My feet touched the sacred metropolis–Tenochtitlan–for the first time in 1995. Twenty years young, I lived in Coyoacán and attended classes at la UNAM—the oldest university in the Americas. Older even, than our esteemed Harvard. It would be the perfect ending to my undergraduate experience–for I was a passionate Latin Americanist craving an experience abroad. During those twelve months I discovered so much about this incredibly beautiful, complex, rich and maddening city. And nation. Ironically, that year exposed both the incorruptible bonds that tied me to la Madre Patria–as well as the deep fissures.
Prior to that year I had only visited México on one occasion–for two weeks just before I entered the 9th grade. I had constructed a purely imaginary understanding of this country based on television, movies, books, that relatively brief trip, and familial lore. I envisioned, perhaps naively, that spending a year in México would bring me closer to my ancestral homeland, my people, and my culture. And yes, on some level, those twelve months congealed my deep connection to México. But it also cemented my identity as a Chicano–a Mexican-American subsumed by American culture.
Identify issues notwithstanding, I developed an intense love for both the city and the country–a love for both its immense beauty and its myriad cicatrices. And since that formative year, I have returned to la Ciudad de México on numerous occasions–but I do so now with much different, and perhaps less grandiose, intentions.
CDMX 2018: Otra Ronda
This time around I’m here with my friends Richard and Sabian. It’s Sabian’s first time in the city so aside from enjoying some amazing comida mexicana and mezcal, we are doing a few “touristy” things.
03.27.18 Dia 1
We rented a comfortable two bedroom apartment in Condesa, located just a few blocks from the Parque México. We got into the city in the early afternoon, and after checking in, resting a bit, and freshening up, we headed out the door looking for something to eat. We had all eaten breakfast, but it was now around 4pm. Two blocks from the apartment we find ourselves at Fonda Mayora–a perfectly cute restaurant that I had eaten at just one year prior. After our delicious meal we headed to the Zocalo–one of the world’s largest squares that dates back to the Aztec Empire.
The Zocalo’s immensity never fails to overwhelm the senses. It is the heart of the city, home of the seat of the federal government, and the site of countless mass protests. A sinking cathedral, theoretically dating to the 16th century, overlooks the large plaza.
After meandering through the square, peaking into the Cathedral, and checking out the omnipresent Aztec danzantes, we ended up enjoying a cocktail on one of the many rooftop bars that surround the Zocalo.
Before we had time to finish our drink, the sun set, and the Cathedral was suddenly basked in a magical evening glow.
Our evening ended with some tacos y volcanes súper from El Farolito on Altata in Condesa. One of the best things about El Farolito are these doraditos (they must have another name…but that’s what comes to mind), eaten with this spectacular red salsa. And they use real charcoal to grill their meats. Perfecto. Dos tacos y un volcán de bistec, for favor.
03.28.18 Dia 2
Our day began with some top rate coffee and a relatively light breakfast at Chiquitito Café. Chiquitito. The diminutive form of chico (small). The small small Cafe, if you will. The Chai Latte was perfection. And for morning sustenance I enjoyed some molletes–unos molletes chiquititos, naturalmente.
After Chiquitito we returned to our apartment to get ready for the rest of our day.
Our first stop of the day, the upscale neighborhood of Polanco. We had a 1:30 reservation at Pujol, the preeminent and perhaps most important fine dining establishment in the city, but we arrived to Polanco a bit early to check out the shops on Masaryk. Sabian quickly found himself some sunglasses, and that gave us some time to check out the Museo Soumaya. And by check out I mean we admired its architecture. There wasn’t enough time to enter the Soumaya, or the JUMEX across the street.
Traveling Fern 