Roma

Ted. Alfonso Cuarón’s film Roma, which came out about a year ago is, in part, a remembrance of the director’s childhood in the Colonia Roma neighborhood of Mexico City. As with Lucas’ American Graffiti and Fellini’s Amacord, one’s memories are often clouded with love. The few folks we know who saw the film didn’t care for it. A black and white movie with subtitles is not everyone’s cup of tea. Even worse, Cuarón set a slow pace and used long, lazy shots. There was not a lot of action. 

Still from the film Roma

Judy and I loved the film though, so it was only natural that we chose to stay in Roma while visiting the Mexican capital. Strolling around the neighborhood, we dropped down a gear to match the slow pace of this beautiful, tree dappled residential neighborhood.

Sure, there were some tourists and digital nomads but mostly, we saw locals lingering in the parks and sidewalk cafes.  We heard the sounds advertising the different street vendors roaming the streets, just like in Cuarón's film; the steam whistle of the corn and potato cart and the penny whistle of the knife sharpener.  

To an extent, Roma was a commentary on the complex relationship between servants and the served that was once common in the US and still exists in developing countries. Might that be one of the irritants leading to the current troubles in Chile and other places? 

Personally, I was struck by how calm we became in this quiet corner of a city of 21 million people. Asheville, NC, with less than a quarter of a million residents, seemed far more hectic with wealthy new age boomers racings to their yoga classes to relax.

While sipping fresh squeezed fruit juice at a café (grapefruit for Judy and guanabana for me), Judy flashed one of her winning smiles at a passing transvestite who promptly spun around and sat down at our table to chat a bit. The waiters were shocked but we waved them away and listened to the stories of our new friend. It seemed to be the most natural thing in the world. Neighborhoods where people actually make time to talk to each other still exist but sometimes we just need to overcome our fears.