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I’m writing this because I often read reviews from black folx saying CDMX is this amazing place. But the reviews generally are about touristy locations where there are typically lots of international people and English speakers. Rarely do I see reviews on people doing things besides going to monuments and museums. What about when you need to go grocery shopping, run errands or grab supplies for a day trip to a nearby locale?
It’s true there are a lot of great museums and monuments to see. You could spend an entire day at the Anthropology Museum and still not get it all in. There is also lots of great architecture and food.
But if you’re black and the kind of traveler that likes to engage with locals, practice native language and get away from tourists to feel the culture of the place you are in you might find Mexico City unfriendly.
I am black/mixed born in the early 1980s, and I have traveled to more homogeneous locales in the world so kinda used to curiosity stares. But people in CDMX would (literally) stop and stare in a super unfriendly, mistrustful way. This didn’t shift if I smiled at people or greeted them in Spanish with a friendly salutation. I also found myself being searched in retail spaces where others were not and generally just feeling unsafe walking in places that weren’t littered with tourists.
Honestly, I was really excited about visiting Mexico City for the first time but after about 5 days I decided I needed to have a little breather from the city and its hatefulness. So decided to try an Airbnb experience hiking a volcano a couple of hours away. It was led by some very sweet mountaineers from CDMX. Along the hike some other travels from Europe asked how I was faring. I told them pretty candidly how happy I was to be on the hike outside of the city and why. The local mountaineer over heard and responded,
“In Mexico City?
It’s probably because you look like bad people that have been coming to Mexico City.
Lots of Cubans are coming to Mexico.
They are very bad people, so people probably think you’re Cuban and become suspicious.”
*This mountaineer was really kind and telling me this without the slightest idea that he was saying anything racist :/
I should also mention that I did a lot of exploring by myself but I also did some exploring with my European husband. He too, noticed the intense attention I was getting. But it was amplified when I was alone. I have traveled to other parts of Mexico and did not feel the intense hatred of Mexico City. But racism seems to be pretty normal in Mexico so…
One last thing I’ll add is I was doubting myself thinking, “Maybe I’m being overly sensitive or bringing US politics to international travel,” but after reporting my racist treatment in CDMX to a friend of Mexican ancestry he recommended a short film “JAMAICA & TAMARINDO: AFRO TRADITION IN THE HEART OF MEXICO.” It’s available Kanopy. I highly recommend. I wish I would have watched it before my trip so I wasn’t so blindsided.
Mexico City is the reason the word metropolis exists! I recently traveled there for the second time with two of my friends who were going for the fist time. As we were flying over the city my friend just looked out the window mouth a wide open just repeating the words that’s the biggest city I’ve ever seen! At 25 million plus on the metro area, she wasn’t wrong. It has everything you want in a city, quaint neighborhoods like La Roma with great boutique shopping during the day and a hip bar scene at night. There are museums, you can’t miss the Frida museum! There are lush parks! And the food there are no words. If you leave without eating something delicious you have done it wrong. There is something for everybody. As a Black American woman traveler I felt fairly comfortable. There are lots of expats in Mexico City and the people are beyond friendly. A little Spanish will go a long way, but it is easy to navigate without it for English speakers.
Wow, where do I start. Our guys trip to Mexico City was beyond what we expected.
Day 1 we landed in MEX airport then drove our rental to our dope AirBnB in Ciudad Satélite, Naucalpan de Juárez just 35 mins outside of Mexico City.
Day 2 we visited the pyramids of the sun and moon in Teotihuacan, Mexico. This was a hour and 30 min drive from our Airbnb. The pyramids was absolutely amazing to see. We couldn’t climb the pyramids because of COVID. We later went to Cocina Central 1812 with a great elevated view of downtown Mexico City and the food was delicious.
Day 3 we visited Grutas de Tolantongo. The drive was 3 hrs and 30mins but worth it. The spa and waterfall was the best experience of our whole trip. It’s a must see if you plan a trip to Mexico City. We arrive at the spa at 7am and it opened at 8am. We had the whole spa to ourselves for over a hour to get great solo pictures then it got crowded around 9:15/9:30 ish. We also went to downtown Mexico City to a nice lounge called Porter and celebrated with a bottle of Don Julio.
Day 4 we visited Callejon Del Los Sapos in Puebla. It was a 2 hour drive from our Airbnb. It had colorful buildings in that town. Then we visited Templo Del Calvario in Tlaxcala, Mexico. That was 1 hour and 30 mins from from Puebla. It was the most colorful church I’ve ever seen.
Day 5 we visited the Palacio De Bellas Artes where we did our Men’s Suit Shoot. It was a 35 min drive from our Airbnb in downtown Mexico City. We also took our COVID rapid test that only took 15 minutes to get our results.
Day 6 departure to go back home.
This trip was much needed. I really enjoyed myself. I highly recommend adding Mexico City to your bucketlist.
The food in Mexico City is unmatched. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the resort were top tier and delicious! Sitting on my patio every morning while indulging in delicious Mexican food was amazing! The views were breathtaking, and the peaceful sounds of nature were refreshing! Can’t wait to go back! BETA TEST
My first international trip was Mexico city & it was very memorable,i loved the boat tour in Xochimilico!
Make sure when you visit you be there on a Sunday because Every Sunday in Mexico City, from 8:00am to 2:00pm, locals and tourists alike cycle down Paseo de la Reforma on bikes/skates & skateboarding!
Boat tour below
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g150800-d155971-Reviews-Floating_Gardens_of_Xochimilco-Mexico_City_Central_Mexico_and_Gulf_Coast.html?m=19905
The most surprising thing about Mexico City was how similar it was to a major American city. I didn’t have much difficulties navigating from neighborhood to neighborhood. Be advised, it is a huge sprawling city with crazy traffic during rush hour. Uber rides are very cheap and convenient. There are great places to try authentic Mexican food, great museums and cultural experiences within the center of the city. If you are looking into venturing off the beaten path, I suggest visiting the canal of Xiochimilco. On the canals of Xiochimilco you can grab some street food, a 40 oz of beer or tequila, and hire a colorful gondola for a boat ride. It’s a very popular past time for locals, you’ll will most likely see large groups enjoying themselves on the water. Lastly, if you have the time, be sure to make the drive out to Teotihuacan, an ancient Mesoamerican city about 25 miles outside of the city.
Love Mexico City! It is a great inexpensive getaway for those who are stateside. a must see in Mexico city is Frida Kahlo’s house it is now a museum. It is really beautiful! The earlier you go the better as the line to get in can get very long. Also, the street vendors sell really nice Frida Kahlo merchandise outside for the low. I got a beautiful notebook with a portrait painting of Frida on the front.
Mexico City is an extremely beautiful place. It isn’t too different from the states, being that it has a big city feel, and also there are tons of stores similar to the US. There are lots of tours you can take to see the entire city. Not too far away are the famous Pyramids. It’s about an hour drive or so. There are two huge pyramids (the pyramid of the sun, and the pyramid of the moon). You can hike up these pyramids, and once you make it to the top there is an amazing view. In the central part of the city there is lots of good local food, many shops to buy gifts and souvenirs, and lots of stores to check out.
Mexico city or in Spanish Ciudad de México (CDMX) is a wonderful city.
This is a city with a rich history (Civilisation, colonisation, architecture)
Things to do.
You can not visit Mexico city and not visit the pyramids of Teotihuacan (Pyramid of the Sun and Pyramid of the mood). You will have a shock knowing that there were a civilisation there in 100 before J.C and with the construction of the pyramids around 250 after J.C.
I was definitely impressed.
The best neighborhood to stay is Polanco. A lot of good restaurants, bars and good food.
For culture, you have to visit the museum of Anthropology and Bellas artes.
Unfortunately the Afro Mexican culture is quasi inexistant in the capital as the country just recognized a couple of years ago, black Mexican as citizens. So I didn’t find anything for afro communities in the capital.
I had an awesome experience in Mexico City, Mexico. I traveled solo few days before my birthday, and I will never regret making this choice. Some of my relatives told me I was brave enough to travel by self to CDMC (Cuidad de Mexico) by myself because it’s a “dangerous” city, but I felt safe. People stopped me everywhere I went to take pictures with me and told “Tu estàs muy Bonita!” The love was overwhelming. I wish I could tell you more about that experience. I used Uber and taxi to get around town. It was pretty cheap. I will definitely recommend you to go and experience it for yourself. Much love!