Teatro Mexico

On several occasions, I have wanted to go to the Teatro Mexico, which is in the southern part of the city past the Centro Historico, but I have been too worried to travel there in the evening, so have missed all sorts of events. Today, Maya had a performance at the Teatro Mexico, so we took the truck there, and took almost an hour to find it, winding through the narrow streets of the centre, getting lost over and over, asking directions, finally arriving. Maya was anxious about showing up past the designated time, but by now, being in Ecuador, we have learned that time is fluid and being late is rarely an issue.

I noticed that we were above the street (Maldonado) where the Trole runs, and the Trole stop is 'Chimbacalle' (I passed this way many times when I traveled to Tierra Nueva Hospital), but I was not sure which street had access to the theatre, which is far above the road with a wall and train tracks between road and theatre. I doubt I would feel comfortable taking the Trole in the evening anyway. I think today was the only visit I will make to the Teatro Mexico, and we had difficulty finding it both early and later in the day.

It is a lovely old theatre, beautifully renovated, and did not fit in at all in the neighbourhood. We were not allowed in with Maya. The guard let her through the doors, and pushed us out. Some parents planned to wait until the show at 3 and 5. Eric and I drove back through the city, but avoided the centre and arrived home quickly, but did not have much time until we headed back to the centro for the show. I had suggested that we visit the San Diego church and convent. I have tried to see it several times, but was always presented with one obstacle or another, so I thought that with the car, we could find it easily and visit for a short time. Armed with a map from the internet, we made no progress in our efforts to find the church, and instead found ourselves in a tunnel going back north. We found our way back to the theatre by all sorts of circuitous routes and arrived a few minutes before start time, but of course the presentation began late after a series of speeches. Ecuadorians do like to make speeches.

It is always a delight to see Maya on her pointe shoes. Ballet has been a central focus of her year here, and she has several performances over the next few weeks at different venues, none more impressive than the Teatro Mexico.