Swanky Polanco

The neighborhood of Condesa where I usually stay when I am in Mexico City, is an affluent, upper-middle class district.  However, it is not where the very rich live.  There are other neighborhoods, such as Lomas de Chapultepec, El Pedregal, and Polanco that are much more exclusive. 

Some Americans have an image of Mexico City as one vast slum.  Indeed, probably one half of the city lives in poverty, but there are also many millionaires.  Metropolitan Mexico City has a population of over twenty million people.  The top two percent would constitute more than 400,000 people... that's more than the population of my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.

The most accessible of the posh neighborhoods is Polanco.  Although it is close to the attractions of Chapultepec Park, and has many upscale hotels and restaurants, it is not a district that I frequently visit.  There is very little of touristic interest here... unless one's idea of a vacation is to shop in ritzy designer shops.  However, on my latest visit to Mexico City I decided to spend some time wandering around the neighborhood and taking some pictures for my blog.

Polanco was first developed in the late 1930s, and became the new "in" place for the city's elite.  The original homes there were luxurious mansions built in neo-colonial style.  Some of those older houses still exist.

 

 

However, as the neighborhood continued to develop, many of the old mansions were torn down, or converted into embassies or commercial offices and businesses.  Modern homes and high-rise apartment buildings filled the district.  An apartment in Polanco can cost millions of dollars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main street in Polanco is Avenida Presidente Masaryk (named after the first President of Czechoslovakia).  When the more central "Zona Rosa" neighborhood became less fashionable, most of the upscale stores moved here.  Today Avenida Presidente Masaryk is often compared to Rodeo Drive.

 

 

 

 

At the time that I was there, construction work was being done on the avenue and the sidewalks, so it seemed a bit less glamorous than usual.

 

Some of the shops along the avenue had signs advertising sales for "el Buen Fin".  "El Buen Fin" is a weekend in November that is comparable to our "Black Friday".  It is the official beginning of the holiday shopping season, and stores are offering discounts.

 

 

 

However, the majority of the stores along the avenue were not offering "Buen Fin" specials.  After all, one does not shop at Gucci or Tiffany's expecting bargains!

 

 

 

This is one Mexico City neighborhood where I, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, felt like a plebian.  I did not go into any of the shops.  The intimidating doormen / security guards, dressed in suits and ties, would have probably looked down their noses at me if I had entered these domains of the very rich.