100 years

Over the weekend, Mexico celebrated the centennial of its 1910 Revolution. The federal government spared no expense putting on a multimedia light and dance show in the Zócalo called Yo México. The hour and half long spectacle combined video/light projection, pyrotechnics, music, dance, narration, and fireworks to illustrate the history of Mexico City. The historical narrative took more of a "dancing through the decades" than a "people's history of Mexico" approach; in other words, they glossed over some of the country's more troubling moments. That aside, it was quite possibly the most virtuosic display of video projection I've ever seen, and some of the historical events depicted actually happened in the same physical space of the Zócalo. Pure, eye-popping entertainment. I went to see it four times.

All of the surrounding buildings served as projection surfaces.


This was cool. They projected an exact image of the Palacio Nacional onto the Palacio Nacional and then animated the building (flat) to look like it was breaking apart and pushing forward to form a step-pyramid.


Fireballs during a pre-Hispanic dance sequence. They really warmed the place up.

The Spanish conquest of the Aztec capitol Tenochtitlan was particularly moving because it happened right where we were standing. The Templo Mayor pyramid, pictured above, still exists. The ruins are just to the left of this building.

Christianity arrives. Check out how they highlight the architectural details of the cathedral in the background.

The show continues on through time to present day, and the projections get more and more psychedelic. In one part, the cathedral looks like it's breathing -gently expanding and contracting. And for the 1985 earthquake, all of the buildings appear to be cracking and crumbling. I could go on forever about this, and I want to! I've never seen anything like it. Here's a YouTube video to give you an idea.

-PJ