Paris1972-Versailles2003

My many trips there over the years , saw plenty, had a great time but most importantly the friendships gathered now for over 20 years and still strong are tops. It is fun and lots of architecture and history so therefore, here is my curiosities of Mexico City !!! Hope you enjoy this post as much as I.

One of the unique statues I saw there while walking was the Lebanese monument statue not far from the Centro Libanés, the immigration to Mexico started in 1880 by Veracruz. By 1979, the statue was done in the city and by 2003 a replica was done in Beirut.  The statue is at Av de los Insurgentes Sur and  avenida Rio Mixcoac . More of the story in Spanish: http://www.emigrantelibanes.com/sabines.html

The Parque de la Bola is located a few steps from Insurgentes Sur right on Calle Mercaderes. Vendors, artists and families gather here. The official name of it is Parque de la Insurgencia, in homage to the Father of the Nation Don Miguel Hidalgo and the heroes who offered their lives for the Independence of Mexico. It has a beautiful spherical fountain, for what is known locally as the Parque de la Bola. The statue of Miguel Hidalgo stands at the top and the sphinxes of other national heroes, such as José María Morelos y Pavón, Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez; Ignacio Allende and Vicente Guerrero, appear represented around the central part of it. You can see busts of famous Mexican writers such as: Juan de la Cabada, Rodolfo Usigli, Rafael Solana, Luis G. Basurto, José Revueltas, Juan Rulfo and Josefina Vicens; in tribute to these great pens.

A view by Centro Manacar shopping center on Insurgentes Sur avenue on foot. This is a great chic shopping mall in a great area for walks too,

I like to tackle some of the streets of Mexico city or at least my most frequented ones.   I have driven by it or driven with for most of it. However, have some on foot as well. Hope you enjoy it in one of the world’s most congested cities, driving is a thrill and a challenge. All handle well by your road warrior!

Let me start with my favorite area. The place known as the Zona Rosa is a space that over the years has become a commercial area. Located within Colonia Juárez, which belongs to the Cuauhtémoc Delegation of Mexico City. It is surrounded to the north by Paseo de la Reforma, to the south by Avenida Chapultepec, to the east by Avenida de los Insurgentes and to the west by Avenida Florencia . All largely walked by yours truly over the years as well. This is my Mexico city central!

You know why this area was call Zona Rosa or pink zone? Well several theories, my favorite was written by the Mexican painter José Luis Cuevas, whose explanation was that the pink color of the area comes from being a red area at night, and white area during the day. Indeed this is a happening area and my home even if over the last few years it has become the LBTG central as well.  Likewise, he has declared on numerous occasions both in the press and on television, that the name originally emerged as a tribute to the Cuban actress Rosa Carmina born in Havana,(1929), who is a film actress and Cuban television, dancer, singer, rumbera and star based in Mexico ; you can search for her work. She belongs to the so-called Golden Age of Mexican cinema as one of its main stars. For some years, she lives in Barcelona, Spain.

The most notable street for bars has to be Calle Amberes. All between Avenida Chapultepec and Paseo de la Reforma!   This is my central central and as said lately the home of its LBTG bars even if all are welcome including me! I have stayed here several times on the Royal Hotel and the Basque/Spanish Tezka restaurant, and just around in Calle Genova the Konditori (now closed). And by Calle Hamburgo, El Lugar del Mariachi still open. And just across the street Avenida Chapultepec another old favorite the Segovia Regency Hotel. (see posts)

Moving on to Calle Mercaderes,Colonia San Jose Insurgentes is   home of Fiesta Inn hotel , City Express Hotel and the El Gran Leon de Oro restaurant. All of my usual stays over the years. As well as Le Pain Quotidien Belgian chain resto ; Teatro Insurgentes and the Parque de la Bola!

 And really central for me and close to all the others is the hugely popular and grand Avenida de los Insurgentes which is a set of three continuous avenues that form one of the main road axes in Mexico City. With a combined length of almost 29 km, it crosses most of the Mexican capital. It is divided into three avenues or zones: the Norte (north), the Centro (center), the Sur (south) zone, which is the one I have been the most. The Avenida de los Insurgentes Sur, from Paseo de la Reforma, to the Caminero Monument, its numbering starts north and ends south between 1 and 5000, north to south. This area begins at the intersection with Paseo de la Reforma and due to its extension it will be divided into several areas.My office building when visiting.

The Avenida de los Insurgentes Sur (Cuauhtémoc – Juárez). Between Paseo de la Reforma and Avenida Chapultepec It is characterized because to its west is the popularly called Zona Rosa, while to the east is the Colonia Juárez which is characterized by its architecture, where the modern and tall buildings that surround it. The Avenida de los Insurgentes Sur (Napoles – Del Valle). Between the Miguel Alemán Viaduct and the Interior Circuit. We find one of the areas with the highest economic level in the country, in which there are several colonies such as Napoles, Colonia Insurgentes Mixcoac, Colonia Nochebuena, Colonia del Valle and the remains of the Pueblo de San Lorenzo. Tlacoquemecatl. In this segment, the World Trade Center building in Mexico City stands out (see my post on views from above Mexico city). You , also find in this area the wonderful Monumental Plaza de toros (bullfight arena) and the so-called Estadio Azul (Blue Stadium) This stadium was home from 1996 to 2018 of the Cruz Azul FC of the Mexican first division football/soccer. It has been said, that it might be demolished in 2020 as the team plays now its games at the Estadio Azteca. Good news, on June 26, 2020, the league approved Atlante’s move to Mexico City, after 13 years in Cancun and placing the team in the new Expansion League, due to the suspension of the Ascent League, where it had played since 2014.Therefore, the stadium is sitll in football/soccer!

The Hemiciclo a Juárez is located in Alameda Central Park , and is dedicated to Benito Juárez, a former Mexican president and national hero. Built of marble, it was inaugurated in 1910 to celebrate the centennial of Mexican independence, Semicircular, with a strong gray influence, the 12 golden columns of the monument support an entablament and a friso structure of the same order. The central sculpture represented in Benito Juárez with an alegory of the patria (fatherland) that the crown of Laurels. The segment alegoría, the ley (the law), has an antorcha above its head. Therefore, the republican guide is folded into the hands of the Greek neo-aztecas and a peana sobre that it receives the leones. The City of Mexico on the memorial to Benito Juàrez : https://mexicocity.cdmx.gob.mx/venues/benito-juarez-hemicycle/

The Iglesia Carmelitas Descalzas or Church of Barefooted Carmelites was built by Fray Andrés de San Miguel between 1615 and 1626, who belonged to the order of the barefoot Carmelites, a legion that sought to recover the austerity and devotion that gave rise to the brotherhood. The construction included a college and monastery for men. After the 1858 reform in which the nationalization of the church’s assets was decreed, the college was closed and its custody passed to the city of Mexico. A part of these lands were used as jail, barracks and other functions. As of July 7, 1921, the Ministry of Public Education decreed that the former convent was the Museum of El Carmen, the temple continues to be a church. The official barefoot carmelites in Mexico: https://www.ocd.org.mx/archivo-historico

The Palacio de Bellas Artes or Palace of Fine Arts is considered the most important in the manifestation of the arts in Mexico and one of the most renowned opera houses in the world. This has been the scene and witness of shocking artistic, social and political events. Its construction began on the occasion of the celebration of the centenary of the beginning of the Independence of Mexico, however it was concluded and inaugurated until November 29, 1934 due to the Mexican Revolution. It is a multifunctional building, so it houses various stages and artistic spaces such as the Palace of Fine Arts Museum and the National Museum of Architecture. The first permanently exhibits 17 mural works by seven national artists executed from 1928 to 1963, including Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco, being the oldest in the country dedicated to national plastic production. Likewise, it is the headquarters of the National Symphony Orchestra, the National Opera Company or Fine Arts Opera, the National Dance Company and the Folkloric Ballet of Mexico.. As an institution, it depends on the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA), part of the Ministry of Culture of the federal government of Mexico. Metro station Bellas Artes on lines 2 and 8 It is located at Avenida Juàrez just off Paseo de la Reforma. The official Palacio de Bellas Artes:  https://palacio.inba.gob.mx/

The Mexico tourist office on Mexico city (CdMex):  https://turismo.cdmx.gob.mx/

The Mexico tourist office on Mexico City : https://visitmexico.com/destinos/ciudaddemexico

The Atlas on Tourism of Mexico City  (gov site) : https://atlasturistico.sectur.gob.mx/AtlasTuristico/inicio.do?lang=EN

And there you go a wonderful tour of Mexico City; you do not have to do it by car, once in the location walking around is magical and allows you to see the architecture styles of this great metropolis. Great memories and hope they can become yours too. Again, hope you enjoy this post on curiosities of Mexico City !!! as I,

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!