Mexico City #5: Color Me Impressed

Last month, The New York Times published this little story about how people in Baghdad are painting buildings crazy colors. I saw the headline and thought, “Great!” I looked at the photos and thought, “Gorgeous! Thrilling!”

And then I read the story and thought, “Wow, what a bunch of assholes.”

The story, see, suggests that it’s somehow a bad thing that Baghdad’s police department is now painted purple. I thought journalism was supposed to at least appear to be balanced, but there’s not a single quote in the article from someone saying how much they like the colors. Instead, it’s all a bunch of prissy architects whining–and basically agreeing that the old way, when Saddam Hussein controlled what color all the buildings were, was better.

What I’m getting to is this: Clearly, the person who wrote this story has never been to Mexico.

Because how can you grouse about color, once you’ve seen it so exuberantly applied? Along with hot weather, fresh food and music that makes me cry, Mexico offers a glorious treats for the eyeballs, such as these:

El Camino Real hotel, midcentury fantasy by Legorreta

Token Bug-matches-house photo, in Coyoacan, the Park Slope of Mexico City

I match the metro!

Note the clothes drying too.

Simply salmon, at the Trotsky Museum

And color isn’t just limited to buildings, of course. Here, in the market, enterprising lime-sellers put green shades around the lightbulbs above their stands, to cast an eerie glow.

And if you just want to buy color straight, here it is. As a bonus, I suppose it tastes like various fruit flavors.

Basically, I just want to say: Baghdad, welcome to the club. Don’t listen to the haters. If color makes you feel better, rock it–you deserve it.