DATE: NOVEMBER 6, 1997
FROM: TRESA REDBURN/MITCH SCHNEIDER
BOWIE ASCENDS THE PYRAMIDS: Fresh from his critically acclaimed North American "Earthling" tour, BOWIE arrived in Mexico City a few days ahead of his scheduled date (10/23) at the Autodromo Stadium to do some sightseeing.
After holding a press conference (where BOWIE was given a colorful Chameleon made of paper-mache which he carried around for the rest of his stay), he and his crew headed off to the Pyramids of Teotihuacan–the name means "place where the gods were born." Once there, they climbed 248 steps to the top of the Pyramid of The Sun–the third largest pyramid in the world. Led by an Indian guide, BOWIE and company were also witness to the burning of sacred incense while their guide asked for the ancestors' blessing of the visit. They also visited the murals of David Alfaro Siqueiros, Jose Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera, as well as the home of painter Frida Kalho, where she was born in 1910 and lived with Rivera from 1929 to 1954. Performing for the first-time ever in Mexico, BOWIE and his band–REEVES GABRELS , guitar; GAIL ANN DORSEY , bass; MIKE GARSON , keyboards; and ZACHARY ALFORD , drums–played to nearly 20,000 enraptured fans. One fan gave BOWIE a life-size replica replete with a Union Jack Alexander McQueen-type coat and when the band launched into the Laurie Anderson-penned "O Superman," the audience began flicking their lighters and doing the wave in time to the music, causing the entire stadium to look like a gigantic human runway. Just before the show began, BOWIE surprised his drummer Zach with a birthday cake and led the other band members into a raucous "Happy Birthday" sing-along. Meanwhile, BOWIE just finished a short tour of South American festivals including: San Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; and Buenos Aries, Argentina.
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