A guide to local favorites in Santa María la Ribera Mexico City
Santa María la Ribera was one of the first planned “modern” colonias, or suburbs within the city, and its history is visible from its streets, where old mansions intersect with abandoned buildings. Still a little rough around the edges, it’s on the verge of gentrification. Start at the center, at Alameda Park’s Kiosco Morisco (where on Sundays you can find elderly couples taking cumbia dance lessons), and make your way around the quiet side streets that wind out from there.
Meet your local
Allegra has lived in Mexico City with her husband since 2016. She’s a New York native who traded one mega-city for another and loves it so much that she had a baby there.
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Where I live:
Condesa, a beautiful, tree-lined neighborhood with wide streets good for maneuvering strollers or walking dogs, a lot of expats and one of the best parks in the city.
Best way to get around the city:
For all of its sprawl, it’s really an easy-to-navigate city. The best way to get to know CDMX is by foot, but if you’re not up for walking, the subway is very easy to use; it’s the only icon-based metro system in the world, meaning foreign tourists can navigate without knowing a word of Spanish.
Don’t leave without having:
A carajillo: a coffee cocktail made of espresso and Licor 43 (a vanilla-flavored spirit infused with 43 herbs and spices), shaken over ice. It’s an old-school, working-class drink originally served to give day laborers the fuel they needed to get through the workday.
But the local favorite is really:
Barbacoa on a Sunday morning. Street stalls pop up early in the morning and go until they run out of lamb — carved to order, served in little tacos alongside hot bowls of consomé, a soup made of the meat’s drippings.
If I moved, I’d most miss:
The language. Mexico City Spanish is a mix of devastating wordplay, perverse slang and the politest greetings you’ll hear outside of the Deep South.
Santa María la Ribera
Kiosco Morisco
In the middle of the central plaza is a colorful, Moorish-style gazebo originally built as Mexico’s contribution to the 1884 World’s Fair. After being moved around the globe, it found its home in Alameda Park.
Kiosco Morisco, Calle Salvador Díaz Mirón S/N, Sta María la Ribera, 06400 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Museo de Geología
Right off the Kiosco Morisco, this grand building houses an oddly fascinating collection, including the bones of mammoths and prehistoric horses and cases of all types of gems and stones. Don’t skip the lower level’s Lynchian set of dioramas and pinball games.
Museo de Geología, Jaime Torres Bodet 176, Sta María la Ribera, 06400
Claudia Fernández showroom
Visual artist Claudia Fernández lives above the showroom in an early-1900s townhouse that displays the impressive collection of Mexican handcrafts and mid-century modern furniture that she and her team carefully restore. Visits are by appointment only.
Showroom, Eligió Ancona 171, Sta María la Ribera, 06400
Maria Ciento38
Excellent, fresh Sicilian food and wine in the courtyard of an 1800s mansion. Maria Ciento38 is perfect for a late comida when you want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.
Maria Ciento38, Santa María La Ribera 138, Sta María la Ribera, 06400
OaxacAquí
Right off the Kiosco Morisco, this unassuming, authentic Oaxacan restaurant serves great mole and tlayudas.
OaxacAquí, Dr. Atl 207, Sta María la Ribera, 06400
Biblioteca Vasconcelos
One of the city’s unique structures, this mega-library feels almost surrealist in its design. Six floors of cantilevered book stacks house five impressive collections.
Biblioteca Vasconcelos, Mosqueta, Eje 1 Nte. S/N, Buenavista, 06350
Allegra Ben-Amotz
Allegra has lived in Mexico City with her husband since 2016. She’s a New York native who traded one mega-city for another and loves it so much that she had a baby there.
@allgoodnewsAlicia Vera
Alicia is a Mexican American documentary photographer. She loves Mexico City for its explosion of the senses: The food, sounds, colors and textures make her city like no other.
@aliciavera
