Mexico City - Lifestyle and Culture

I've decided to explain Mexico City in two posts. The first will be about the everyday lifestyle and culture. The second will be about particular sites and events.

Living quarters -

I got really lucky and found this great apartment named Tina right in the middle of every place we'd want to visit. The price was great and the amenities were perfect for a week long stay. I really felt like I was part of the city by staying there. The tallest building in Latin America, Torre Mayor, could be seen from our terrace, so we always knew where home was by looking up. Of course one night I got us totally lost by looking up at the second tallest tower (the Pemex building) and leading us right into the ghetto at 5:00 AM. Fortunately crime does sleep.

The neighborhood we resided in was called Cuauhtémoc, which borders the best neighborhoods in the city. Within 10 minutes we could walk to Polanco (like Beverly Hills), Zona Rosa (like West Hollywood), and Condesa (like Haight-Ashbury). The main avenue, Reforma and Plaza Insurgentes were minutes from us. The main square, Zocalo, which houses the government buildings was about 20 minutes away. Outside of the apartment was all the street food you could ever want, and a couple of convenience stores. Many police were always out in the neighborhoods we frequented, so safety was never a concern.

Our building did have a couple of quirks. Every time a bus drove by, the entire place shook like there was a 3.0 earthquake. I thought a major disaster was about to happen for the first few hours of that. Also, getting the showers to work required a PhD in plumbing. I never got the proper temperature and pressure in a single shower. Half the time the water was running, it was ready to either boil my skin off, or freeze me for a cryogenic experiment. Despite that, I loved our place.

Food and Drink - The exchange rate during our trip was about 13 Pesos to the Dollar. If you take into account the cheap price of food, and combine that with the great exchange rate, food and drinks were the cheapest I've ever had.

Normally cheap food is crap, but I didn't have a single bad meal in Mexico City. We stuck mostly to Mexican food (there are many Argentine and Italian restaurants) and it was all excellent. I particularly loved the street gorditas. They were big, and cost about sixty cents. The ingredients were crispy tortillas, beans, meat, green salsa and love. I won't forget those.

Here are some tortas named after soccer players. I wish I was amazing enough to have tortas named after me.

I have one food regret. Every night, the tamale men would bicycle their carts around the neighborhood. They all had recordings announcing their goods that sounded like a ghost yelling in the streets. Imagine this repeating every 10 seconds in a monotone voice; "Tamales, Refrescas, Tamales, Frutas, Tamaaaaaaleees." Much like a ghost, the few times I ran downstairs to get a tamale, the tamale guy had disappeared. When I go back to D.F. I won't miss out again.

I had a variety of Mexican beers that I'd never been able to try before. Victoria and Leon were my favorite. Sol, which I don't see enough of around L.A, was also a favorite during the trip and it tasted a little bit better than what I get here. No beer ever cost more fifty cents. A typical bottle of water was eighty cents.

Hard alcohol was also cheap. Double shots of tequila were often no more than eighty cents. I love tequila, and I now love it's cousin Mescal. I'm 100% sure I've never consumed as much tequila in one week as I did on this trip.

This drink pictured below was called a cucaracha (cockroach.) It was a mix of Tequila and bourbon that was heated with a lighter. It was supposed to catch fire and then be drunk with a straw. Unfortunately it never caught fire, but it was still warm goodness. Chris and Carlo hated it.

Look, a Martguerita! Everyone knows about these. They weren't as icey as what you get in the USA. They were closer to milkshake texture.

I was first offered Mescal at a bar in Condesa named Patonegro. My sister tells me that can be translated to gay black duck, but I'll have you know I met some nice girls there. Mezcal is a cousin of tequila that I absolutely love. I had many shots, including two with the worm. Our server was amused that a gringo loved it. Carlo and Chris hated it.

When you drink too much tequila, you dance like the Sasquatch. You also make a lot of friends and tell beautiful girls that you want to take them to the glorious USA and marry them. You'd be surprised at how many girls are receptive to that idea. Leslie, if you ever learn English and read this, my offer still stands.

On our last night in the city, we went to one of the most expensive (La T Cal) restaurants in the entire city. Appetizers for three, entrees for three, and about three drinks each for the three of us totaled $80 USD. (While we were eating there we met a man from St. Ives who had seven wives) A night like that would easily cost $200 in Pasadena.

Architecture - I had no idea Mexico City was an architecture mecca. Buildings from giant towers to poor homes are eye candy. No building is just a flat cube or adorned with plain, flat, textures. These photos will show you what I mean. These are just a small sample of the amazing buildings I saw.

People and New Friends - If you read my post about my day at Azteca, you'd be inclined to think that Mexicans are mean and nasty people. That's one hundred percent not true. Soccer (sport) changes everything, and I understand and accept that. I'm not saying it's fine to pee in a cup and throw it at an opponent (whether it's fan or player) but I definitely know that most of those fans would be overwhelmingly friendly to me outside of the soccer sphere.

As I'm writing this, I'm realizing we didn't make any male friends, and we didn't really care to. We only met girls. Most were very nice. They were all receptive to dancing, drinking, and showing us a good time around the city. I think they liked my shoddy attempts at Spanish combined with a gringo accent. A little effort goes a long way. I definitely have a few places to crash when I go back, as do they if they ever visit Los Angeles.

I also must thank the Mexican police for not ticketing the girls who drove the wrong way down a one way street while taking us home. Mexican Police: I know you saw some fat cat Americans in the back of the car, and could have demanded some form of payment to let us go free, but thanks for giving us a pass on that one. I'm also impressed at how Marilu belittled the cop, and still got off with no punishment.

The rest of the people around the city were also typically helpful and very friendly. Part of this might have had to do with us being "rich americanos" but I think most of the friendliness was genuine. Cab drivers were informative and talkative. Store owners always took time to show us their goods, and restaurant staffs were always patient as we (Chris and I) stumbled through menus.

Based on my experience in the city, I highly recommend a visit. Unless you must have gambling, Mexico City is way better than Las Vegas for having a week of partying. It's much cheaper, tastier, more cultured, and friendlier than Vegas could ever be. I think I would even consider living in Mexico City if my Spanish improved. I could easily afford an apartment in the nicest parts of the city, and I'd be happy with the constant stream of soccer, entertainment, and nice people.

I must say however, I can't imagine Mexico City being a great place if you're poor. The areas we stuck to were a small bubble of the 2nd most populous city in the world. I can't say I would enjoy my trip if I was in one of the less prosperous areas, or had to watch my money when buying a thirty cent taco.

Sometimes when I travel, I know I won't be returning to a certain place. I know for sure that I'll be back in Mexico City.

More pictures are here.