This article is from the November 1999 The Mexico File
newsletter.
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Return to the City
by
Joe Cummings
Joe
Cummings recently finished writing Mexico
City Handbook, an opus meant to
stimulate city residents as well as visitors with insider tips and
black-and-white images by such noted photographers as Pablo Ortiz Monasterio
and Greg Bull. Joe has also co-authored Mexico
Handbook,
and is the sole author for Baja
Handbook, Cabo Handbook,
and Northern Mexico
Handbook.
All five guidebooks are published by Moon Travel Handbooks and are available
directly from Avalon Travel Publications (1-800-543-5473,
www.moon.com),
your favorite bookstore, Joe�s website (www.joecummings.com), or
Amazon (www.amazon.com). Joe lives seven minutes walk from the Pacific
Ocean in Mexico.
I
recently returned from three weeks in North America�s highest and oldest
capital � La Ciudad de M�xico, La Capital, el Distrito Federal, or simply
�De Efe� for short � researching Moon�s new Mexico City Handbook,
and I fell in love. Maybe I always fall in love with cities I write about, but
it�s difficult not to be impressed with a metropolis that contains two
UNESCO World Heritage sites along with the best bar and caf� scene I�ve
found outside New York.
But
it�s the little discoveries that are addictive. A small caf� in continuous
operation for seven decades, a used bookshop specializing in 19th-century
engravings, street corner vendors selling blue-corn huaraches, a
colonial-era plazuela seemingly lost to all but local inhabitants of
the tercera edad (�third age,� senior citizens) � all conspire to
pull you under the city�s spell.
As
on previous visits I was reminded how well the sprawling, sinking city works,
how it reaches well beyond mere survival. I hurtled across town by underground
Metro and glided slowly around the Centro Hist�rico in a bicitaxi (pedicab).
Scarfed down steaming, chile-and-cheese tamales for 35 cents while standing
outside a US$250-a-night hotel. Caught a classic Pedro Infantes film at a
local cineclub, and strolled through the Alameda and Bosques de
Chapultepec, two of Latin America�s most beautiful urban parks. Disappeared
down the shaded waterways of Xochimilco aboard a brightly painted trajinera
(Mexican-style gondola). Checked out Aztec pyramids and Catholic cathedrals,
punk rockers and charro serenaders, poverty-stricken slums and walled
villas, and pronounced them all part of the phantasmagoric heart of mexicanidad
or �Mexicanness.�
Of the six hotels I stayed in, one of the best overall values was the Centro Hist�rico�s Hotel Catedral, Donceles 95 (behind the Catedral Metropolitana), which was recommended to me by New York short story writer David Lida. The Catedral had sparkling rooms, surprisingly personalized service (considering the US$27 per single price), an excellent coffeeshop, and a travel agency � a necessity since I was moving in and out of the city to Tepozotl�n, etc., and an anomaly in this price range. The Catedral was the only hotel of the six besides the Meli� M�xico Reforma (formerly the Crowne Plaza) where I was able to use my laptop to send email from the room phone, plus it was the only hotel that permitted free local calls. Of the four larger, more expensive places I stayed (including the Hotel de Cort�s, Fiesta Americana, and Hotel Misi�n de la Zona Rosa), I thought the Meli� Mexico Reforma had the best service and rooms.
While
researching places to stay, I lamented the fact that hotels remain
concentrated in the Reforma-Zona Rosa-Centro Hist�rico area, and along busy
boulevards radiating out from the center. Colonia Condesa, the most happening
neighborhood in the city these days, is ripe for someone to come in and build
a few hotels or B&Bs in any price category. There is nowhere to stay in
this area other than the noisy Hotel Roosevelt on Insurgentes Sur.
Coyoac�n and San Angel could also use some convenient accommodations �
I searched high and low and there appear to be none available within 10
blocks of either colonia, other than three nondescript places near the
Metro Tasque�a station (Hotel Montreal and Hotel Finisterre,
both US$40-50, and Hotel Cibeles, US$12-20).
Like
99.9% of all the other taxi riders in the city, I used street taxis
frequently. If you choose the taxi rather than letting the driver choose you,
and check the driver�s tarjet�n (city-issued ID card) to make sure
the face matches the photo before hopping in, it seems pretty unlikely
you�ll be risking robbery. Although many sources recommend radio taxis, I
found that most were unmetered and charged about double the average meter
rate. An exception, and the best radio taxi deal I was able to find, isTaxi
Mex, which offers metered taxis at a surcharge of 10 pesos over the meter
reading. I did use radio taxis after 9 p.m., since crime stats show that most
taxi robberies occur well after that hour. I found that most restaurants,
bars, and cafes were happy to call a radio taxi for me when I was ready to
call it a night.
As
a book lover I was impressed with the long string of used bookshops along
Calle Donceles in the Centro Hist�rico. Of the dozen or so on this street, my
three favorites were Librer�a Hermanos de Hoja, El Mercader de Libros,
El Laberinto. In other shopping research, I concluded that the
"new" Mercado de San Juan was overrated, and not nearly as good as
La Ciudadela for artesan�as, although perhaps it will improve with
time.
A
pleasant surprise, not far from Plaza de San Juan in the Centro, is that the
small barrio chino (Chinatown) along Calle Dolores is undergoing a
tasteful renovation. Incidentally, capitalinos (as Mexico City
residents call themselves) have suddenly become re-interested in the caf�
chino, a small diner-like eatery which, despite what the name suggests,
specializes in inexpensive Mexican meals, pan dulce (Mexican pastries),
and hot chocolate; typically the only Chinese dish on the menu is chop suey,
served with rice. The city�s most popular caf� chino, Colonia
Roma�s Bisquets Obreg�n, recently opened a branch in the Centro Hist�rico
on Av. Madero.
The
most memorable meals I sampled during my three-week stay turned out to be cantina
fare, which is far better than its English �pub grub� equivalent. Drop
into Sal�n Corona, a family cantina at Calle Bol�var 24, and in
business since 1928, for a tarro (large mug) of draft Corona � light,
dark, or mixed (campechana) � for US$1. The caldo de camar�n
(shrimp stew), a house favorite, comes in a glass and is excellent. Another
classic, the 1933-vintage Cantina La �nica de Guerrero, Guerrero 258
at Luna, preserves a culinary legacy that many other city cantinas can
only aspire to. �La �nica� is popular with Mexico City writers and
intellectuals, who sing sad waltzes to live salterio (Mexican zither)
accompaniment in the evening. Another Col. Guerrero cantina, Sal�n Cantina
La Victoria, Calle Magnolia 3 at Eje L�zaro C�denas, rotates regional
specialties each day. None of the three will break the budget, and all of them
welcome women as well as men.
Entertainment
highlight of the three weeks was seeing musical satirist Astrid Hadad perform
at the upstairs teatro at La Bodega in the Condesa. She was a
sheer delight with her amusing, politically sharp, yet respectful takeoffs on
Mexico�s rancheras, boleros, and rumbas. Hadad performs at La
Bodega frequently; you can check the weekly Tiempo Libre for this and
other entertainment scheduling.
Many
casual visitors to Mexico arrive in the capital by plane and make an immediate
beeline for the nearest exit, heading to the coastal resorts, colonial cities,
or, basically, anywhere else. It's their loss. As huge and environmentally
challenged as it is, Mexico City is a fascinating and vibrant cauldron of
culture, history, and humanity, and anyone with a taste for cities should
ignore the American media hysteria and check it out for themselves.