Huatulco

5 Things: Pluma Hidalgo

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By Frances López

Nestled in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains, Pluma Hidalgo is a hidden gem known for its world-class coffee, breathtaking views, and tranquil atmosphere. Just a short drive from Huatulco, this mountain town offers visitors a refreshing escape from the coast. Whether you’re a coffee lover, a nature enthusiast, or simply looking for a peaceful retreat, here are five things to experience in Pluma Hidalgo.

1. Stay at Finca Don Gabriel
For an authentic and immersive experience, stay at Finca Don Gabriel, a family-run coffee farm that offers cozy accommodations surrounded by lush coffee plantations. Guests can wake up to the aroma of freshly brewed Pluma coffee, enjoy farm-to-table meals, and learn about the entire coffee-making process. The finca’s rustic charm, peaceful setting, and welcoming hosts make it an ideal spot to unwind and connect with nature.
http://www.fincadongabrielhuatulco.com.

2. Eat at Casa Semilla
Start your day with a hearty breakfast at Casa Semilla, a local favorite known for its freshly roasted coffee and vegan meals. This charming café serves healthy whole delicious food made with local ingredients, it is a community hub that showcases coffee, disability inclusion as well as well-being and nourishment.

3. Walk the suspension bridge
The recently created suspension bridge is more than 104 meters in length. It is located right at the entrance of the town and is a must-see stop for those visiting Pluma Hidalgo. Access costs $100 pesos per person. Cash only.

4. Tour a Coffee Farm
Pluma Hidalgo is synonymous with high-altitude coffee, and visiting a coffee farm is a must. Many local fincas, such as Finca El Pacifico and Finca Don Gabriel, offer guided tours where visitors can walk through coffee fields, learn about traditional and sustainable farming methods, and taste freshly roasted beans. The tours provide insight into the dedication and craftsmanship that go into producing one of Mexico’s finest coffees.

5. Hike to Cascada Arcoiris
For those who love nature, a hike to Cascada Arcoiris is a rewarding adventure. The trail winds through lush forests and coffee plantations before leading to a stunning waterfall where visitors can cool off in the crystal-clear waters. The serene surroundings, fresh mountain air, and sounds of nature make it a peaceful retreat away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Huatulco

The Political Art of José Guadalupe Posada

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By Jane Bauer

Most people know this image but don’t know its significance—La Calavera Catrina. La Calavera Catrina serves as a critique of Mexico’s upper class. Created around 1910, this skeleton, dressed in a fancy European-style hat, mocks the Mexican elite who sought to adopt European customs while neglecting their own cultural roots. The image later became a symbol of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), representing the idea that wealth and social status are fleeting.

The artist, José Guadalupe Posada (1852–1913) was a Mexican illustrator and printmaker known for his politically charged and satirical caricatures. His work, often featuring calaveras (skeletons), critiqued the social and political inequalities of his time. Through his art, Posada gave voice to the struggles of the working class and exposed the corruption of the elite, making his work an enduring symbol of Mexico’s revolutionary spirit.

The Role of Satire in Posada’s Work
Born in Aguascalientes, Mexico, Posada began his career as a printmaker and political cartoonist. He honed his skills in lithography and engraving, producing thousands of illustrations for newspapers, pamphlets, and broadsides. His ability to blend humor with biting social commentary made his work highly influential, particularly during the turbulent years leading up to the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920).Posada’s caricatures often depicted the stark class divisions in Mexican society. He used skeletons—an iconic element of his work—not only as a reminder of mortality but as a way to strip away superficial differences and highlight universal human conditions. By portraying both the rich and the poor as calaveras, he revealed the absurdity of class hierarchies and the inevitability of death, which rendered all distinctions meaningless.

Another significant piece, Calavera of Don Quixote, reimagines Miguel de Cervantes’ literary hero in contemporary Mexico. In this print, Don Quixote is in battle, much like the poor struggling against the oppressive forces of industrialization and political corruption. Posada’s use of the famous character serves as a metaphor for the struggles of the underprivileged against an unjust system.

Posada’s influence extended far beyond his lifetime. His work inspired generations of Mexican artists, including Diego Rivera, who prominently featured La Catrina in his mural Sueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central (Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central). Rivera and other members of the Mexican Muralism movement admired Posada’s ability to blend art with social criticism, using visual storytelling to advocate for political change.

Today, Posada is celebrated not only for his artistic talent but also for his fearless critique of class disparities. His calaveras remain a powerful reminder of Mexico’s history of social struggle, and his legacy endures in the country’s cultural consciousness. Through his bold and unflinching work, Posada continues to speak to issues of inequality, reminding us that the fight for justice is eternal.

Huatulco

Stumbling Steps Towards Huatulco’s Pedestrian Corridor

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By Randy Jackson

Two years ago, in an article titled The Saga of Quinta Avenida (5th Avenue), I reported on the decades-long, start-and-stop development of the pedestrian walkway connecting Santa Cruz and La Crucecita. This corridor, signed as Andador Peatonal (Pedestrian Walkway), started as a project under the presidency of Felipe Calderón (2006-12) through the tourism development agency FONATUR (Fondo Nacional de Fomento Turismo). Since that time, some buildings have appeared along the walkway, although none have been completed, as uncertainties have stalled or slowed investments.

Comparison with Other FONATUR Projects
Pedestrian tourist corridors are a standard feature of FONATUR’s other resorts, and exist in Cancun (Playa del Carmen) and Ixtapa. They are all named 5th Avenue after the famous shopping street in New York City. However, starting right out of the development gate, Huatulco’s 5th Avenue faced one challenge the other resorts did not: Huatulco’s walkway climbs a significant hill. Yet in 2020, after FONATUR reconfigured the sizes of the lots, private developers (and likely some are speculators) stepped up to purchase all twenty-four lots available for sale, possibly buying into the notion “If you build it, they will come,” made popular by the 1989 film, Field of Dreams.

Recent Developments and Challenges
That notion may eventually apply to Huatulco’s pedestrian corridor. As of mid-February of this year, there were seven buildings, two of which appear nearly complete. One of these buildings has multiple retail locations with full glass storefronts; the other is a condominium near the sports complex. When sold, the lots had a covenant requiring the owners to complete their development by December 31, 2025, or face financial penalties. Some owners will undoubtedly exceed this period as most lots show no sign of construction.

Parking and Accessibility Issues
The corridor’s development calls for a mix of residential and retail properties, with 30% of the lots intended for hotels. When the corridor is fully developed, it could attract hundreds of daily guests and visitors, raising the question: What about parking? Parking areas have been allocated for each end of the corridor. On the Santa Cruz end, a 7,132 square-meter (almost 77,000 square feet) parking lot will parallel Santa Cruz Boulevard, next to the Pedestrian Corridor entrance. On the La Crucecita end, two separate lots stretching along the road behind the Naval hospital will total 4,927 square meters (over 50,000 square feet). This could allow approximately 150 to 175 parking slots on each end (using an AI model for the calculation). The parking areas are owned and managed by the corridor lot owners’ association, which is also responsible for ensuring security and maintaining the corridor. As of mid-February, no work has been done on the designated lots for parking.

The Present and Future of the Pedestrian Corridor
The pedestrian corridor stretches about 600 meters (about 660 yards) from end to end. It comprises a walking area on both sides of a single-lane service road. On foot, this traffic-free route is about one kilometre shorter than following the roads between Santa Cruz and La Crucecita. Many people now use this shortcut daily. And where pedestrians go, motorcycles can, regardless of the signs prohibiting motor vehicles. Unfortunately, the corridor has already been the scene of one motorcycle fatality.

Financial Viability and Investor Confidence
The surge in development along the corridor that began in 2022 has since stalled, leading to a financial dilemma for investors. For a pedestrian corridor to thrive, sufficient businesses must operate to draw customers. If the number of open businesses falls below this threshold, the financial viability of new stores, restaurants, and accommodations can be precarious until sufficient foot traffic exists. Furthermore, the earliest developments to open may face additional challenges from construction activity needed for subsequent projects, which can reduce pedestrian traffic. This would have been the rationale for having the time limit covenant for the purchasers of the lots. But that didn’t work.

Speculation on Future Developments
One can also speculate on another factor dampening investor ardour: uncertainty. FONATUR is leaving the future development of Huatulco to the State of Oaxaca, while infrastructure improvements are badly needed. Furthermore, two significant tourist assets, the golf course in Tangolunda and the convention center in Chahue, are mired in legal and political muck. How Huatulco’s 5th Avenue will fare in that context is far from certain.

Conclusion
The development of the pedestrian corridor thus languishes. Although many people appreciate the pedestrian route connecting Santa Cruz with La Crucecita, they will have to wait longer for businesses (and hopefully more illumination at night) to line the walkway.

For contact and comment, email: box95jackson@gmail.com

Huatulco

A Brief Overview of Slavery in Mexico

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By Marcia Chaiken and Jan Chaiken

Slavery is one of the oldest human institutions. Archeological evidence points to slavery being practiced in Mesopotamia over 5000 years ago. Each year, our family (along with Jews all over the world) gathers to retell the story of our people, the Israelites, gaining freedom from slavery in Egypt in 1513 BCE.

Slavery has been practiced in every corner of the world on every continent except perhaps Antarctica. Mexico was no exception. Long before the Spanish arrived in Mexico, the indigenous tribes enslaved captives taken in ongoing battles. Forced labor was commonplace for producing necessities of human life – food, clothing and shelter. And once Europeans began to colonize the “new world,” indigenous populations here became a source of slaves for building towns and cities and plantations, and for mass cultivation of agricultural products such as sugar cane for world trade. The encomienda system (see Julie Etra’s article on page 26) legitimized this practice. However, the introduction of viral and bacterial diseases to which the natives in “New Spain” had never been exposed and against which they had no natural immunity, resulted in massive numbers of slaves dying or being left without the physical ability to carry out heavy labor.

From Africa to Mexico

Relatively small numbers of slaves from west and central Africa were then brought to the Americas from Europe by the conquistadores in the early 1500s. In addition, free Africans were members of the crews serving the Spaniards and Portuguese who claimed lands in North and South America for their royal sponsors. Soon, however, the transatlantic slave trade became a major commercial operation, capturing Africans and selling them as slaves in the Americas. It began in earnest in the 16th century, peaked in the 18th century, and continued into the 19th century. New Spain was the major territory in which these slaves were first sold. Between the early 1500s and the mid-1600s, approximately 120,000 slaves were shipped from Africa to Mexico to work in the mines, on sheep and cattle ranches, and on plantations – primarily sugar cane plantations. Four areas were particularly populated by slaves: the Veracruz ports and plantations, the mining and ranching areas northwest of Mexico City, the stretch of land south of Puebla to the Pacific Coast, and the Valle de Mexico.

Although the predominant “Gone with the Wind” myth of slavery north of the border portrayed slaves as well-cared for, singing as they picked cotton in the fields, in colonial Mexico the resistance to enslavement was graphically made known by relatively high rates of suicide and infanticide among the slaves. Mothers would prefer that their babies die rather than suffer the life of the slave. The first threat of a major uprising of slaves in Mexico occurred in 1537 in and around Mexico City.

This threat led not only to brutal public murder of the Africans who were identified as leaders, but also resulted in the use of extremely repressive measures to control slaves. Official proclamations issued in the late 1500s penalized slaves who were runaways to hundreds of lashes, castration or death. Throughout the first half of the 1600s, small groups of former slaves, who literally overthrew their shackles and often joined with equally outraged indigenous people, terrorized cities and ranches around the colony.

The Emergence of AfroMexicanos

Over the following decades the number of slaves brought from Africa to Mexico began to decline. Perhaps because of the insatiable desire for slave labor on cotton and other plantations north of the border, sales of African slaves in Mexico were reduced in favor of sales in the southern British colonies. By the mid-1700s the population of Mexicans who had African ancestry – free or slave – had primarily been born in Mexico. Mandated by the Catholic Church, marriage of slaves was encouraged. And given the disproportionate number of men among the enslaved people of African ancestry, marriages commonly involved male slaves marrying indigenous women. Their children were called, in the caste system of Mexico, zambos, and they were either enslaved or at the lowest rank of the social-legal hierarchy. Woman slaves were commonly violated by Spanish colonists without the benefit of marriage and their children, called mulattos, were also typically slaves or essentially the same low rank as zambos. Children of mulatto and Spanish parents were called Moriscos and were somewhat higher rank than zambos or mulattos; children of Moriscos and Spanish parents were designated Tresalvos and were the highest rank among those with African ancestry. Although the caste system was very rigid and patently based on skin color and ancestry, there is documentary evidence that even though they were still legally slaves, mulattos and their children with Spanish parentage often received instruction in reading and basic information about their legal rights. One right was to redeem themselves from slavery for a set price or to be set free when their owner died.

The End of Slavery

The 1800s saw a major development in the institution of Mexican slavery. The revolutionary leader and priest Hidalgo, often called the father of Mexican independence, declared slavery abolished in 1810. Slave trade was legally forbidden in Mexico in 1824 after the successful revolution and the formation of a new government. The institution of slavery itself was declared illegal in 1839; in practice, however, slavery was far from abolished for several decades. Yet, given the existence of communities in Mexico where slavery was prohibited, many slaves in the U.S. and adjacent territories fled to Mexico to live in freedom. Although New Spain set the invidious example of colonial development dependent on enslaving Africans and selling them for profit, once Mexico threw off the shackles of Spain, the government set the example of striking the chains of slavery from their citizens.

In the United States, slavery was officially ended by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, but the period that followed also saw a lengthy adjustment. Even today, the residual effects of the slave trade can be easily noted in demographic data about the locations of black residents in Mexico and the US. In the US, the Census Bureau has for decades tabulated and mapped the percentage of black residents in states, counties, and down to census districts. The maps show that communities having substantial black populations (as high as 80%) are still located primarily in Southern states with boundaries along the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico (where the trade ships made port).

Measuring AfroMexicano History

INEGI (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía), Mexico’s statistical agency, traditionally accepted the reality that the population was a complex mix of racial and ethnic backgrounds, and so did not attempt to collect data on individuals’ self-reported race. In the 2015 survey, however, INEGI asked whether people considered themselves black, that is to say, “afromexicana o afrodescendiente,” for the first time. The results revealed the residual influence of a centuries-old pattern of slave trade – this one in the Pacific. In addition to areas around Veracruz and Mexico City mentioned above, concentrations of AfroMexicanos were found in rural areas near Acapulco and elsewhere in the state of Guerrero, as well as in the state of Oaxaca. Although the number of AfroMexicanos is nowhere very high (averaging 2.4% in the entire country), these Pacific coastal areas revealed some of the highest concentrations: 9.6% of the population of Guerrero (9.5% in 2023) and 4.9% in Oaxaca (3.6% in 2023). Most of Oaxaca’s AfroMexicanos live near Puerto Escondido and Huatulco.

The origin of these populations with African ancestry along the Pacific coast was not the transatlantic slave trade, but the 17h-century slave trade known as the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade route. (The galleons were large, multi-story Spanish sailing ships that had previously served in warfare.) At that time, the Philippines were a territory of Spain, facilitating trade from Europe and Africa through there. Slaves from various sources, including Africa, were sold in Manila, and some of them were further transported to the Pacific coast of Mexico. Their descendants are the AfroMexicanos now living near the Pacific coast.

Huatulco

Understanding Mexico’s Middle Class

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By Kary Vannice

There’s something interesting going on with Mexico’s middle class. While the majority of Mexicans identify as middle class, some scholars suggest that a true middle class doesn’t even exist in Mexico.

In a country where the top 1% own 50% of the nation’s wealth, it’s not surprising that Mexico’s economic structure looks quite different from its neighbors, the U.S. and Canada. For every person in Mexico’s upper class, there are approximately 50 people in the lower class. As many as 64% of Mexicans are considered poor or live in poverty. According to a 2021 study by Mexico’s official census agency, Quantifying the Middle Class in Mexico, 38% of the population is classified as middle or upper class, while 62% make up the lower class.

Even among Latin countries, the economic gap in Mexico is wide. Closely tied to factors like race and generational wealth, research shows that lighter-skinned Mexicans, who often come from families with European heritage, dominate the upper class. By contrast, darker-skinned Mexicans typically earn 53% less than their lighter-skinned counterparts, making it challenging for those of indigenous decent to break the middle-class barrier.

Inequity is compounded in the lower classes where the majority work at informal, low-paying jobs simply to provide for their families, often without benefits like healthcare or retirement plans. More than half of the population works informal jobs in Mexico. Despite this, most Mexicans perceive themselves as middle class.

In 2022, Revista: Harvard Review of Latin America reported that, “79% of Mexicans consider themselves to be middle class, a quantity quite superior to the reality. The mistaken perception of belonging to the middle class exists in both the rich and poor. Two-thirds of the top 1% of income in Mexico perceive themselves as middle class. And 47% of Mexicans who live in poverty also believe the same thing.”

Despite both upper and lower classes perceiving themselves to be “middle class,” the day-to-day realities of these two socioeconomic groups is stark. In a World Values Survey, 62% of Mexicans identified as middle class, yet in the previous 12 months, one-third reported they had experienced food insecurity, nearly 60% felt unsafe, and close to 40% had been unable to pay for necessary healthcare. Only 33% of this group reported having their basic needs consistently met.

The Revista assessment suggests that only 23% of Mexicans actually fit into the middle-class category. So what does a middle-class income look like in Mexico? Most metrics put the annual income between $6,000 and $20,000 (USD), a shockingly low number by most foreigners’ standards.

In contrast, Canada’s average annual middle-class salary was between $53,359 and $137,000 CAD in 2023-24, while the United States reported an average middle-class income of between $53,740 and $161,220 USD in 2023. These figures highlight a significant income disparity between Mexico and its northern counterparts. The top middle-class annual salary in Mexico is less than half of the lowest middle-class earners in both the US and Canada.

Minimum wage comparisons further underscore these differences. As of 2025, Mexico’s national monthly minimum wage was 5,576 pesos ($388 CAD), while Canada’s federal monthly minimum wage was $2,768 CAD.

This means the Mexicans who work in private homes, food service, or run the shops you frequent are likely facing very different financial realities than you might expect. Mexico’s daily minimum wage is just $278.80 pesos. A Canadian making minimum wage makes in one hour what a Mexican makes in seven hours, likely doing manual labor.

Despite identifying as “middle class”, the majority of Mexicans still struggle to meet their monthly needs. The Revista assessment concluded by saying, “Mexico is not a country of middle classes. It is a country in which to be middle class is the exception, a level of lifestyle to which very few people have access.”

Understanding the complexities of Mexico’s middle class offers valuable insight into the lives of those you may encounter daily, like housekeepers, gardeners, artisans, or servers. While their lighthearted smiles may reflect a “perceived” middle-class status, their reality is often far more challenging.

Supporting local businesses, tipping well, and paying fairly for services provide opportunities to help bridge the gap between perception and true financial stability, and to contribute to a safer, more secure middle-class reality here in Mexico, which in turn provides a more stable economic future for Mexicans and foreigners alike.

Huatulco

Editor’s Letter

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By Jane Bauer @livingfoodmexico

Class, race, sexuality, gender and all other categories by which we categorize and dismiss each other need to be excavated from the inside.

Dorothy Allison

This month our writers explore the class system. As humans, we love to categorize. We name things, sort them, put them in their proper place. It’s how we make sense of the world, how we navigate complexity. We do this with plants and animals, with time and space, and, of course, with people. We build systems, hierarchies, and classifications—some useful, others arbitrary, and some deeply entrenched in power and history.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about this as I care for my mother, who has dementia. She was once an avid birdwatcher, able to name and identify countless species at a glance. Now, those names are slipping away. She no longer calls the kiskadee by name, no longer distinguishes between a flycatcher and a warbler in the way she once did. And yet, she still sees the birds. She watches their movements, listens to their calls, notices the shimmer of their feathers in the morning light. In some ways, she is experiencing them more purely, freed from the constraints of classification. It reminds me of Shakespeare’s famous question: would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? While naming things helps humans to make sense of the world, it is also a way that we create divisions between ourselves and the world.

Mexico has long been a place of rigid social categories. The casta system of colonial times assigned people value based on their ancestry, with Spanish blood at the top and Indigenous and African heritage ranked below in an elaborate taxonomy of race and class. Those classifications may no longer be law, but their impact lingers. Social class in Mexico today is still a structure of division—one shaped by wealth, education, and skin color, as well as deeply ingrained perceptions of worth. The categories may have changed, but the impulse to sort people into hierarchies remains.

And yet, what if we let go of the names? What if, instead of seeing people through the lens of class, we focused on their essence—their kindness, their resilience, their humor? What if we paid attention to the qualities that matter, rather than the labels that confine? My mother may no longer remember the names of birds, but she still finds joy in watching them. Perhaps there’s something to learn from that.

See you next month,

Jane

Huatulco

Editor’s Letter

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By Jane Bauer

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou

There are a few questions I hear all the time from people traveling to Mexico that drive me absolutely crazy. I get it: people have questions, and the media has done its part to paint a very specific, often inaccurate picture of what to expect in Mexico. But still, these questions speak to outdated assumptions and biases that need to be addressed.

The first one: Can I drink the water? Is the ice safe? We tackled this topic in our water issue back in November, but here’s the short answer—yes, you’ll be fine if you stick to bottled or filtered water, which is the norm. This isn’t the mystery it used to be. Restaurants and hotels understand their clientele, and they’ve adapted accordingly.

The second one, and maybe the most infuriating: How much should I expect to pay for something? Specifically, the cost of a ride from the airport. Whenever I’ve traveled—whether it’s Paris, Chicago, or anywhere else—I’ve never thought to research what a taxi ride should cost to my hotel. The mere act of asking seems rooted in the assumption that you’ll be scammed in some way, which is not only offensive but also highlights a lack of trust and understanding of local culture.

And finally: Is Mexico City safe? Whether I’m talking about how much I love CDMX, how my daughter is thriving there, or asking if someone managed to visit, the knee-jerk response is often a concern for safety. Let’s be clear: Mexico City is one of the most dynamic, exciting, and culturally rich cities in the world. Of course, like any large city, it has its issues—use your street smarts, just as you would in New York, Toronto, or Berlin.

In this issue, we’re diving into all the reasons Mexico City is so special, there are so many things to see, do, and experience. So, if you’ve ever hesitated to explore this extraordinary city, let this be the nudge you need.
Plan a layover in CDMX the next time you travel or even a weekend getaway – you won’t be disappointed and may even discover your new favorite destination.

See you next month,

Jane

 

Huatulco

Where the Locals Hang Out: The Unsung Treasures of CDMX

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By Carole Reedy

The comfortably trite expression “There’s no place like home” perfectly describes my emotion when, upon arrival, the airplane descends through the smog that covers my home of 15 years, and the hazy image of the Mexico City megalopolis comes into view. I’m a traveler whose favorite destination is a city, large or small, elite like Paris or scruffy like Naples. But with each trip and in my advanced years I appreciate returning to the wonder that is my chosen residence.

The lure of a large city is that things are ever changing, but one thing that doesn’t shift is the secure feeling I get while roaming the cracked sidewalks of my home city. (Mexico City was built on an ancient lake bed, into which it is gradually sinking, hence the craquelure of my walkways.)

Other sources of joy are the places I frequent, from street cafes and puestos (food stalls) to bookshops that haven’t changed much over the years. Here’s a sampling.

True Napolitana pizza
Come to Anahuac 38, Colonia Roma Sur, to San Giorgio Pizzeria for true Italian pizza. It was started by three friends who wanted to bring the authentic taste of Italian pizza to Mexico City.

The mozzarella cheese is made fresh daily and only high-quality,100% Italian products are used in the restaurant. Great variety in the topping ingredients will please all taste buds. The lasagna and cannelloni also will satisfy a taste for old-country cuisine.

The owners and employees work long hours to please their clientele. The restaurant is open daily from 1 pm until 11 pm. Take-out and delivery are also available.

Carnitas in a shopping center?
It’s not my habit to eat in a shopping center (I can hardly bear to shop in one). REFORMA 222 is the exception. Located on the city’s most famous avenue, where a select number of stores provide the familiarity of constancy, El Bajio restaurant on the ground floor is actually one of 18 locations in the city. It always surprises me that this eatery isn’t listed among the city’s best restaurants in the many tourist articles that crowd the internet.

For 52 years, starting with one location, the Degollado family has been cooking Mexican food that mostly hails from the states of Michoacán, Puebla, Veracruz, and Oaxaca.

The signature dish, carnitas (literally “little meats”), is pork, Michoacán style, which you can order by the kilo, with or without the fat (maciza), appropriately served with tortillas and garnishes. Be sure to ask about the spiciness of the sauces (¿Qué tan picante es esto?). Even if the server tells you it is un poquito picante continue to beware if you have a tender palate.

The rest of the menu is filled with Mexican specialties to suit all tastes. Another favorite of mine is tacos de lengua (tongue tacos). There are soups, main meat dishes, and a breakfast menu also. You will find many of your favorite traditional Mexican ingredients used here. You can’t go wrong in your choice.

Forego street tacos for the ambiance of Mexico in this attractive well-established restaurant, whose main publicity is word of mouth. Hours daily: 8 am to 11 pm.

Only duck tacos served here
Manila restaurant has a couple locations in the city, but I’m most familiar with the one in the Condesa neighborhood at Culiacán 91 (close to the major avenue Insurgentes). The small locale seats a few people inside at the counter and a couple of tables, as well as a few tables on the sidewalk in front. Nothing fancy here, just good food.

Only two varieties of tacos are served, but a side order of won tons is available. Beer and soft drinks are your beverage choices.

The tacos: the first variety is duck meat in a flour tortilla with cucumber and hoisin sauce. The other is shredded duck on a warm corn tortilla, with cilantro and chopped onion (my preference).

Like the other eateries mentioned here, the establishment is open many hours a week, beginning at 1 pm and closing as late as 11pm on the weekends.

Gypsy Pizza
Fifteen years ago while flaneuring in my new neighborhood, Cuauhtémoc, I stumbled across a tiny Italian restaurant on Calle Rio Neza 30 called Mezzo Mezzo. I returned with a friend who was enthusiastic about trying an unusual pizza on the menu called “Gypsy Pizza.”

Truthfully, it sounded awful to me, but wanting to please my friend I agreed to order it, figuring I could pick off the parts I didn’t like. To my surprise, the flavors of Brie cheese and figs blended perfectly. Now I take guests there as a routine part of the city tours I enjoy providing.

It’s not just the Gypsy Pizza that’s the lure, but a warm feeling of security that returning to a familiar restaurant or place provides. Now, 15 years later, I still recognize one of the servers. The wine list remains the same, and the prices have not increased as much as in the other, greedier establishments of this popular neighborhood.

The restaurant is quite busy between 2 pm and 5 pm on weekdays due to a hungry lunch crowd. Not to worry, as with several of my other favorite establishments here, the owners are accommodating, with hours seven days a week noon to midnight.

The most sumptuous dessert ever
This dessert is called El Mil Hojas de Frutos Rojos (Mille Feuille with Red Berries) and it is found at one of the most popular bakeries in Mexico City, Rosetta Bakery.

No doubt you have seen the publicity for the Rosetta restaurant (Calle Colima in trendy Roma Norte) and its renowned award-winning chef Elena Reygadas. The bakery is located just down the street.

First, it is a bakery where you can carry out the most interesting croissants, breads, and desserts, or you can simply enjoy them at the counter with a cappuccino. But there’s also a small outdoor cafe where excellent sandwiches are served. Only the highest quality meats, cheeses, and other ingredients are used in a Rosetta establishment.

The outstanding item here, however, is the dessert, Mil Hojas, available both by the slice or whole for special occasions according to the number of people you are serving. The cream and fresh raspberries nestled between layers of puff pastry and pastry cream combine to create a heavenly, not too sweet, taste.

Mil Hojas is French in origin. In 1651, chef François Pierre de la Varenne published the recipe for mille-fuelle in Le Cuisinier François. Don’t confuse it with a Napoleon. Napoleon has layers of almond paste instead of cream. Traditional mille-feuille consists of three layers of puff pastry alternating with two layers of pastry cream.

The Rosetta Bakery is open mornings starting between 7:00 to 7:30am. It closes between 9:30 and 10 pm.

The only criticism I’ve read on TikTok of this marvelous treat is the cost. Too expensive? Worth every peso, in my view.

Rio Lerma: The sreet of comida corrida
This is the street to visit to learn the true meaning of comida corrida, which is literally Mexico’s fast food. Don’t be fooled by the name. This is no McDonald’s or Burger King, but rather a healthy well-balanced meal usually consisting of four parts: soup, rice or pasta, meat or fish, and a simple dessert. There’s always a fixed menu, changed daily to accommodate nearby workers who frequent these restaurants.

Apparently the tradition of comida corrida started with the urbanization of the city during the “reign” of Porfirio Díaz. Workers traveled far from home for their employment and had little time to eat. The comida corrrida satisfied with a healthy and filling meal.

Sprinkled all along Rio Lerma starting at Rio Marne and ending at Rio Elba you will find several of these establishments serving traditional Mexican meals. Should your taste buds yearn for something other than Mexican, there’s also a selection of foreign food restaurants, from Uruguayan and Japanese to Italian. It’s a wonderful street for the curious traveler!

The most reliable recommendations usually originate by word of mouth or are discovered via flaneuring. Walking aimlessly is the manner in which I found these gems. I hope you’ll discover even more on your journey through this awe-inspiring city.

Huatulco

Three Thrilling Days in Mexico City

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By Marcia Chaiken and Jan Chaiken

We can’t quite imagine having only three days to explore the wonders of Mexico City. Even during decades of long-term visits when we enjoyed so many parks, museums, music venues, restaurants and theaters, it was sometimes difficult to select from the next available offerings. But realizing that you may not have the luxury of an extended vacation, we have selected two walkable sectors and a bus tour in CDMX as a possible limited three-day deep taste of the richness the city has to offer.

Centro Historico

The historic center of Mexico should not be missed. Almost all forms of transportation can bring you to the central zocalo (plaza) area (see the article by Julie Etra elsewhere in this issue). We suggest beginning at the beginning – the archeological Aztec site of the Templo Mayor (main temple, or Huēyi Teōcalli in Nahuatl). Walking through the remains and the museum that is run by the federal agency INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia) will help you appreciate the magnificence of the empire that existed in the 1300s. It was governed from the city of Tenochtitlan that was centered on this very spot – two hundred years before the Spanish invasion in the 1500s.

Leap ahead several centuries after the Spanish demolished this thriving empire – primarily through diseases brought from Europe – and across the zócalo visit the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, aka The CDMX Metropolitan Cathedral. This magnificent baroque structure, which opened in 1813, is a prime example of the persistent attempt of the Spanish invaders to supplant every aspect of the indigenous culture with their own, while using the wealth and physical strength of those whom they conquered to do so. The project began in1524 as a more modest church but over the following decades the plans for a cathedral developed with the involvement of the Pope. As you’ll no doubt find out on your tour, over the centuries, the architecture and furnishings became more and more elaborate.

We suggest then stopping by the ticket office at the National Palace to buy tickets for an afternoon entrance and tour. You might then spend some time exploring the handicrafts being sold by vendors in the zocalo. You’re likely to find some unique souvenirs. But perhaps more importantly, you’ll find that both the people and the crafts are a fine mix of the DNA and culture of both the indigenous and European people with modern ingenuity.

Once you’ve had enough of deciding which vendors deserve your pesos, we suggest walking the few blocks to the incredible cultural center Palacio de Bellas Artes. This is the home of the Ballet Folklorico, and if you’ve never seen them and your visit coincides with a performance, we urge you to purchase tickets at the box office on the first floor. Or find out what other musical performances are being presented that night either in the main auditorium (itself worth a tour) or upstairs in the small but acoustically perfect Sala Manuel M. Ponce. After purchasing entrance tickets to the upstairs art gallery, climb the stairs to continue your Mexican history education by studying the striking 1934 mural by Diego Rivera, Man at the Crossroads. Rivera basically incorporates his own view of the development of modernity in the details of this masterpiece. The other murals and art in the gallery are all deserving of discovery, but we urge you to spend sufficient time scrutinizing the Rivera mural until it becomes a permanent part of your memory.

You must be getting hungry by now, so head to the nearby Sanborns de los Azulejos (Sanborns in the House of Tiles, at Madero 4). You will probably need to put your name on a list to sit in the main dining room, but there is plenty to explore while you wait. One of the oldest restaurants in CDMX, and formerly an 18th Century palace, the architecture and artwork are enchanting. (And if your feet are beginning to blister, as in almost all Sanborns, there’s a pharmacy). After being seated, enjoy the ambiance, including many families with well-behaved children enjoying the dishes Sanborns has served for generations.

After you’re rested, watered and fed, wander slowly back to the zocalo, enjoying the sights and musical sounds of the area, and arrive the National Palace to view another Rivera masterpiece depicting the history of Mexico and other murals. In addition to the building, which has functioned as the seat of government for centuries since the time of Cortez, there is a garden within the walls which provides a quiet place for enjoying the plants and flowers and perhaps even a quick siesta. Had enough history? You might head over to the Museum of Modern Art – and stop by the always busy restaurant El Cardinal (next to the museum) to put your name on a list for a table for an early dinner before your evening performance at Bellas Artes. Or choose to visit the National Museum of Popular Arts and dine at the El Cardinal Alameda (in the Hilton Hotel Reforma, Avenida Juarez 70).

Chapultepec Park

You haven’t been to Mexico City if you haven’t been to the Park. Plan to spend the whole day. But before you enter the Park check out the National Auditorium ticket office to buy tickets for an evening performance either in the Auditorium or on the grounds of the Chapultepec Castle in the park. Begin your day in the park at the Museum of Anthropology (Paseo de la Reforma Avenue and Gandhi Street in the Polanco neighborhood). After buying your ticket, head right to the visitors’ services desk and ask about tours. The place is enormous and covers thousands of years, so a knowledgeable guide is useful for a first visit. If no tours are scheduled during your visit – don’t worry. Ask for a map of the museum and a suggested route. There will be videos and written explanations along your way. You are about to have an immersive experience of the many cultures that developed in Mexico while the Europeans were still painting themselves blue and literally living a hand-to-mouth existence. The artwork and crafts are remarkable, the religious practices well before the Aztecs are notable, and the opulent lifestyles of the royal classes rival those of today’s celebrities. And the variations between different times and geographical regions are well worth paying close attention to. If your head starts swimming and you need a break, there is a cafeteria with decent food and a lovely garden setting featuring, of course, huge artifacts from digs around the country. You could certainly spend the whole day in this museum, but most visitors find that four hours is the very most they can absorb.

Another rewarding visit in the park for plant lovers is the Botanical Gardens. There are over 300 botanical species, and whether you are a fan of cacti, orchids or dahlias, you will be delighted by the display. If you are more a lover of art than orchids, you have a decision to make. The Park’s Museum of Modern Art (MAM) has an interesting permanent collection, including works by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and José Clemente Orozco. Our many trips to the museum have been for temporary exhibitions that have been serendipitously fascinating. On the other hand, you can head to the Tamayo Museum of Contemporary Art and blow your mind with over 300 paintings, sculptures and photographs by 170 artists that were collected by Olga and Rufino Tamayo.

Once you’ve seen almost more than your mind can take, we suggest a quiet stroll around the lake in the park. If you’ve selected an evening performance at the Chapultepec Castle, there are restaurants and carts with vendors selling a quick bite to eat before you climb the hill or take the trolley up to your performance. If you’re heading back to the National Auditorium, we suggest nearby El Bajio, always delicious and always busy – so call first to reserve.

Turibus

So … in two days you’ve walked your feet off and filled your brain with some of the best of Mexico City. For your third day, we urge you to take the Hop-on Hop-off Turibus around the city. We avoided taking the bus for years based on sheer snobbery, but broke down when one of our granddaughters joined us in CDMX for a week. The views of the different neighborhoods are lovely, the audio patter both educational and amusing, and places that are accessible (including the central historic area and the National Auditorium/Chapultepec Park) are a taste for your next trip to Mexico City. You might consider winding up your bus tour at the Soumaya Museum stop. The lovely little Degas miniatures on the top floor are alone worth a visit. If you are planning to do that, buy tickets for a performance at the Telcel Theater a block away. We’ve seen superb performances there of Broadway shows including Les Miz and the Lion King – in Spanish of course, but you already know the words. And for dinner before the performance, the mall Telcel Plaza Carso has a plethora of great restaurants.

Selecting places to visit in Mexico City in just three days is a challenge. We’ve had years of exploration and weren’t able to hit all the high spots. Still, we hope that, if you must curtail your time in the city, we’ve provided suggestions you will enjoy and will entice you to return.