The Torre Latinoamericana at Dusk

I was standing in the Zocalo, the main square of Mexico City, one night at dusk. I had hoped to photograph the cathedral, but for whatever reason, it didn’t have any lights on. As I turned to my left, I saw the beautiful fading daylight around the Torre Latinoamericana.

The Torre Latinoamericana was Mexico City’s tallest building from 1956, when it was built, until 1984. It is the world’s first major skyscraper built on highly seisimic land, and it survived the 1985 Mexico City earthquake that destroyed many of the buildings around it. It has an observation deck at the top, and it’s well worth visiting for the wonderful views over Mexico City.

I took this shot using an old 1970s-era manual focus Minolta 70-200mm lens. I had purchased it on a whim, for about $20, on e-Bay, and put it on my Sony A7R using an adapter. This was the only time I used that lens on the trip. As we readied ourselves to leave, I decided to put it in my checked bag, as was pretty heavy, and not worth much. I wrapped it in some clothes and packed it away. When I collected my bag in Houston, I could tell someone had been in it. Sure enough, the old 70-200mm lens was gone. I’m sure the thieves thought they were getting something good, but on the street, it’s probably worth $5-$10. I ended up filing a complaint with United, and they gave me a $75 travel voucher for my trouble — not bad! I thought that lens did a pretty good job with this photo. It’s not super sharp, but I think that works in this case.