Whitexican CDMX Tour

CDMX

Whitexican

After the Mexican Revolution the elite of the country: European industrialist, Jewish bankers and criollos (Mexicans of Spanish decent) moved away from the Porfiriato city-mansions into the new Californian hilly-mansions of Las Lomas and latter on Polanco; which after the earthquake of 1985 got gentrified with designer shops, art galleries and exquisite restaurants — and today you can pretend to be a fresa and explore the most exclusive side of CDMX.

Time period: 1920s-now

Movie/book: Nosotros los Nobles (2013)/books by Octavio Paz

Soundtrack: Luis Miguel/Paulina Rubio’s music

Fashion: neutral colors, button down shirt, plus an it bag and statement sunglasses.

Budget:

Joaquin Palacios Roji: Plano de la Ciudad de México para la Guía Roji; CDMX, 1930

José G. de la Lama, Raúl de la Lama y Enrique Aragón Echeagaray: Plan Urbano del Antiguo Fraccionamiento de Polanco 1948

This walking tour would take you through the streets of Polanco: the garden city neighborhood built in the 30s where Jews and the post revolutionary elite moved in newer mansions around the parque Lincoln; and where luxury brands, cultural institutions, and corporate headquarters have taken over transforming the residential neighborhood into a cosmopolitan one. The area is characterized by Californian mansions, tree lined streets and luxury shops. Chapultepec Heights (latter renamed Lomas de Chapultepec by the president Plutarco Elías Calles) got built during the 20s for the new elite after the Mexican Revolution — fallowing the style of the “garden cities” of the UK but with Californian/colonial style mansions. Las Lomas was separated from the city by the Hacienda Los Morales, but latter it got urbanized by the Aleman family in 1937 into what we now know as Polanco. It was a success and further expansions got planned by the duo José G. De la Lama (1867-1950) and Raúl A. Basurto (1898-1962) — key players in the development of various prestigious neighborhoods in the city. Since the beginning Polanco became a hub for sephardic Jews refugees during the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of the Nazzi party. The neighborhood continued with the residential vibes of Las Lomas until the 60s, when the first hotels, department stores, and museums appeared in the area for the Olympics of 1968; and after the earthquake of 1985 embassies, luxury shops, restaurants and office buildings migrated from the crumbling Zona Rosa into the modern buildings of Polanco. Many of the historical mansions were transformed into restaurants or boutiques, while others got replaced by apartments buildings. The iconic department store Palacio De Hierro opened its fifth location here in 1997 with a pyramidal building of 7 floors with luxury goods ranging from furniture, designer clothes, to food and cosmetics: soon it became nicknamed the “palace of palaces” due to its size and shopping experience. During the 2010s Ave Presidente Masaryk got remodeled, bringing new luxury shops and gourmet restaurants while the richest Mexican, Carlos Slim brought his corporations and art collection in a free-entry state-of-the-art building starting the gentrification of Granada (now known as Nuevo Polanco). Recent projects like: the Antara mall, the Museo Jumex, Parque Lineal Ferrocarriles or Miyana Life Center have shifted the serene vibes of the garden city into a cultural commercial heaven known for its museums, contemporary architecture and malls. One thing that has been preserved are the traditional values (2 genders, illegal abortion, no promiscuity) as people here tend to be very religious and materialistic, so dress accordingly if you don’t want to be judge. The tour suggest having brunch plus art shopping around San Miguel de Chapultepec in the morning; window shopping in Masaryk and El Palacio de Hierro plus visiting 2 religious sites in the afternoon; and to end the day a quick visit to the Museo Soumaya plus a fancy dinner at night.