in Mexico City and still no plans
for a grande dinner fiesta. During my flight down here,
(24:21):
I read a book about screenplays. Apparently in every movie,
from Harry Potter to Parasite, there comes in all is
lost moment. This is the part of the story where
our hero has no hope, his dreams have shattered, and
his chance of success is practically zero. Asa shutting us
down for a dinner party wasn't that moment? No are
(24:46):
all is lost moment would come the next morning when
Danielle wakes up with a crippling stomach helmet. Yes, that's
stomach helmet. The stomach helmet not uncommon to tourists in Mexico. This,
this is the moment all is lost. After loud sobbing
in the shower like an out of tune Mariachi band,
(25:07):
I get dressed and drag mysel helf over to what
was supposed to be our final meetup, but for our
triumphant dinner party. Omar. Yeah, yeah, hey, Brendan, nice to
meet you. Thanks so much for meeting us. Now our pleasure.
Tell me what our planets. Omar Rodriguez Graham is a
successful local painter with very cool glasses frames. I thought
it'd be good to meet up here because this is
(25:28):
like the iconic spots see murals in Mexico, you know which,
It has murals by the Dria Sicos and a couple
of other guys. You know, it's a pretty beautiful building already. Yeah, stop,
and we haven't even looked at Meurle yet. Well, let's
go take a look, all right. Cool? We pause in
front of a huge abstract mural the size of a billboard.
(25:51):
There's magenta feel, purple, lavender, gray, red color. I thought
you were only a sound guy. So yeah, we're in
like this big four story hall with a lot of
like Art Deco motifs that have in Mexican and eyes
that's like art Deco meets as tech. Yeah, exactly exactly.
I grew up here. I was born in Mexico. My
(26:12):
father was a painter, but he also did a set design.
So when I was a child that come to Baya
to see his opera as he did, or to see
the other plays that he worked on, and so like,
there was always like a very special place in my
heart for the murals, and I do think it's it's
something very particular to Mexican art, if I remember or
(26:33):
the history correctly. The first mural was done by Diabo Rivera,
so is a Rivera and it basically shows like the
power of man, of science, of technology. The mural we're
looking at is called Man Controller of the Universe. In
the center is a worker wearing overalls and holding a lever,
crowding him on all sides, or people, soldiers, workers, and
(26:56):
scenes a laboratory, a battlefield, all meant to depict the
modern condition. It's clearly political. In one corner, kids of
different races hold hands one on the other, a group
of oblivion rich people sip cocktails. The murals seems to
be saying, now that man can control the universe through technology,
what is he going to do with it? A lot
(27:17):
of the murals in this building really have a lot
of social criticism there, really are trying to portray the
fight of the common man, the upheavals of society, nationalism, globalization, war,
and in a way it's also very relevant today, you
know what I mean. Social criticism in art in the
commercial sphere is really complicated because, like I know a
(27:41):
lot of artists that they're like, no, let's fight for
the common man, like very socialist ideas at anti capitalist
art works, but then they're like selling their works for
like hundreds of thousand dollars, you know, like where's that
money going. Listening to Omar, I thought about how traveling
the world via dinner party wasn't exactly curing cancer or
moving the needle politically. And after taking in more murals,
(28:04):
some depicting the hearts of colonization, others documenting social decay,
I share some of my misgivings with Omar. Well, it's
it's I think that's something that is always like hanging
on my shoulders as well. You know, it's tricky because,
you know, like our privilege, like for me to be
making paintings or for you to just be traveling around
recording a podcast, is really due to the fact that
(28:25):
we're kind of working on the shoulders of like masses
of humanity. It's a problem to deal with. I don't
know how to respond to it. You know, there is
an equality, and I think the first step is to
acknowledge it, you know, to understand that your privilege comes
from someone else's suffering in the end. You know, but
that doesn't mean that you should waste your opportunities, you know.
(28:47):
That's rather how do you take advantage of them responsibly?
And how do you give back however you can? You know,
this was good food for thought, just the type of
conversation I'd hope to achieve if I'd successfully pulled off
a dinner party. In fact, Omar was exactly the sort
of guess I'd want there, and come to think of it,
(29:08):
it was also so exactly the sort of person I'd
want to host it. What's your budget. I mean I think,
I think I would. I I can make it work.
The company specifically told me, like had of a dinner party,
so it's budget for it. But yeah no, no, I
could favor the food and like that, could you absorb us? Yes? Yes,
why don't we do like a potluck type of thing? Okay,
like everybody pinching a little bit, I need to call
(29:30):
in a backup. With a possible pot luck pending and
a co host unable to leave sight of a latrine.
It was time. I led with confidence. I put a
call into a friend of a friend a food and
wine with it, and I told him I needed dinner
party fixings for a group that evening, and I do
whatever it took. I'm Niels Bernstein. I split my time
between Mexico City and New York. He told me to
(29:52):
meet him at Mercado de Medagine one hour. Okay, here
we are. This is my favorite carnita stand that it's
looking good. There's a piggy bank here. Oh it's our
humor right here. Oh there we go. Yeah, you need
lines and salsas. Just you gotta, you know, rig everything
to taste. Brain case is whoa I've never eaten a
(30:15):
brain brain eye uterus. Not my favorite. Here, I like
a lot. There's these spicy pickled onions, which I think
we might just make our own. Okay, okay, some haban
arrows here which we can use for the marinated onions. Yeah,
they're like little jewels, deathly spicy jewels. My Irish stomach
is quaking. If you want to get some mail, larva
(30:36):
is over. You're chaing that out. Okay, so let's go
get some salad fixings. Here we're looking at some star fruit,
some pomegranate, various plums and cherries, a lot of different citrus.
All right, thank you, Mercado. What is it again, Mercado
medine gassias, Adios Mercado Medeline. And then showtime along with Omar,
(30:58):
his wife Morgan, and their dog Nioki, a local friend,
and a roommates, as well as Omar's downstairs neighbor who
brought us guitar in a bottle of mescow old. Look
these guys, they're excited you're here. Oh this way soon
dinner was served, So karamitas and mills brock. What else
(31:23):
do you have for dinner? This is the solid of
laga and cherry Tomato. We talked about the city. This
is a friendly city. Are happening, everybody can feel that
you are income. We talked politics. Party in Power now
(31:44):
was trying to cut financing for political parties, and I
was happy and relieved, not only because I could return
to New York and let my bosses know I'd pulled
off an actual dinner party dinner party, but because I
was reminded that my pensiont to break bread with strangers
wasn't frivolous after all. Dinner parties a recess for grown ups,
(32:05):
a rare space where people can gather and not be
under the watchful eye of a ball us, a needy child,
or an impatient waiter. There are gatherings that are intimate
and have the power to transcend cultural barriers. There are
places where we get to play, entertain argue, and feed ourselves,
not just their bodies, but our souls, newly cleansed or not.
(32:26):
And dinner parties are a lot harder to manifest than
you'd think, even at home. So when we are able
to make them happen, we should relish it. Welcome to
all of our expats. Whatever I was sad, d wasn't
with us can't you just picture her showing off her
dans On moves in the corner. But I still feel triumphant,
(32:49):
like a masked Luca Libre wrestler, topless and gold shorts,
waving my clasped arms over one shoulder and then the
other like a champion. The lead producer on this episode
of Not Law was the unflappable Tally Abacasas. The show
(33:13):
was also produced and written by me Brendan Francis Nunham.
Our associate producer was Jackson Musker. Our story editor for
this episode was Mira bert Win Tonik. The show was
mixed by Hannis Brown and a big thanks to my
friend and this episode's travel partner, Daniel Henderson. Not Lost
as a co production of Pushkin Industries, Topic Studios and iHeartMedia.
(33:35):
It was developed at Topic Studios. The show's executive producers
are me Christi Gressman, Maria Zuckerman, Lisa Langang, and La
Tom Mullad. Production assistance on this episode also came from
Jacob Smith, Amy Gaines and Julia Barton at Pushkin. Our
theme song was created by Alexis Georgiopolis rhymes with Metropolis
(33:56):
and muchos gracias to Professor Pavel Maldonado, Rosa maracarman, Asa Merritt,
the Great Nils Bernstein, and I am forever indebted to
Omar Rodriguez Graham, his wife Morgan, and their dog Joki
for their hospitality. If you want to see some pictures
of where we went or learn more about our guests,
you can head to not Lawshow dot com. And if
(34:18):
you could just take a moment right now you're not traveling,
or maybe you are, if you just head on over
to Apple Podcasts, rate and review us. Oh man, you
are going to feel so great and we will too.
It's an easy win win. You can learn more about
Topic Studios at Topic studios dot com and to find
more Pushkin podcasts, listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
(34:42):
or wherever you listen to podcasts. I'm Brendan Francis, Newnham.
Until next time, bonvoyage
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