Mystical, Magical Mexico City
(This story was originally published in Gannett USA Today Network’s Desert Outlook Magazine)
With all due respect, if your experience south of the border has been limited to Tijuana, Cabo San Lucas, and Puerto Vallarta, you’re missing out. Yes, with its 21.2 million denizens perched at an altitude of 7,943 feet, la Ciudad de México is mucho to bite off. But the taste it will leave in your mouth, the enchantments it will bring to your other four senses, are certain to utterly reward your intrepidness. This cosmopolitan metropolis — which began as Old Tenochtitlan, the fabled capital of the Aztec Empire that ceded to the Spaniards in 1521 before being reborn with Mexico’s 19th century independence — offers first-time visitors an intoxicating amalgam of the pre-Hispanic, the colonial, and the modern, exceeding every expectation and demanding frequent returns.
GETTING AROUND
Renting a car at Benito Juárez International Airport upon landing on the eastern edge of Mexico City is unwise. Save for the middle of the night, every hour is rush hour here. Better to grab a cab and let a pro fend off fenders while inching toward your lodging of choice.
Once comfortably settled in your quarters, navigating all 573 square miles of the City of Palaces is painless thanks to its princely subway system, which you may ride for the pauper’s ransom of five pesos (40 cents). Other options include embarking on Turibús, the red, open-air, double-decker public coach offering multiple route loops from which you may get on and off at will all day for one admission ($10–12). Not a fan of ride sharing? Hire one of the reasonably priced touristic taxis waiting outside most major hotels. Your chauffeur is compensated by the hour, makes as many stops as requested, and functions as both body guard and tour guide.
Be forewarned: You’ll never be able to do this all-too-often-ignored world-class capital in one trip. Here’s a beginner’s guide its best-bet neighborhoods and attractions:
CENTRO HISTÓRICO
Mexico City’s historic center consists of the four square miles emitting from Zocalo, the gargantuan main urban plaza, a popular meeting spot since Aztec times. The National Palace on the eastern side of Zocalo harbors the offices of the president as well as the famed Diego Rivera mural “Epic of the Mexican People in their Struggle for Freedom and Independence.” In the northeast corner of the square lie the ruins of Templo Mayor (the Great Temple), the rubble from which conquerors used in erecting the adjacent Metropolitan Cathedral (one of the oldest and largest Roman Catholic basilicas in the Americas). Nearby stand the Palace of Fine Arts (the country’s most important cultural center) and the Palacio de Correos (the main post office), both built by Italian architect Adamo Boari at the start of the 20th century.
BOSQUE DE CHAPULTEPEC
This 1695-acre park not only functions as an indispensable lung, its foliage restoring oxygen to the city, but boasts a zoo, the glorious Museum of Anthropology (which, with its stunningly vast collection of ancient archeological and anthropological gems, is the country’s most visited museum), the Museum of Modern Art, and the hilltop Castillo de Chapultepec (the only royal castle in North America, which once housed Mexican Emperor Maximilian I and his Empress Carlota).
POLANCO
Just north of the park lies this posh ’hood, home to rich and powerful politicos, celebs, and tycoons. It’s where you’ll find familiar hotels (Hyatt Regency, W, JW Marriott, Four Seasons, Intercontinental), chic shops, and foodie faves such as the Franco-American Mexsi Bocu (known for its movie-star-handsome chef, Alexis Preschez) and Porfirio’s (nouvelle Mexican with panache in a sumptuous, sophisticated space).
ZONA ROSA
If you’ve come upon the towering, gilded El Ángel de la Independencia (the angel of independence), a victory column in the middle of a roundabout on the busy Paseo de la Reforma (the long, wide avenue that cuts the city diagonally), you’re in the pink zone. Though you’ll be comfortable holding your sweetheart’s hand anywhere in town, this district is where the queer crowd hangs out when it’s craving businesses specifically catering to same-sexers and those who love them, like Erotika Love Store, Papi Fun Bar, and Lollipop Bar, all of which are on Amberes Street.
COYOACÁN & SAN ÁNGEL
Amble the lush cobblestone streets, admire the old stone manors ornamented with tile, and drink in the colonial-era allure of these formerly autonomous hamlets quaffed by the city. Three things are a must in this southern section: San Ángel’s Saturday Bazaar, the lip-smackingly authentic tastes of streetside food vendors, and visiting La Casa Azul (the Blue House, AKA the Frida Kahlo Museum), the outstanding artist’s birthplace and childhood home, which she later shared with spouse Diego Rivera. In addition to exposing many works by the legendary pair, this shrine lays bare Frida’s second-floor studio, which has been preserved precisely as she left it.
XOCHIMILCO
Pronounced “so-chee-meal-co,” this is one of Mexico’s 16 boroughs. Situated far southeast, it’s predominantly known for its canals, upon which residents and tourists alike glide for hours in kaleidoscopic wooden trajineras (gondolas) while merchant barges float past peddling roasted corn, tacos, dolls and other souvenirs — even live mariachi or marimba music! It all makes for an unforgettable side trip.
In glorious Mexico City, cómo se dice, “Please, sir, I want some more!”?
