Synopsis: It’s one of the most crowded and polluted cities of the world, but the people of Mexico City have found a retreat like no other. They escape to their own waterworld at Xochimilcho, on the outskirts of the city.
The ABC’s Jennifer Byrne meets the characters who ply their trade along a series of canals on Mexico’s own ‘Venice’.
Xochimilcho was all water once -- 800 years ago the Aztecs scraped up mud to build a series of artificial islands. Now the land is used mainly as market gardens for Mexico City. But on weekends the area becomes a maize of colour as Mexicans escape the rat race for time out on the water.
Bird life
Music
20:20
BYRNE: Xochimilcho. It looks like a lake, but actually it’s the start of a vast man made canal system, vibrant with very different sounds.
20:31
Byrne greets Don Julian
Like Venice it has no streets and its own special form of transport -- less graceful than the gondola, but sturdy and practical.
20:48
Don Julian paddles
Our paddler or remero today is Don Julian – 62 years old, with two generations above, and two below him, all in the same business. Singing the same song.
21:01
Don Julian sings
DON JULIAN [sings]: The Canoe is bedecked with flowers. Come aboard all who want to travel. I only charge for the rowing, because as a journeyman, what I love is travelling.
21:15
Music
Chinampas
BYRNE: Xochimilcho was all water once. Some seven or 800 years ago the Aztecs scraped up the mud and muck, and built it up into artificial islands, or chinampas. These floating fields - propped up and held together by sticks - were the economic base of the Aztec empire.
21:39
Don Julian
DON JULIAN: We are descendants of the Aztecs who built the chinampas --who arranged them so people could travel along the canals as we are doing now.
BYRNE: And have you ever fallen in?
DON JULIAN: Many times. Just on Sunday I fell in as I was helping to moor a canoe at the jetty.
22:02
Boats on water
BYRNE: The islands are still used, mainly to grow flowers for Mexico City, just 20 kilometres away. Small villages have sprung up along the shores. But the real business of Xochimilcho today is local tourism. It’s quiet here, but on the other side of this loch there’s a party going on.
22:29
Music
22:52
People celebrating on boats
BYRNE: Weddings, birthdays, whatever --the canals are for celebrating. Which means, being Mexico, mariachi bands.
23:00
Music
BYRNE: There’s no escaping them. Don Julian’s daughter and two year-old grandson wave from outside the family home. He’ll be a remero too, one day --the fifth generation.
23:15
Mariachi music
BYRNE: Yet the canals are under real physical threat – from parasites, and from pollution stemming from over-development. It is a beautiful place to live – but extremely fragile.
Ecologist Emilio Sanchez Vidaur.
VIDAUR: The garbage is part of it.
23:35
Vidaur
The other problem is urban expansion, which means building on the chinampas -- the terraces --which don’t have basic services like water, electricity and sewage, and all this causes water pollution because that’s where it all ends up.
23:58
Water patrol
BYRNE: All these problems together, are they are real threat to the future of the canals or will they be solved ?
VIDAUR: There’s a real threat because what is needed is an awareness of the need for an environmentally conscious culture and if we don’t look after them we could lose them -- the fauna, the flora and also the canals.
24:16
Party goers on canal Music
BYRNE: Back with the remeros, the party is in full swing. The traffic is jamming, the volume is rising. In fact…
BYRNE: This is just as noisy as Mexico City here!
24:46
Don Julian
DON JULIAN: That’s right There are nine boat jetties crammed into one single canal. There’s lot of noise. It’s great.
25:05
Canals
BYRNE: The day-trip to Xochimilcho is a century-old tradition which offers something for everyone -- a tradition which shows no sign of fading away.
25:18
MEXICO CANALS POSTARD
Reporter: Jennifer Byrne
Camera: Geoffrey Lye
Sound: Kate Graham
Editor: Stuart Miller
Producer: Vivien Altman
The ABC’s Jennifer Byrne meets the characters who ply their trade along a series of canals on Mexico’s own ‘Venice’.
Xochimilcho was all water once -- 800 years ago the Aztecs scraped up mud to build a series of artificial islands. Now the land is used mainly as market gardens for Mexico City. But on weekends the area becomes a maize of colour as Mexicans escape the rat race for time out on the water.
Bird life
Music
20:20
BYRNE: Xochimilcho. It looks like a lake, but actually it’s the start of a vast man made canal system, vibrant with very different sounds.
20:31
Byrne greets Don Julian
Like Venice it has no streets and its own special form of transport -- less graceful than the gondola, but sturdy and practical.
20:48
Don Julian paddles
Our paddler or remero today is Don Julian – 62 years old, with two generations above, and two below him, all in the same business. Singing the same song.
21:01
Don Julian sings
DON JULIAN [sings]: The Canoe is bedecked with flowers. Come aboard all who want to travel. I only charge for the rowing, because as a journeyman, what I love is travelling.
21:15
Music
Chinampas
BYRNE: Xochimilcho was all water once. Some seven or 800 years ago the Aztecs scraped up the mud and muck, and built it up into artificial islands, or chinampas. These floating fields - propped up and held together by sticks - were the economic base of the Aztec empire.
21:39
Don Julian
DON JULIAN: We are descendants of the Aztecs who built the chinampas --who arranged them so people could travel along the canals as we are doing now.
BYRNE: And have you ever fallen in?
DON JULIAN: Many times. Just on Sunday I fell in as I was helping to moor a canoe at the jetty.
22:02
Boats on water
BYRNE: The islands are still used, mainly to grow flowers for Mexico City, just 20 kilometres away. Small villages have sprung up along the shores. But the real business of Xochimilcho today is local tourism. It’s quiet here, but on the other side of this loch there’s a party going on.
22:29
Music
22:52
People celebrating on boats
BYRNE: Weddings, birthdays, whatever --the canals are for celebrating. Which means, being Mexico, mariachi bands.
23:00
Music
BYRNE: There’s no escaping them. Don Julian’s daughter and two year-old grandson wave from outside the family home. He’ll be a remero too, one day --the fifth generation.
23:15
Mariachi music
BYRNE: Yet the canals are under real physical threat – from parasites, and from pollution stemming from over-development. It is a beautiful place to live – but extremely fragile.
Ecologist Emilio Sanchez Vidaur.
VIDAUR: The garbage is part of it.
23:35
Vidaur
The other problem is urban expansion, which means building on the chinampas -- the terraces --which don’t have basic services like water, electricity and sewage, and all this causes water pollution because that’s where it all ends up.
23:58
Water patrol
BYRNE: All these problems together, are they are real threat to the future of the canals or will they be solved ?
VIDAUR: There’s a real threat because what is needed is an awareness of the need for an environmentally conscious culture and if we don’t look after them we could lose them -- the fauna, the flora and also the canals.
24:16
Party goers on canal Music
BYRNE: Back with the remeros, the party is in full swing. The traffic is jamming, the volume is rising. In fact…
BYRNE: This is just as noisy as Mexico City here!
24:46
Don Julian
DON JULIAN: That’s right There are nine boat jetties crammed into one single canal. There’s lot of noise. It’s great.
25:05
Canals
BYRNE: The day-trip to Xochimilcho is a century-old tradition which offers something for everyone -- a tradition which shows no sign of fading away.
25:18
MEXICO CANALS POSTARD
Reporter: Jennifer Byrne
Camera: Geoffrey Lye
Sound: Kate Graham
Editor: Stuart Miller
Producer: Vivien Altman