The Park on the Corner by KimB

[Editor's Note: This story was written by KimB]

Mom and I lived in the suburbs of Mexico City for a long time. We lived in a hotel that was a short bus trip from the downtown. Mom spent her days painting and I spent mine exploring or reading and trying not to get into too much trouble.

Our room had no TV or radio and no telephone either, although the main desk could take messages for us. This was a long time before cell phones and text-messaging. But we didn't mind as we could always find an adventure to keep us busy.

The neighborhood had many small shops and a wonderful park. The park was actually a famous one but not one who's history is known to many visitors. It had a wonderful bandstand and in the summer, concerts would be played and everyone who could, would come to the park to listen to the music.

Summertime can be very hot in Mexico City and when the concerts would happen many vendors and street hawkers would come to the park to sell all kinds of things to the people there. They would sell toys and balloons and ice cream to the many families that came to hear the music. But our favorites were the Fresh Fruit Sellers.

They would pull small wagons with big blocks of ice on them and have lots of bins of fresh fruit. There was watermelon, pineapple, banana, jícama and other exotic fruits to select from and for a few pesos we could buy any selection we wanted. The vendor would take a large piece of butcher paper and roll it into a cone. The size of the cone depended on the size ordered. Then he would cut big chunks of the fresh ice cold fruit and start to fill the cone. When it got near the top he would place sticks of jícama around the edge to extend the size of the cone and continue filling it with more fruit.

We loved to sit on the benches in the afternoon listening to the band and eating the ice cold fruit. I loved watching all the people come to park, some dressed up and some not. The children were given toys and balloons to play with and the adults would tap their toes in rhythm with music.

I knew Mexico City very well and often friends would ask me to take their visitors on tours around the city. One place I would take them was to see the famous mural in the Del Prado Hotel(1) by Diego Rivera: “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Central Alameda.” [Sueno de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central] The mural was famous because for many years it was covered up and not viewable by the public. Rivera had painted in text and originally titled his work: "Dios no existe" [God does not exist]. In 1958 he painted over the words. When it became viewable by the public, it was one of the major pieces of art work that I took the visitors to see.

I would show them the mural and explain a bit about it but I was most proud and always pointed out Our Bandstand in the background.


1.The mural was badly damaged in the Mexico City earthquake 1985 and was moved from the Del Prado which was demolished and is now in the Museo Mural Diego Rivera.

Sueno de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central by Diego Rivera 1947-48