June 2005

The Frida Kahlo Season is in full swing…

To celebrate the first solo exhibition of Frida Kahlo’s work in the UK, the BBC’s Creative Director Alan Yentob travels to Mexico to take a closer look at her extraordinary life and marriage to Diego Rivera, but also reassess the complex, and enduring body of work that Frida left behind.

Wednesday 29 June
IMAGINE: FRIDA KAHLO
BBC One,  22:40 pm-23:30 pm

Stephanie Mills adds…
If you rushed off thinking, like me, that Sunday was the last day of the Frida: Portrait of an Icon exhibition at London’s National Portrait Gallery, then you may be pleased to learn that it has just been extended for a further month, until 24 July.

Portrait of an Icon will now overlap for a few more weeks with the high-profile exhibition at Tate Modern.

These photographic images of Frida are for me every bit as captivating as her paintings.

The ‘reality’, as viewed through the lens, seems to be much less harsh and unforgiving than Frida’s own self-portraits. Although many of the photos are just as carefully constructed with backdrops, costume and imagery as the paintings.

The display leads us from early family photographs taken by Guillermo Kahlo, Frida’s adored father, through to the austere young woman who has suffered polio, the terrible tramway accident and the loss of her mother, and on to the vivid, irrepressible Frida who adopts the tehuana costume in self-conscious poses for some of the most influential figures in twentieth century photography.

This is where the photographs come closest to meeting the spirit of the self-portraiture of Frida’s semi-religious paintings.

Some of the most beautiful – and often surprising – works in this exhibition were taken by those closest to Frida.

Photo: Nickolas Muray, 1939; Rochester (NY), International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House

Her lover Nickolas Muray, photographed Kahlo in a serene, wistful pose in her magenta Rebozo (1939), a print which I fell in love with and bought from La Casa Azul when on my first visit to Mexico as a student; and the coquettish Frida, biting her necklace (1933), captured by Lucienne Bloch.

Another personal favourite is the ‘photo-booth’ Frida and Diego (1934), a close-up shot of the couple by Martin Munkascsi. 

You have a few more weeks to see for yourself and compare the Frida behind the camera with the Frida of her paintings. 

SM

Mestizo – Restaurant and Tequila Bar
103 Hampstead Road, London, NW1 3EL
Tel: 020 7387 4064
www.mestizomx.com

Attempting to fill a yawning culinary gap, this stylish restaurant opened its doors in March.

Mestizo is the brainchild of Marysol Alvarado, who previously ran Si Señor in London’s Soho. This is altogether more sophisticated, showcasing the complexity and diversity of high-end Mexican cuisine.

It’s a dawdle from the tube stops at Euston Square or Warren Street.

The decoration on the spacious groud floor is modern and casually elegant; cream with dark red accent walls and ceiling. White banquette seating with dark wood furniture. More reminiscent of the burgeoning cosmopolitan restaurant scene in Mexico City than of the bland stock menu of kitsch-Mexican we’ve become accustomed to in the UK.

I was able to check the place out one evening last month while attending a photo exhibition opening in the downstairs tequila lounge. Climbing the stairs to leave and catch my train, I was intercepted by Marysol, and invited to sample the “cerviche acapulqueño”.

Five minutes later… I was perched on a stool at the bar and scooping up chunks of fresh halibut onto tortilla chips. The fish is marinated in lemon juice, serrano chiles and fresh cilantro. It is served with slices of advocado and the chips. It was far more filling than it had first looked and a little picoso; the choice of serrano chiles certainly gave it some ‘bite’.

* * * * *

Last weekend, I was finally able to properly try out some of the dishes in the company of friends and family.

As the name of the restaurant suggests – the vast menu reflects the many culinary influences from beyond Mexico’s borders prevalent in Mexican cuisine today.

The selection of “Mexican-style tapas” – antojitos - warrant a slim menu of their own. Of course, this is not tapas at all, but so-named to convey that there are small bites of things on offer.

I must admit to a penchant for the “Jaladas”. Four jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese and sour cream. And just as delicious as I remember them from Si Señor.

Of special note is the “ensalada de nopales”, something you would never find on the menu in a Tex-Mex. Left to an unknowing chef, nopales can be a gloopy disaster. Here they were fresh and tasty.

The tender chunks of marinated cactus paddle were garnished with tomatoes, onions, jalapeño chiles, coriander and crumbled ricotta cheese.

The serving was generous and would make for an excellent, healthy low-fat lunch. Good value at £5.50. Just one of several options for vegetarians.

For a main course, we chose a signature dish, the molcajete “mestizo” – and opted for a mole poblano with small chunks of chicken. We all agreed that the mole was rich, velvety and complex. Spicy, but not hot. Excellent. The corn tortillas (brought in a reed basket) could have been warmer and we had to ask for a side bowl of rice, which we felt could have accompanied the dish.   

As good as this all was, even a cracking Mexican meal can end tamely. In Mexico, you get used to the ubiquitous crème caramel ‘flan’ or gelatin-set dessert.

We were pleasantly surprised by the arrival of our “pastel de queso y coco” postre (£2.75). A neat round cheesecake nestled in a swirl of zesty mango coulis. The coconut taste isn’t overwhelming and the presentation superb!

* * * * *

On my first visit, I had been offered glasses of house-made aguas frescas, lightly sweet water-based drinks in flavours like Jamaica (pronounced hah-MY-ka) made from hibiscus blossoms, and tamarindo (a sweet-tart brew made from tamarind pods).

I had also requested an old favourite, horchata (or-CHA-ta), and – hey presto! – I was brought a refreshing rice-based drink with a cinnamon-tinged flavour.

On Sunday I made do with mango juice; apparently, most diners – especially Mexicans – order a cold Mexican beer straight up.

While we tucked into our meal, we were visited frequently by Marysol. She takes a very ‘hands on’ approach and spoke animatedly about her plans for a week-long ‘themed’ exploration of regional Mexican cuisine in September. Recipes from Yucatan, Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz and Guerrero, among others, will be featured.

Downstairs, a tequila bar and lounge create an altogether different atmosphere. Plush red banquette seating and dimmed lighting lure hip young Mexicans living in London for ‘Taco night’ on Thursdays. Tacos start at £1 each. And it gets packed to the nines. On other nights it is usually much quieter and a good place to relax with friends.

Next time we will go on a Saturday when pozole (a hominy stew) is on the menu – just like in Mexico. And I’m dying to try out the pollo pibil, a real Yucatecan speciality.

It’s worth repeating that while the immediate surroundings are anonymous and many only venture here to sample the culinary delights from the East on offer in nearby Drummond Street, Mestizo is just 10-15 minutes journey time from Oxford Circus. (Hampstead Road is the northern continuation of Tottenham Court Road when it crosses Marylebone Road).

The bill will be brought to your table inside a small lacquered chest that is typical of Guerrero. Expect to pay about £60 for two people, including drinks and the service charge.

The team deserve merit for culinary ambition and Marysol plaudits for her courage and infectious spirit.

Highly recommended. Definitely more La Condesa than Camden.

British rock band Coldplay has secured the top spot in the US pop chart with its much-anticipated third album X&Y, having already entered at number one in the UK.

The album is also topping the charts in 21 other countries, including Mexico.

Coldplay’s Chris Martin visiting Santa Isabel Tepetzala in September 2003. Photo: Keith Dannemiller

Three years ago the band was approached by Oxfam and asked to spread the word about fair trade.

They agreed, and since then Chris Martin has travelled with the humanitarian agency to Ghana, Haiti and the Dominican Republic to witness first hand the negative effects of globalisation on impoverished farmers.

Martin routinely plugs the cause at concerts. He sometimes scribbles the Oxfam website address on his hand. The campaign cry “Make Trade Fair” is scrawled on his piano.

The band even timed tour dates in Mexico to coincide with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference held in Cancún in September 2003.

The band presented the head of the WTO, Supachai Panitchpakdi, with a petition containing nearly 4 million signatures seeking trade reform, with more than 30,000 of those collected at Coldplay gigs.

A few days before their two sell-out concerts in Mexico City, band members visited maize farmers in the town of Santa Isabel Tepetzala in Puebla to see the effect that the dumping of subsidised US maize was having on their livelihoods.

Coldplay’s 28-year-old front man is a West Country lad, culturally engaged and politically passionate – just like myself [Ed - heavy dose of self irony].

Oddly enough, I’ve turned out for Oxfam in the past as well – campaigning for fair trade when I worked for the charity in the late 80s. If I could compose music, no doubt I would choose to write dreamy, idealistic stuff, like Martin. 

The similarities end there; he married actress Gwyneth Paltrow in December 2003.

The US$1,000 cash prize is underwritten by Texas-based Canyon Travel, a prominent and highly regarded ecotourism operator.

At a ‘floating’ reception held in Xochimilco on Monday, Canyon President Emilio Kifuri presented Jennifer Morfín Morgan with her Colibri (“Hummingbird”) Award.

The Colibri itself is a handsome copal wood alebrije from Oaxaca. Sculpted into the shape of a cactus bursting with flowers, it boasts petals of orange, pink and blue and pollinating hummingbirds hand-painted in yellow and violet.

First presented in 2001, the Colibri Award is presented to a leading catalyst working toward ecotourism in Mexico. The winner is selected by my gran amigo, Planeta.com founder Ron Mader, in consultation with members of the Mexico Ecotourism Network.

Trajineras – Xochimilco

Jennifer was recognised for her work developing the Conservation Learning Network (IMAC) – a programme established by the Mexican Fund for Nature Conservation, linking communities and making new technologies useful and relevant for those developing ecotourism.

The presentation took place aboard a ‘trajinera’ (flat boat) belonging to Don Fausto Miranda, which had been named “Marlene” after Marlene Ehrenberg, a previous Colibri winner.

As the trajinera moved serenely along the channels of Xochimilco, copious amounts of cerveza were tippled and mixiotes - neat parcels of steamed meats typical of the region – bolted down. 

All but one of the garlanded winners of previous years’ were present at the reception.

Left to right: Ron Mader (planeta.com), Jorge Chávez, Marlene Ehrenberg, Fernando Aguinaco, Jennifer Morfín, Antonio (“Febo”) Suarez, Emilio Kifuri (president, Canyon Travel)

More about Xochimilco – planeta.com

You hire a trajinera by the hour. Don Fausto’s trajineras are available for $160 pesos an hour from the boarding point at the Embarcadero Nuevo Nativitas (Tel: +52 55 5676 2472). A lunch costs $80 pesos per head.

Friday 10 June, 17:30
John Brooks Memorial Lecture
Mexico: A Political Transition Without Truth or Justice
Sergio Aguayo Quezada
at the Institute for the Study of the Americas

When in Mexico I try to tune into Canal Once’s cerebral weekly political analysis programme ‘Primer Plano’. The cable and satellite channel has been broadcast from the Instituto Politécnico Nacional since 1959, making it the oldest public service TV service in Latin America.

It’s Monday evening, 10 o’clock… Sergio, Carmen, Lorenzo, Leonardo, José Antonio, Francisco and Agustín, or some of them (a quorum is three to five) are ready to rise to the challenge. They begin to dissect the seemingly intractable problems that hold back this extraordinary country of 102 million souls.

“Hola, muy buenas noches, bienvenidos a una emisión más de Primer Plano”

The panellists are dressed in all black and their seated forms melt into an equally dark studio backdrop. Attention is focused on faces. A smile for a counter argument well put, a nod of agreement, a brow furrowed in protest. Debate is smart, direct and quick; the sparring considered and respectful. Ideas flow. Enriching for all. I’m left pondering why such able people do not govern Mexico.

Absorbing stuff; pity I’m one of only 70-80,000 watching. But then again, this is Mexico.

With little more than a year to go until the presidential election, there is no shortage of speculation about who will run for President in 2006. We already know many of the pre-candidatos – those bidding to win the right carry the banner for each of the three main political parties.

Observers predict that the result of next year’s vote may be even more important for democracy in Mexico than the landmark 2000 shift that saw an end to more than 70 years of PRI government.

Of all the Primer Plano panellists, arguably the most conciliatory is Sergio Aguayo Quezada, a noted academic and commentator, who is visiting Britain this week.

Aguayo was speaking about the transition to democracy in Mexico to an attentive audience at Canning House in central London this afternoon.

On Friday, he will address the Institute for the Study of the Americas, part of the University of London.

For a taster, you can read Aguayo’s essay – Mexican democracy in peril – published on the openDemocracy website (21 April).

The talk was the first such event held by Ex-a-Tec, the newly-formed group for UK-based graduates of ITESM, the private university known as ‘el Tec de Monterrey’. It is producing a new and exciting generation of would-be Mexican researchers and politicians.

UK-based ITESM graduates should email for more information about the society.

While I’m on the subject of human rights, I was heartened to read in The Christian Science Monitor today that Mexico’s national AIDS programme has launched an ad campaign against homophobia.

In one radio ad, a mother preparing dinner for her son and his date, whom he is bringing home for the first time, says: “You look so in love, my son. So what’s your date’s name?”

“Oscar,” her son says.

Listen to the radio ‘spot’ in full.

And finally…

Earlier this week, we learned of the tragic death of Adolfo Aguilar Zinser – one of the more progressive figures in Mexican politics.

Obituary: Adolfo Aguilar Zinser – The Guardian, UK