Gooooooal!! Feeling magical in Mexico

Have you heard about Mexico's Magic Towns? I don't mean this in a new-age woo woo, have I charged my crystals kind of way. I am referring to the Pueblos Magicos, 170+ towns chosen by the tourism board as places that come by their magic through beauty, historical significance or cultural contributions.

I first came across the term this summer in Puebla, Mexico. I was visiting for a "friendly" soccer game between Spain and Peru, right on the cusp on the World Cup. I was expecting a chill couple of months, without my usual summer program in Amsterdam and was delighted for a couple of days in Mexico. What a sweet summer child I was...little did I know that the World Cup schedule was going to try to straight up murder me.

But back to Puebla. Located about a 2 hr drive from Mexico City, it's a true hidden gem. And by that I mean, much like magic towns, I had no idea it existed. I should have- it's the fourth largest city in Mexico, the colonial downtown area has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site, the cathedral has one of the tallest bell towers in the country and without it, we would not have Cinco de Mayo parties in the whitest of US cities.

It's historic bonafides were clear before I even got a room key. My hotel, the Quinta Real, was located on the grounds of a 16th century convent.

Take a wrong turn by the elevator and you end up in a replica of a typical nun's cell. Based on the spartan conditions, I assumed it was were wayward sisters were sent to think about what they did, but apparently this was just the style of the day.

Thankfully, my room had a bit of a nicer view.

Another reason to know Puebla is that the deliciousness that is Mole sauce was invented there. It's generally made with chicken broth so it's rare that I can order it but thankfully, the Michelin-recommended Mural de los Poblanos offered a veg version, so I could go fully local.

Hopped up on mole and mezcal- another local delicacy, we roamed the beautifully restored old town.

In the main square, or zocalo, we came across an art exhibition by Rodrigo de la Sierra called "Traveling with Timoteo, the world as a stage", which made me want join Timoteo on these travels of his.

The next morning's explorations led to cool street art, a visit to the cathedral and a shot of raisin liquor served with a single cube of cheese .

Pretty magical, right? Only- plot twist, Puebla is not a magic town but nearby Cholula is. How did this tiny town pull off the title? By being home to the largest pyramid by volume in the world.

Most of it remains buried, making it a literal hidden gem. Atop the pyramid/ hill is the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, which was the site of a religious procession on this particular day.

Since driving atop a pyramid is generally frowned upon, the only way up to the church is by foot, which has to suck for anyone carrying saints and musical instruments up the steep hill.

I could have stuck around to help but one, I'm an atheist and two, the World Cup was kicking off two days later in my next stop, Mexico City.

I initially hesitated about going downtown, in the midst of all the pandemonium, but who was I kidding. How could I miss this?

It wasn't as crazy as expected. We grabbed a seat overlooking Mexico's largest zocalo and watched the sea of green grow by the minute.

We then tried to move the party to the square itself, only to learn they were not serving alcohol. Corona zero was not going to cut it, so we joined the crowds wandering the streets.

Fast forward a couple of weeks- and lots of soccer-related flying later, I arrived late at night to Guadalajara. Mexico had just won their third straight game in the group stage. I was trying to get to the brand new Motto Hotel in the historic district, which created a bit of a problem because the entirety of the area had been closed off to cars, my Uber included. He dropped me off as close as he could and I made my way past shuttered businesses, local drunks and an unholy number of vuvuzelas, thinking this is a little strange. When I eventually made it to my room, I could clearly hear people cheering and yes, more vuvulezas. The game had been over for a while so I set off to figure out what was going on.

Turns out the hotel was directly next to the FIFA fan zone, where the celebration continued. It also continued in the streets, alleys and the few open restaurants.

It was if all of humanity was out soaking in this victory. I have never been happier to be in a closed off old town.

There was line dancing, cheering, tossing of cups and something I had never witnessed before. It begins with a chant "Quire volar, quire volar", which translates to "they want to fly, they want to fly". Next, the mob zeroes in on a target, usually female but not always. They surround said individual and whether the person is game for it or not, they get chucked into the sky.

A tiktok'er went viral for trying to save himself by writing "No quiero volar" on his t-shirt, guaranteeing that he spent more time in the air than a Platinum elite frequent flier.

I spent the next day bopping in and out of the fan zone, while also exploring the city.

It was great, but now I wanted magical. For that, I had to go to nearby Tlaquepaque.

Today it is primarily known for its artisans and galleries, but it was also instrumental in Mexico achieving independence from Spain, as commemorated by the statues of Father Hidalgo marching through town mid-grito. This is still celebrated every Sept 15. Cinco de Mayo, which people mistake for Mexico's independence day is actually when they beat France in the Battle of Puebla- where my World Cup journey had begun.

Tlaquepaque, on an ordinary day would have been a delight with its colonial architecture, funky galleries from some of the country's top artist and just general boho vibe.

Sergio Bustamante

Agustin Parra Gallery

Rodo Padilla

But this was not an ordinary day. The Spaniards that the priest had chased out in the 1800's were back in full force for the Spain vs Uruguay game. Futbol festivities were on every corner.

How cool is this? S Korea played their first game in Guadalajara so Tlaquepaque welcomed them with a K-pop mural- and then probably made them "volar".