They don't do decaf

On the corner of Nápoles and Liverpool in the Colonia Juárez, Gabi's is a resolutely old-school cafe. Decorated with ancient coffee grinders, espresso pots and drip coffee makers, the clientele is mostly from the neighborhood. You will not find any of the kids with stylishly asymmetrical hairdos that buy their java in Starbuck's or its Mexican upstart competitors, Cafe Punta del Cielo and Cielito Querido Cafe.

In fact, this place is such a blast from the past that, on a recent afternoon, when someone asked for a decaf, the waitress looked at him as if he came from a distant galaxy.

It's a great place to while away an hour in the afternoon, reading, writing or chatting, as the light streams in from the picture windows.

Still life

If you go through the archives of this blog, you will find I have posted about mannequins more than any other subject in Mexico City. Is it because they are so much a part of the fabric of life here -- their lifeless figures abounding? Or are they my obsession? One theory doesn't preclude the other.

After one of my posts, I began to receive persistent and annoying emails from a company in China that made mannequins, suggesting I buy some of their product.

In any case I was walking on Insurgentes Avenue and saw this. Naturally, I looked up the website (www.manisamex.com.mx), to find out that they are a distributor of some very sophisticated mannequins. Not that you'd actually notice from the window display.

On April 29th in Mexico City

I have been invited to speak at the American School on Monday, April 29th, at 2:30 pm. I will be talking about my experience as a writer and a mitigation specialist in Mexico, and where they converge. I'll also be reading a fragment of the novel I have been working on for the last five years, and am in the process of finishing.

If you are going to be in Mexico City, the event is open to the public. The American School is located at Calle Bondojito 215 in Colonia Las Américas, a short cab ride from metro Observatorio. Go to the main entrance of the school and tell the guards you're there to attend the David Lida event in the Upper School Library -- please specify as the school has four libraries. You will be issued a visitor pass.

If you can come early, please do so: School lets out at 2:30 pm, so it's a bit chaotic at that hour. If you know for sure that you are coming feel free to contact Janet, the Upper School librarian. She can make sure your name is put on a guest list. Her email is castelpietraj@asf.edu.mx. Some parking is available.

All you need is love?

One morning I saw this car parked across the street from my apartment. On each of these post-its was written the same message: Te amo (I love you). Nice gesture? What if you were barrelling downstairs in a huge hurry, on your way to an important appointment, and found that your car had been "hijacked" by your enamorado?

Honky-tonk building

It is tiresome to argue about whether graffiti is art or defilement of public space. I would think the real questions are where and when and in what context. I've always admired this abandoned building on Insurgentes Avenue in Colonia Juárez, on the fringes of the honky-tonk part of the Zona Rosa. I would have liked to have been there the day (or the night) that the writer tagged the top floors.