Bubulubalicious

in

 

bubulubu

 

Centuries ago, when I first arrived in Mexico City, I asked my girlfriend at the time – she would later go on to be my wife and then my ex-wife – if she wanted anything from the corner store. She said, “Get me a Bubulubu.” Accent on the third "u." I thought she was putting me on; making fun of the gringo. I’d go to the corner, ask the guy for a Bubulubu and he’d look at me like I was from Mars. How could anything called a Bubulubu exist? O ye of little faith. In fact the Bubulubu, advertised here as “much more than a chocolate,” does exist. It is a chocolate-covered marshmallow with a layer of jelly. Should you be interested in my ex’s rants on sundry themes, click here.

Carlos Slim ... porn king?

in ,

slim

 

According to Forbes magazine, Carlos Slim Helú is the second richest man in the world, primarily due to his virtual monopoly of telecommunications in Mexico. Today, with the downswings in world markets, his net worth is a mere $60 billion. He lives in Mexico City, a metropolis where about half the citizens hover at the poverty level. As such, he was almost a comic-book villain for the chapter in my book about inequality.

 

Not long ago it surfaced that a “cybersquatter” from Jakarta named Ahmad Rusli bought the domain name www.carlosslimhelu.com, and proposed that the magnate should give up $55 million in exchange for the return of his moniker. If Slim refused, Rusli threatened to direct all traffic to that address to a porno site. (Given how obscenely wealthy Slim is, some might see poetic justice in the idea.)

 

However, a passel of Slim’s lawyers appealed to the U.N.’s World Intellectual Property Organization, which ruled that the domain had been registered in bad faith and should be returned to the entrepreneur free of charge. The story appeared in the Reuters web site on January 14. Click here to see it in English or here for the Spanish translation.

My girdle is killing me

in

Months ago I posted about the mannequins in the windows of Uniformes Oskar, a store that sells getups for anyone who labors as a chambermaid, waiter, nurse, maintenance man, doctor, gas-station attendant, et cetera (or for those who may simply fancy looking like one on the street or, um, in a more intimate moment).

girdle

Still, I don't think that the post even gives a hint of how great a part mannequins play in the everyday life in Mexico City. But not like in other cities. You see them in different states of dress or undress in many shop windows. There is at least a vague erotic suggestion. The ladies (and the gent) in the photo above are a great contrast to the middle-aged matron who confessed to another, in a TV commercial I remember from childhood: "My girdle is killing me."

sex-captial-5

In market stalls, they may or may not be clothed, and they may or may not have limbs. Or hair.

llaves2

Sometimes one, or a part of one, simply serves as an ambiguous talisman.

A plug for Pamela

in , ,

pamela-1

Longtime readers of this blog may remember that last March I wrote about Pamela, a Venezuelan in Mexico City who, apart from being what is known around here as a bombón, not only sings, but plays incredible jazz trombone. (Those who missed the post, called "Bombshell from Caracas," can find it by using the blog's search engine.) She plays Wednesday nights at the seafood restaurant La Morena (Calle Michoacan #94, Colonia Condesa) and Thursday and Friday nights at La Taverna de Torcuato (Avenida Torcuato Tasso, almost at the Corner of Avenida President Masaryk, Colonia Polanco). After you catch her act, she will haunt your dreams. In any event, she does mine.