A Walking Tour

On Good Friday Alejandro and I were walking around, and we saw a sign posted on one of the utility poles advertising a free, two hour walking tour of the neighborhood of Roma at noon the next day.  We didn't have anything planned for that day, so we decided to show up for the tour.

We met at the Casa Lamm, a cultural center along Roma's main boulevard, Avenida Alvaro Obregón.

There were around twenty of us who came for the tour; there was only other "gringo" in our group.  Our guide was an elderly gentleman who has lived his entire live in the area, and who has devoted himself to the study of its history.  Every weekend he gives different tours covering Roma and the neighboring district of Condesa.  

I have written before about this neighborhood which has seen its fortunes rise and fall and rise again.  In the early twentieth century the area was developed as an affluent district on the outskirts of Mexico City.  Then as wealthy residents started moving to newer neighborhoods, Roma declined. The widespread damage in the earthquake of 1985 left Roma in shambles.  But in the 2000s with gentrification the neighborhood has become one of the trendiest in the city, and a center of the culinary scene.

In 1902 an engineer from the U.S., Lewis Lamm, was authorized by city hall to lay out the street plan for the new neighborhood of Roma.  In 1911 he designed the "Casa Lamm" as a residence for himself and his family.  However, his wife did not care for the house, and they never lived there.  Today the building is a cultural center containing several art galleries with changing exhibits and a café.

On the other side of Avenida Orizaba from the Casa Lamm, is the elegant Balmori Building.  It is named after the palatial movie theater that used to stand next to it.  The movie theater is long gone, replaced by a boring office tower, but the Balmori Building has survived and has the same architectural style as that demolished cinema.

Across the street on Avenida Alvaro Obregón is the structure which used to be the neighborhood's public market building... indeed, a very fancy market building to fit in with the affluent district.  Today the building houses a gallery of trendy shops and restaurants.

Our guide took us up and down some of the streets of Roma, passing many of the remaining mansions that used to make up this neighborhood.  It is estimated that there are around 1100 structures remaining that were built between 1906 and 1939 and which are considered to be of historic and/or artistic significance.  The styles of architecture are an eclectic mix of neo-classical, neo-colonial, art nouveau, and art deco.  Sadly many old buildings have been torn down and replaced with modern (and less beautiful) structures.  However, efforts have been made to preserve the remaining gems of architecture.  Many have been converted into stores, restaurants, schools, offices and apartment buildings.

We ended our tour with a little corner of Roma that is very distinct, and which has always considered itself separate... an area of a few square blocks known as "Romita" (little Roma).  In pre-Hispanic times most of what is today Roma was covered by the shallow lake which covered the valley.  However there was one little island that had an Aztec village called Aztacalco.  Eventually the lake was drained, and in the twentieth century the new development of Roma surrounded the village.  However, the residents, who were much poorer than their new wealthy neighbors, considered themselves to be a community separate from the rest of Roma.  Even though today it is not impoverished, the residents remain fiercely independent.

The plaza of Romita

Facing the plaza is a small church which is one of the oldest in the city.  The original church was built in 1530, but the present structure dates from 1550.  Fray Pedro de la Gante, one of the earliest Franciscan missionaries in Mexico, baptized the natives of Aztacalco here.

Our guide gives two or three different tours of Roma as well as tours of neighboring Condesa.  Perhaps on a future trip Alejandro and I will take another walking tour.