Perhaps the most difficult chapter to write in my book First Stop in the New World was the one about sex in Mexico City. How do you define the sexuality of 20 million people? No doubt it was folly on my part to even try. Let's just say that some of the research was unforgettable.
When I heard there was an exhibition called Taco de ojo: El erotismo popular at El Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares in Coyoacán, I was eager to take a look. In Mexican slang, a taco de ojo is eye candy-- the designation of someone really hot. El erotismo popular is popular erotica.
By my standards, there is nothing in this show that would seriously scandalize anyone even mildly cosmopolitan. On a scale of one to ten, I'd give it a sexy quotient of perhaps three. Still, there are several amusing pieces, like the small section of deliciously sleazy ex-votos.
I have known many a gringa that has had a crude morning after realizing a form of this fantasy. Customarily it takes them much, much longer to extricate themselves than to get it started. But maybe that's true for gringos, too, with their Malinches.
My favorite pieces in the show were some photographs by Maya Goded, who, among other specialties, has taken many pictures of sex workers. Sadly, there are only a few of her works in the show.
At a reasonable pace, you can get through all three galleries of the Taco de ojo show in about a half hour. It may not be earth-shattering or even particularly surprising, but I enjoyed the visit. I wouldn't say it's worth a separate trip, but if you have anything else to do in Coyoacán, well then, hey Joe, give it a go. The museum is at Avenida Hidalgo 289, Colonia del Carmen, around the corner from the mercado de antojitos on Calle Higuera.