Central Library of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

The Central Library (UNAM Biblioteca Central), is a principal library of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the largest university in Latin America. Located in the southern part of Mexico City, the UNAM is often ranked as the top university of the Spanish-speaking world. It was founded in 1910 and its campus has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. The library building was designed by the architects Gustavo Saavedra and Juan Martínez de Velasco, and was constructed from 1948 to 1952. Apart from noteworthy architecture, the main campus features buildings with murals painted by such noted Mexican artists as Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros. The library exterior has large murals created by Juan O’Gorman, a Mexican painter and architect. O’Gorman, whose father was an Irish immigrant to Mexico, covered four thousand square meters with murals on all four sides of the Central Library at UNAM. The murals are mosaics made from colored stones gathered in Mexico. O’Gorman decided to use stones with natural colors, to avoid having to repaint the designs if they faded in the sun. In different areas of Mexico, O’Gorman and his collaborators found naturally occurring stones that were yellow, red, black, green, purple, pink, and blue. Among the historical themes shown are Mexico before it was colonized by Spain. The colonial era is also illustrated, as well as today’s world, and the university. The library officially opened in 1956. For a half-century before then, the university library had been located in downtown Mexico City. The library owns about 400,000 books and has ten floors.

Thailand and Mexico

As The Bangkok Post reported in July, His Excellency Jaime Nualart, Mexican Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand, believes that Thailand and Mexico share a number of things in common:

Love for good food is the first thing that comes to mind… In fact, I believe that there are a significant number of ingredients in Thai food, which are common to Mexican cuisine. This could be one of the reasons why there are so many Mexican restaurants in Thailand, ingredients are readily available. Other similarities include the fact that both Mexican and Thais love spicy dishes, their cuisines are internationally recognised and that food is both symbolic and significant to their cultural identities. Due to this, I believe we can establish a dialogue through the exchange of gastronomic festivals, chefs and even fusion food.

The ambassador has aimed at promoting two popular Mexican alcoholic beverages, tequila and mescal, in the Kingdom. More generally, he hopes to encourage bilateral trade between the two nations:

We would also like to increase and diversify our trade with Thailand… We desire to see investments grow between both countries and solidify co-operation in different sectors, including science and technology, which is a significant one for us. An exchange of research and development and know-how which can profit both nations should be encouraged. I also hope to strengthen better cultural dialogue. We belong to ancient civilisations. We have a known history and are recognised globally for our respective food cultures. We can find common ground in our efforts to bolster cultural dialogue. One such method would be through film festivals. I am convinced if we can stage successful cultural events in art, cinema, performing arts, graffiti, jazz and other such arts, we can jointly work towards reaching this goal. I would be delighted to be a consultant in such events.

One such cultural exchange will be Urban Patterns, an exhibit of work by the Mexican artist Paloma Torres at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) opening next month. Paloma Torres will display textiles made with different techniques as well as small sculptures, all evoking cityscapes. Born in Mexico City, Paloma Torres is a graduate of UNAM, and earned a master’s degree in color engraving at the National Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico City. She is a professor of art history and graphic design at the Iberoamericana University, Mexico City.

ASEAN and Mexico

Last year, the official website for ASEAN Secretariat News explained that Mexico would be working closely with ASEAN to develop mutual interests. As part of this initiative, in March, ASEAN Family Day was celebrated in Mexico City. The Royal Thai Embassy along with other embassies of ASEAN countries in Mexico presented an event at the Thai Residence to bring together ASEAN diplomats and their families. Around 100 guests enjoyed badminton and karaoke, among other recreational activities.

Mexican Food in Thailand

For Thais at home, there is a wide choice of occasions to sample Mexican food.

One such is Mexicano, for over 20 years a noted Mexican restaurant at the Rembrandt Hotel, Bangkok. A review in The Nation in May recommended tacos at Mexicano made with

Carne Asada certified Black Angus beef, which is cooked with garlic oil for six hours, plus onion, cilantro, salsa and grilled knob onions… Another dish well worth trying is the Roasted Chicken, which is marinated with garlic, thyme, butter and rosemary for a full day then grilled for 40 minutes. The tender and juicy poultry comes with Mexican mashed beans, tomato sauce-cooked rice and Mexican-style pickled corn, zucchini, kalamata olive, mushroom and cauliflower boiled in vinegar. Espetadas, a mixed skewer of herb-marinated chicken, US Black Angus rib eye and tiger prawn, served with herb marinated red rice, refried black beans, salsas and flour tortillas is also delicious.

There are many options for Mexican dining in Bangkok. One website features an interview with the executive chef of Thailand’s largest chain of Mexican restaurants, Sunrise Tacos. Asked about the different between cooking Mexican food in Thailand and in China, Luis responded:

If I compare China and Thailand, Thai people are nice and I really love them. One thing I liked with the Chinese is that you teach them something once, and you go back and check and they are doing it exactly how you told them to. With a Thai, if you go back and check they have taken shortcuts and do not follow your instructions. Here it is totally different to China. I’ll give you an example. One of our recipes requires you to mash the ingredients fresh. They must be fresh. The same way they make Thai som tam with a pestle and mortar. I soon figured out that some Thai staff had used a blender. They thought it was the same, but it is not. The flavour and texture is totally different. I had to explain a number of times before they got it. In China, that would never be a problem. As soon as you turn your back here they do it their way!… In China, the staff had notepads and manuals which they would take home and study. I never saw a Thai in the kitchen with a notepad and the manuals always sit in the same place and never move! I have found the Thais are more polite as a people.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).