Sunday Afternoon in Condesa

Last Sunday Alejandro and I took a long walk to the pleasant Mexico City neighborhood of Condesa.  Our walk ended up at Parque México in the heart of the district.  As always, it was full of activity on a sunny, weekend afternoon.

 

"La Fuente de los Cántaros"... The Fountain of the Jugs (no snickering please)... was turned on.

I was upset to see that the open-air theater known as "Foro Lindbergh" (Lindbergh Forum) is once again defaced by graffiti after having been cleaned and restored a few years ago.

 

Condesa is the epicenter of the invasion of "gringos" moving to Mexico City.  The trendy neighborhood has long been popular with foreign visitors.  But now there are more "gringos" than ever before, many of them sticking out like sore thumbs dressed in shorts and loudly speaking English.  I know I sound hypocritical.since I am a "gringo", and I am planning on moving permanently to Mexico City this year.  However, this new wave of residents is largely made up not of retired folks, but of young "digital nomads" who, since the beginning of the pandemic, are working remotely and are no longer tied down to the office.  

Mexico City has become one of the leading destinations in the world for these "nomads". Because of the increased demand for housing, landlords are raising rents, and many Mexicans can no longer afford to live in neighborhoods like Condesa.  Evictions are skyrocketing.  The evicted are moving to less desirable neighborhoods... resulting in rents going up in those areas also.  Some businesses are being forced out, because landlords want to convert their buildings to apartments.

Since many of these "nomads" come from cities like New York or Los Angeles where real estate prices are astronomical, Mexico City still seems like a bargain in spite of the rising rents.

Thank goodness, the owners of the condo where I stay have not raised the rent in the five years that I have been here.  The husband was an airline pilot for Mexicana, and this was his place to stay when flying in and out of Mexico City.  Mexicana went bankrupt in 2010, and the condo was not being used until they agreed to rent it to me.  When I buy this place, I won't be kicking someone out of their home.

Of course, inflation has hit Mexico just as it has in countries throughout the world.  But prices in Condesa seem especially high.  Alejandro and I experienced that when we went out for dinner there.  We went to Maqué, near Parque México.  We have eaten there in the past, and it has always been a mid-range restaurant.  

We started with an order of guacamole to share and soup.  For our main course we had chicken breast in tamarind sauce.  We did not order any wine or cocktails.

We were shocked when we got our bill... over 1200 pesos, about 65 U.S. dollars.  That might not seem exorbitant, but we have never had a restaurant bill that high.  Our food was good, but it was not an extraordinary gourmet meal.  The prices at the restaurant seem to have gone up more than the 14% inflation rate for food in Mexico.  But I guess if the "gringos" are willing to pay that much, the restaurant can get away with it.