Today I set out to explore Roma Norte and La Condesa. Considering my project is based on how different areas in Mexico have more or less evidence or Mexican culture, I felt that exploring these two neighborhoods would give me some perspective. Our group began our visit to Mexico in Puebla which felt full of culture, then we moved hotels and were located in El Centro in La Ciudad de Mexico which also felt rich in culture. Roma Norte and La Condesa, on the other hand, are notorious for being gentrified.
Before making my way to Roma Norte, I stopped at La Artesanias Ciudadela. In all honestly, I thought that this market was located in Roma Norte, but it is located in the El Centro. The market was full of traditional Mexican artesans and vendors. From clothes, to jewelry, and houseware to souvenirs, there was something for everybody at this market. Prior to visiting Mexico, I was most excited about visiting all of the different markets in Puebla and Mexico City. It was definitely hard not to buy everything that caught my eye in this market, but I was grateful to experience walking through the market and talking with multiple different vendors. One vendor that I spoke with was an older woman, who's name I didn't get, but she helped me pick out a hair clip for my mom. After purchasing a hair clip, she gifted me two bracelets. One for me and one to give to my mom.
After leaving La Artesanias Ciudadela, my friend Van and I made our way over to La Condesa. Prior to visiting Mexico, I had no experience in navigating subways and bus systems. I had actually never been on a subway at all before this trip. Navigating Mexico's transportation was an experience in itself. The metro system was not hard to navigate and I think it would be beneficial for more large cities in North Carolina to utilize similar systems.
Van and I got off the bus in Roma Norte and walked through Parque Mexico. While walking through Roma Norte there was not nearly as much foot traffic as there was in El Centro of Mexico City until we arrived to Parque Mexico. There were many families and groups of friends enjoying the park, walking their dogs, riding bikes and taking photos. It was nice to see people out and about enjoying the weather and it was even more fun to see all the friendly and well trained animals.
We finally made our way to La Condesa and met up with the rest of our group to celebrate a very special birthday! The restaurant that we stopped at was called Maizajo. When we got to the restaurant there was already a line forming which confirmed that the food was going to be good. We opted to not eat at the actual restaurant that had a separate menu, but we were still able to eat inside of the building. To my surprise, they also cooked the food right in front of us which was such a fun experience. Maizajo is also a Michellin recognized restaurant.
After making our way back to El Centro I was extremely tired and ready to go in for the night, but I met up with another one of my friends I made on this trip named Meghan and went out to search for food. By this time in our two week trip, I was very home sick which resulted in me getting some pizza from Pizza Hut. Eating some American food made me feel a little more connected to home. While I was eating my pizza, I actually thought about my students who are from different countries and haven't been in the US long. I wondered if they felt similarly about American Food. While I loved all the Mexican food I ate in Mexico City, I did begin to miss American Food a lot. After securing my food, I made my way to my hotel room and decided to wind down for the night. Overall, I had a very productive, fun, and celebratory day. I felt and still do feel extremely grateful to be a part of the 2026 CIDRE cohort.
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