Mexico City: the guy who sold dragon statue thingies

So, I never had a conversation with the Internet. But I did find a guy who sold dragon figures in Mexico City. 


Here he is:

Well, I guess you can't really see him, but you can see a few of the dragons. If you came here looking for photos of Mexican guys, I'm sorry but we don't have any. If you searched "man in plaid shirt riding a dragon in a sea of green and white umbrellas", this is probably as close as you're going to get. If you didn't, but me saying that just made you write a mental note to google it, here you go. Not enough tartan-wearing, mythological-beast-riding heroes out there, if you ask me.


Anyway, the Alameda Central is a small park very close to the historic center of the city, and all around it there are stands offering anything from fried food to jewelry. Most of them are artisans selling handmade stuff, and traditional local items abound: Aztec calendar miniatures, an infinity of masks and religious figurines, and painted skulls and Catrinas in a million different colors and sizes (if Day of the Dead is near).


One of them, as you may have figured out by now, is our friend with the red shirt... let's call him... Tony. If there was any sort of theme behind the wide variety of lead figures, I was not able to spot it. I must admit I didn't pay too much attention to anything besides the one, two and three-headed dragons and the mounted Nazgûl, but in the picture you can see some musical group, Laurel and Hardy and a knight, probably Don Quixote. Also I seem to remember there were soldiers, nativity scene pieces and maybe... smurfs? I'm not quite sure of that last one, sorry. 


I did look for something that could be used as a D&D miniature, but there was nothing even remotely similar to any of our characters. I ended up buying these two little fellows to bring back home:

The prices were reasonable; the larger ones ranged from 25 to 35 dollars, and there were smaller versions of most of them from about $10. According to Tony, you'll find him there every day of the week except Tuesdays, but I went once on a Wednesday and couldn't find him, and when I asked around, they told me he hadn't come that day. I was so sad, Tony, so sad. The guy from work who cared nothing about dragons and had to walk with me to the Alameda again on Thursday was not too happy either. In any case, weekends are the best time to visit the fair, you'll find many more stands and they'll have a larger selection.


Oh, and one last thing... you only get a few newspaper sheets as wrapping, so if you're planning on buying one be prepared for its claws and other pointy parts to start poking through the flimsy nylon bag as soon as you walk away, as if it wanted to go back to its brothers. It won't, but if you're not careful it may fall on your foot. Also, remember lead will be quite heavy but a bit malleable, so you should protect it somehow when arranging it in your bag or suitcase -a shoe box padded with scarves and socks worked for me-, or you may end up with crooked arms and wings.

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