🇲🇽 Día del Amor y la Amistad - Barrio Chino - 02.14.2026

There’s a Chinatown in Mexico City… in Centro. It was particularly vibrant last night. Chinese New year is approching… and… Día del amor y la amistad… day of love and friendship. Valentine’s Day… with a twist… and it is not soley romantic… but a time to express love, appreciation, and gratitude for partners, friends and family. And the people here celebrate celebrations… all and any… and there are countless.

In my angsty days I was less than excited about February 14… probably because I was single and jaded. Complaining about consumerism and corporate manipulation to buy things and Hallmark cards… but… and really… a day that promotes love and connection. Buying a card is a simple expression of thought and care… and receiving one can be quite reinforcing and comforting. Buy a card, buy two… make someone’s day.

Well… I’m single again… but less jaded and angsty. And it’s a day of gratitude and friendship. I was honored with a few invitations for the day… I had had a rough week physically and thought I may need to check myself back into the infirmary… but I recovered enough by Saturday to have some ambition to get outside. And agreed to meet Claudia downtown.

Weekends are busy downtown… holidays and celebrations can be nuts… I don’t even understand why ‘Dia del Amor…” draws out the people… but it was insane.

My route is simple to downtown. MetroBus to the Metro, a dozen stops, and done. I have a MetroBus station close to my apartment… I use it with frequency. The MetroBus has a dedicated lane and you catch it on a platform in the center of the street. They arrive often. At heavy use hours when the bus is packed you just wait for the next that has less people. Easy peasy.

Not today, not Dia del Amor… every bus was packed… one after the other. My companion was already at the meeting place, so I couldn’t delay. Onto the next crowded bus. I squeeze in and held on… next stop… more people shove in. No more room. Next stop… 5 more people shove in… there’s no more room! Next stop… 3 more people shove in… absolutely no more room!!! Next stop… one dude shoves in… the door closes with his fat face pressed against the glass.

This is it. The day of love and friendship and unsolicited cuddles with the peeps on the bus.

I made it to the Metro stop… and the subway was the same. I’m going downtown and I know that station is a hornet’s nest. “Think nice thoughts, think nice thoughts…” I eventually arrived… but late… and met up with Clau.

Claudia is 1.4 meter tall Mexica (Me-SHEE-ka) woman I met in early December. We had been messaging for close to 2 months… solely in English. And with some happenstance… she had a recent surgery, and had some intestine removed… very similar to my own. And with that bonding… or I guess she wanted to compare scars… she insisted on coming over one morning. When she arrived we made some small talk in Spanish… and after sitting down…

I say something in English… no response… “you know English, yes?!?”

No response.

“Clau, entiendes? Hablas inglés?!?”

“No… nada.”

To date… I’ve never heard a word of English pass her lips.

Anyways, the crowds downtown are absurdly packed… we walk… aimlessly taken by the current of masses. The Constitution Plaza, Belle Artes, Chinatown… cool things… and I’ve seen them all before… but my focus… with slight hysteria… was to not lose my 4’11 tall compañera in the crowd… and love, friendship and gratitude of course.

The night was full of color, noise, smells… we ate, and walked, and walked more… and now time to sleep. We entered the Metro station together but our destinations and directions were different… she goes east… and I west. Say our “good nights” and I walk down the stairs to my platform. “Oh my fkg god!!” It’s so packed. Several people deep. The train finally arrives… and it’s packed. Only a few people can squeeze in… the doors close. I see a dude with his face pressed on the glass… he’s in discomfort. Fk this… I walk out… down a few blocks to the trolly bus… it’s a long ride but I have a seat. Put on my headphones… and watch the night pass by…

🌜🚃☯️