Neighborhood tour of Iztacalco
Isabel, a 61-year-old resident of the Iztacalco mayor’s office, has never traveled by plane, but she is excited to see the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA). She and 35 other people – most of them elderly – were summoned since May through social networks by the tourism department of the Iztacalco mayor’s office to take a tour this June 29 of the new air terminal and the surrounding museums for 129 pesos, with roundtrip transportation and a snack.
The attendees, who had previously paid for the trip by bank transfer, gathered on the agreed date on the esplanade of the demarcation where a Volvo bus whose years of use were already notorious was already waiting.
Between 8:00 and 8:25 a.m., in addition to the roll call, everyone on board was given what was promised when hiring the package: a snack in a small paper bag that was handwritten with a marker “happy trip” and whose content was a ham or chicken mole sandwich, a bag of flour chips and a soft drink.
Before leaving, Edith Ávila, organizer of the tour, asked the attendees for patience, since it was the first time, they still had to adapt bus parking protocols and entrances to museums. She did not miss the opportunity to exalt her excitement and affinity for the so-called “Fourth Transformation”.
“We are going to explore the territory, I ask you to go with the mentality of giving us a little understanding, it is the first trip to this destination, the museums are open to the public, everything is free and we are going to get to know this majestic work. With our president (López Obrador) we gave ourselves this luxury of building a functional airport”, he told the travelers.
At 8:30 a.m., the bus closed its doors and proceeded along Eje 4 Sur to Periférico Oriente, which connects with the Circuito Mexiquense with a travel time of one hour and 20 minutes to Santa Lucía.
(David Santiago)
Upon entering the airport area through the main road and passing by the monument to General Felipe Ángeles, passers-by took out their cell phones to capture the moment, some pointing towards the terminal building and the control tower. “Look, the one they said was crooked,” some people commented with laughter.
Although there were at least four children and six young people present, the most excited were the older adults. Before passing the checkpoint that divides the area of the terminal building with the museums, personnel from the Ministry of National Defense stopped the unit for less than five minutes to inspect and ask the reason for the visit.
The bus continued on its way to its first stop: the “Quinamétzin” Mammoth Paleontological Museum. When descending, the passengers did not hesitate to approach the main door and admire the replica of a mammoth in the reception area.
(David Santiago)
Members of the Sedena are in charge of offering tours to tourists. Contrary to their military rigidity, in their role as guides, the corporals and lieutenants give themselves permission to have a more colloquial language, interact and even joke with the visitors, who respond with laughter or applause.
“How fabulous all this is, I never imagined meeting such giant bones,” said Delia, a 70-year-old woman from the Iztacalco group after leaving the Museum, after a 40-minute tour.
