Music Street

Looking for a harmonica in Mexico City?  Where do you go?
The answer is: Calle Bolivar.  Apparently, Jerusalem's old town is not unique in having streets dedicated to commodities.   My quest led me along  Hardware Street (Vizcainas), to Music Street (Bolivar), where my eyes opened wide.  Four blocks of uninterrupted music stores.  Most had similar formats, displaying mainly guitars and piano keyboards, yet some stood out for their large size and wide selection.  Holocaust Music caught my attention, but none of the store's personnel could explain the origin of the unusual name.  Helpful workers in each store were happy to direct me to the next one, but alas, the model I wanted was not to be found.

In consolation, we rested on the sidewalk, and listened to a band composed of four saxophones (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone), a clarinet, a keyboard, a full size electric base, and drums.  The group played an energetic selection of pop and jazz standards.  The wind-instrument (including the wheel-chaired clarinet player), entertained the large crowd by dancing back and forth along the pavement, and occasionally even across the street.  They did so without loosing their precision or tone quality.  This constant motion may explain why I could not capture all of the band in one frame.  A more likely explanation would be the large mug of pulque I consumed shortly before.


Pulque Para Dos (A danzon tune)

Pulque is an alcoholic drink,which was considered sacred in pre-hispanic Mexico, and allowed only to the upper class.  It is produced by excavating the center of an agave plant, then twice daily, over a period of weeks, collecting the sap that forms in the cavity. Fermentation takes a week or two, and results in alcohol contents of  6-8%.

The arrival of the spaniards and the introduction of distillation, caused a slow decline in the prestige and popularity of the drink.  Tequila and beer took its place.  That was then.  Nowadays, pulque is gaining popularity, especially among the young crowd.  Las Duelistas, the pulqueria we visited in Mexico City, is covered, ceiling to floor, with indigenous-styled murals, and packed with happy drinkers of all ages.  Pulque is served either as 'Natural', which is milky-white, and like other fermented drinks, a bit fizzy and sour,  or as 'Curado'  a sweeter mix of fruit juices.  Although I usually aim for authenticity, I have to admit that Adi's pink guava-curado tasted great.

An order of pulque can vary in volume between a glass and a bucket.  The couple sharing our table ordered a bucket containing a blend of curados.  They generously let us taste their creation, and share their snacks.  We made do with a large mug, which provided a nice buzz, and eliminated the need for lunch.