MEXICO CITY – The bustling sounds of construction filled the air at Mexico City’s most internet-famous metro station. Workers were busy transforming marble floors beneath a grand chandelier and rows of lamps, evoking scenes reminiscent of “Harry Potter” or “Titanic,” all in a race against time to complete the overhaul before the FIFA World Cup’s opening ceremony this Thursday.
As locals passed through the crowded Hidalgo metro station, many paused to chuckle or snap photos of the facelift that has now become a viral sensation, sparking a flurry of internet memes.
This aesthetic upgrade, designed to enhance the capital’s appeal for international visitors, has become a controversial symbol. Critics argue that the government is more focused on sprucing up appearances for World Cup tourists rather than addressing the deep-seated structural problems that have long troubled the city.
“It’s amusing because the aesthetic attempt is just off,” commented Silvia Escamilla, 28, as she navigated through the throng of daily commuters. “These renovations are akin to applying makeup on the city, ignoring the real infrastructure issues that desperately need investment.”
The decorations only mask the issues beneath.
In recent weeks, city workers have adorned walls and metro cars with images of cartoon axolotls, the whimsical amphibian that has become an unofficial city mascot. Bridges have been painted purple, and vibrant Mexican marigold flowers, reminiscent of November’s Day of the Dead celebrations, have been planted throughout the area.
The 22 million residents of the sprawling capital, known as Chilangos, have jokingly referred to the renovations as the city’s “axolotlization.” They have posted videos of flooded underpasses next to freshly painted murals of axolotls and crumbling stairs and potholes painted bright purple.
Hidalgo station, in the heart of the downtown, has perhaps become the subject of more memes than anywhere else in the city.
When city workers installed the chandelier near the metro entrance and rows of Victorian wall lamps in May, social media users were quick to joke that authorities were trying to make the gritty metro system look like it was in a European city.
Social media creators mock the changes
Residents began to show up at the station in elegant dresses in videos layered over Mozart music. One social media influencer descended the marble stairs dressed as the Beast from the classic Disney cartoon “Beauty and the Beast.” Another arrived as Napoleon Bonaparte in a white wig and French military uniform.
“May you have an elegant metro connection,” one social media influencer said as he strolled through throngs of commuters dressed in a tuxedo and top hat. Another filmed herself selling pink dresses aboard one of the metro trains, yelling to passengers that the items matched the “etiquette” of Metro Hidalgo.
Many more posed next to marble floors and walls torn up by construction ahead of the soccer tournament being hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada.
The humor highlights larger issues
The crush of jokes amused Mexicans for weeks, but also cut to the core of a deeper problem in the city, said Aldo Solano Rojas, an art historian in Mexico City who has criticized the remodel.
Failures to prioritize issues like the metro’s crumbling infrastructure and holes in the major municipal roadways show the government “doesn’t understand the real needs of the city,” he said.
“State presence, at its best, is reflected in well-maintained sidewalks and adequate transportation infrastructure that doesn’t collapse every day,” Solano Rojas said. “It’s not reflected in frivolous, superficial axolotl murals while the streets are flooding.”
The criticisms come in the midst of wider social unrest in Mexico City as the country’s teachers union, families of Mexico’s 130,000 missing people and a range of other social movements use the proximity to the event to pressure authorities.
The government also has faced accusations of displacing sex workers and street vendors in an effort to clean up the streets. Despite the tensions, city workers on Wednesday were still racing to complete construction ahead of the opening ceremony and first match.
Mirna Baranco looked fondly on the renovations, but the 46-year-old laughed at the chandelier over Hidalgo construction workers. She nudged her boyfriend and pointed.
“I’ve already seen it all over the place on Facebook, but not in real life,” she said.
Baranco understood the criticisms, but said she didn’t think it was necessarily a bad thing that authorities were making changes to be more attractive to international visitors. The World Cup has helped push local governments to make needed renovations, even if some look a little out of place, she said.
The changes show that “Mexico isn’t just how others stereotype us, as a country with narcos,” Baranco said. “Mexico has a lot to give the world.”
