Glide, Swoosh, Splat: Mexico Tries Out an Ice-Skating Rink

Ice-skating ranks low on the list of sports in Mexico, somewhere far below bullfighting and slightly above croquet. So it was with some bemusement, wonder and trepidation that residents of this capital have been flocking this month to an enormous ice rink that Mayor Marcelo Ebrard has constructed in the historic central square.

Where Aztecs once sacrificed to their gods and Spanish viceroys ruled New Spain, thousands of people unused to cold climes tried desperately to experience the swish, glide and flying sensation of skating without falling. Many failed.

“I fell down out there,” laughed Yolanda Salazar, a 34-year-old housewife, as she clung to the side of the rink and held her knee. “I’m so happy. It’s great. It makes us forget a little that there is no work and the cost of living is up.””*

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