Mexico City is one of the latest destinations to get its own Vacation Travel Guide.
Dale, the photographer for this shoot, loved his time in Mexico City.
Here’s what he said about it:
Willy, my guide, was an absolute fountain of knowledge. We had a running joke that whenever he started a sentence, I would cut him off and ask if it’s about the Mexican revolution. He’s fiercely patriotic and passionate for good reason – it’s a stunningly beautiful place. Willy spoke so much that he actually lost his voice for the last two days of the shoot!
Also, the traffic and sheer size of MXC is mind-blowing, especially for a guy like me who grew up in a small surfing town in South Africa. One of the stand out highlights for me was going to Xochimilco – the waterway with all the boats and mariachi bands was just incredible. It was a Sunday morning and the boats were full of people, just relaxing and enjoying the food being prepared fresh on the boats. There was live music and changing scenery as you were paddled down the waterway.
Obviously the food was incredible but be advised that everything is just another variation of corn or beans.
Another thing that struck me was that a lot of city folk had a similar routine on their morning commute, which involved grabbing street food on route to their place of work. And it was the same thing on offer on almost every corner. A corn based breakfast which looked like a dumpling – either sweet or savoury accompanied by a hot, sweet, pink corn based drink. They are called Tamales and they date back to the tradition of the Aztec and Mayans needing a nourishing meal before going into battle. I loved that almost an entire city adopted this little morning ritual.
We also had a TON of resistance from security guards and police officers while using a tripod around the city. Even armed with permission and the correct permits we were sometimes stopped up to 15 times a day. It puts a dampener on the shoot and can lower morale but because Willy and I got on so well we picked each other up and made light of it.
The production of this video was a bit unusual, in that it was the first time we have produced a Vacation Travel Guide simultaneously in two languages; in this case we required English and Spanish.
Johnny Danalis crafted a script inspired by the incredible colours Dale captured. Matt Sawyer, our Digital Expert, sent the English version to a translation team, then asked one of our key voice over artists to provide narration in both languages. Finally, Jacquie our composer, topped the entire project off with our jauntiest soundtrack yet.
So pull up a chair, pull on some shades, get your feet tapping, and enjoy the incredible colours of Mexico City.
