All the colorful drawings of fruits that adorned a street juice stall in the center of Mexico City have been replaced by insipid government sign, which has incidentally erased part of the capital’s identity.
The Cuauhtémoc mayor’s office, one of the 16 into which the city is divided and which includes the Historic Center and the traditional neighborhoods of Condesa, Roma and Juárez, ordered the removal of the signs and ingenious images that adorned hundreds of food kiosks.
It is a matter of “order, discipline” to “improve the urban image”, justifies Sandra Cuevas, mayor of the area who snatched the position from the left-wing ruling party in the 2021 elections.
The ads and drawings announcing “Nutrijugos Dax”, its competitor “Súper Jugos Curativos”, “Supertortas la Sabrosita” or the colorful red letters of “Ricos Tacos de Guisado” gave way to the anodyne phrase “Mayor Cuauhtémoc is your house” .
It seems like a minor matter in a city of nine million people plagued by heavy traffic, pollution and the risk of earthquakes.
But the tin stalls, where thousands gather to eat, and their signs are part of the city’s DNA, maintains a citizen group that rejects Cuevas’ decision.
“It is an attack on the identity of the city and of all Chilangos (in the capital),” Aldo Solano, a 35-year-old art historian, told AFP.
“They erased many signs that are popular art, part of the traditional image” of the city, he disapproves.
“You take it off or you take it off”
The signs themselves are the menu of the street food stalls, which number in the thousands in the capital and offer countless preparations.
The drawing of some steaming tacos or that of a smiling pig in a saucepan leave no doubt that in that place you can savor the famous Mexican dish or the pork “carnitas” fried in butter.
The origin of these illustrations dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, when Mexico had high rates of illiteracy. “That is why an iconography was used. Now it is not the case, but this tradition is preserved,” explains Solano.
Since then, sign makers and food vendors have pursued the same goal: to be noticed, simply and quickly, in a crowded public space.
But now, with the stands uniformed by an official sign, it will be more difficult to know what each one sells.
