Zona Rosa – The Most Famous Gay Area in Mexico City
Known by some as, ‘La Zona,’ today, Zona Rosa is a big party area nestled into a corporate office zone of the city. Speaking for myself, Zona Rosa does not look or feel like any of the gay areas that I have become accustomed to in the United States.
Here you will read about how Zona Rosa Began, as so many gayborhoods do, when gay intellectuals revitalized an older neighborhood where nobody wanted to be. You’ll also read about how its success caused it to be overtaken my other urban elements.
Depending on where you end up, Zona Rosa can feel cute, gay, or hetero and corporate. In this article I try to give a basic orientation to the neighborhood so you can stay in the cute gay parts and avoid the rest.
Zona Rosa is the most notorious area in Mexico City for Gay Bars. I write about the gay bar scene in another post on this blog. Follow that post to prepare you for a night out.
Here I’d like to give you what you need to take a nice walk through an area bursting with gay history, gay cruising, and gay life without getting disoriented by all the rest that exists here. You really are in the center of one of the largest cities in the world, and it feels like it.
Is Zona Rosa Safe?
Zona Rosa is located in a very safe section of Mexico City. There is no gang or cartel violence whatsoever. Petty theft does happen, but not on the scale of cities like Barcelona, or Naples. The only two crime factors you will be exposed to in Zona Rosa are
- Pick Pockets
- Corrupt Police
Follow these steps to minimize your exposure to the very unlikely chance that you’ll be victim to one of these risk factors.
- At nighttime, have an idea of the particular items, in your wallet, that you will need to use. Bring only those items and leave your wallet at home.
- Wrap your cash around your debit card and ID and place it in one pocket. Wrap a small amount of cash around a credit card (that you can cancel easily) and place it in your other pocket. This is what you will hand over to a police officer in the unlikely chance that one tries to extort you. I suggest you have $200MX in the dummy wad to give to a police officer. They will not take your credit card.
Origins – Affluent Suburb to Gay Intellectual Bohemia to Countercultural Wasteland
Zona Rosa sits inside of the larger Colonia Juarez. Today Colonia Juarez is considered one of the most centrally located neighborhoods of Mexico City. However, in the end of the 1800’s, when it was constructed, it was as more of an affluent suburb. Many such suburbs popped up during the prosperous rule of Porfirio Díaz, Mexico’s only dictator, who ruled over a prosperous time in Mexico when Mexico stepped onto the global stage and reaped many economic benefits of globalization.
However, the gains were not shared by all, and this inequality eventually lead to the Mexican Revolution.
The winners of the Porfirio Díaz period began to grow tired of the noise of downtown and began to construct large mansions in surrounding neighborhoods such as Colonia Juarez. The houses were built in a European style and the streets are all named after European cities and countries.
From its conception, Juarez, and later Zona Rosa, always had a strong international influence.
After a period of time, around the 1940’s the rich began to leave Juarez for other areas, leaving the mansions to be repurposed as businesses such as boutiques, galleries, restaurants, and beauty salons.
In the 1950’s the first wave of businesses were joined by another wave of bars, cafes, antique stores, jewelry stores and bookstores, which gave the neighborhood a bohemian character, which it is still known for today.
In 1968, when Mexico Hosted the Olympics, Zona Rosa became the place where Mexicans and foreigners alike came to celebrate the Olympic victories of their respective teams.
As so often happens to the bohemian cool parts of any city, everybody wanted to be there. Small cafes and intellectual watering holes were joined by mega bars and clubs which still struggle to accommodate the ever growing volume of Mexicans seeking entertainment as Mexico City grows into one of the largest cities in the world.
During this time, high rises began to pop up all along Reforma and now Zona Rosa sits in the shadows of this major commercial district.
But however much it has changed, and however many other steak holders the gays now share Zona Rosa with, the neighborhood still remains flamboyantly gay. This is the neighborhood that gay boys all over Mexico dream of coming to and becoming a part of. This is where memories are formed, identities are developed, and sexualities awakened.
Next I will present some of the current cultural projects, of the local gay community, that are taking place in Zona Rosa, and the adjacent areas, as well as some historical ones that everybody is still talking about.
Glorietta de Insurgentes – Transit Center turned Counter Cultural Meeting Point
A Glorietta is a Round About. La Glorietta de Insurgentes is one of the most iconic roundabouts in Mexico City. It doesn’t show up on many post cards, the way that the Glorieta del Angel del Independencia does, but this Glorieta is one that is iconic in the minds of the locals, especially the dissidents, the outcasts, the queers, and the gays.
Glorietta de Insurgentes never planned to be a counter cultural meeting point. The story of how it became one, despite intentions to the contrary, is a prime example of how counter cultural tendencies find a way to grow and flourish in Mexico, in ways that I have never seen them grow and flourish in the United States.
The Glorietta was designed and built in 1969 in the style of functionalist architecture which was very popular at the time. The city leadership wanted to build a world class transit station and plaza close to the Zona Rosa Area, which was becoming the hippest place to be.
While most Glorietas, with parks in the middle, require that you cross a busy traffic circle to access the park, Glorieta de Insurgentes consists of a sunken park, accessible by tunnels beneath the traffic circle.
What resulted was a barren unattractive space, very disconnected from the neighborhoods surrounding it. There was nothing to inspire the residents to spend any more time there than necessary to access the Metro. No businesses rented space there. It was a failure.
What made this Glorieta undesirable for some, made it attractive to others. The youth, the counter culture, and the gays decided that it was the perfect place for them to meet up before going to Zona Rosa. For many, the prices of the drinks and cover charges in Zona rosa were prohibitive, and they preferred to spend their entire afternoon or evening in the Glorieta de Insurgentes.
Gays practiced cruising by walking around the glorieta in circles until they found something they liked. Hustlers would set up in the area under the traffic circle.
In the early 2000’s, another counter cultural dynamic began to take place between youth who identified as Emo, or Punk. Territories developed. The Punks gathered in one area, the Emos in another. The gays intermingled among both groups.
One notorious day, in 2008, a fight broke out between a few punks and a few emos. One by one, they were each helped by others in their respective groups, until a massive brawl broke out between the emos and the punks. It made headlines and lead to the forceful termination of this meeting point.
The participants in this dynamic are now turning 30. I have befriended many in this age group and they all speak so fondly about this time and place.
But the spirit of counterculture still lives on. Today that spirit is realized through three noteworthy projects in the area.
Barras De Insurgentes LGBT
Next to the Glorieta is an outdoor gym facility that is frequented by fit shirtless guys working out, talking, smoking weed, and enjoying each other. They have developed a type of acrobatic workout that they call, in Spanish, Calistenia.
Calestenia is practiced mainly by heterosexual jocks. Recently a group of gay practitioners decided to start a group where gay men could arrive at this gym to learn the sport of calistenia without feeling intimidated by the heterosexual energy of the atmosphere.
Every night, dozens of men arrive at this outdoor public gym, both alone and in groups. They train, take pictures and have a great time. If you’re staying nearby, I highly recommend you stop by for a workout. The energy is really amazing, especially around sunset and the few hours that follow.
Tianguis Dissidente
Street commerce is a fascinating phenomenon in Mexico City. Behind all the delicious tacos, carefully merchandized displays of every type of cigarette available to buy individually, Chile powder coated candies, and so much more, is a mafia who gives permission to each of them in exchange for a fee.
However it gets more complicated than that. The mafia also regulates who gets to sell. Not everybody who is willing to pay gets a seat at the table. If you are planning to compete and sell goods that other mafia members are already selling, you could be denied access.
If you try to set up shop anyway, there is often a violent response.
In 2021, a group of LGBT activists decided that they wanted to reclaim a large portion of space beneath the traffic circle to use exclusively for LGBT commerce focused on the needs of the LGBT community.
The project has been a commercial success, but they have faced resistance of one of the most established street commerce mafias in Mexico City.
The marketplace they have created is called a Tianguis. Tianguis is a prehispanic word for market or bazar. It is not Spanish, but uniquely Mexican. The Tianguis disidente does not believe they should have to ask permission from the mafia who is run by heterosexuals from Estado de mexico to sell gay products to gay people in the gay neighborhood in Mexico City.
It is a brave stance and they have a lot of support from the community. But things like this still happen.
Centro cultural Xavier Villaurrutia
Xavier Villaurrutia was one of the intellectuals who started Zona Rosa as a bohemian intellectual hotspot. He was friends with the likes of Salvador Novo, and Jaime Torres Bodet, other prominent intellectuals and homosexuals in Mexico in the 30’s and 40’s.
This cultural center that bears his name is operated by the Secretary de Cultura of ciudad mexico. It offers free programming like art and dance classes. It comes alive every June with several expositions with gay themes showcasing mexico cities emerging gay artists.
Little Korea, high end restaurants, and escorts
Little Korea is a very diverse space in between Avenieda Florencia (Angel de Independencia) and Avenida Sevilla (Fuente de Diana). The main street that runs through the entire neighborhood is called Calle Hamburgo. On this street you will find many Korean Groceries and restaurants.
Shortly, I will cover the part of Juarez that is most associated with Modern New restaurant concepts, but first I want to cover some gems that exist here in Little Korea.
Today’s Zona Rosa Proper is a food desert according to me. McDonalds, and other boring chains dominate in the center. But Here you will find a few gems.
Orange Bunsik
My personal favorite of the Korean Restaurants. This place is simple and the food is delicious. All of it is made fresh to order and they are quick and efficient.
They don’t do the serve raw meat and let you cook it on a grill at your table. You will find that in other places and they are often filled with Korean Families and groups of friends.
They say this is a sign of the best ethnic food. But I’m usually alone or with one other guy and it seems like overkill to go to one of the BBQ places.
Sonia
This is a casual, upscale, modern Mexican Restaurant that I think delivers an excellent experience. They do brunch, Late Lunch (normal if you’re Mexican), and Dinner.
A great place to go to after you’ve been to Chapultepec Castle or the Anthropology Museum.
Here you’ll find modern interpretations of Mexico City Classics. No Tex Mex in sight.
Niddo
This cafe has been so successful that they opened up another one right around the corner. The difference between the two is representative of 2 ‘types’ of restaurants/cafe’s in mexico.
This location specializes in coffee and pastries. Their pastries are some of the best I’ve had in Mexico City. They make use of fruits and berries a lot more than you’ll find in The United States. It is open from 7:30 AM and closes at 8:30 PM.
Open from 8 AM to 5:50 PM, this place is the type of cafe that serves hearty meals. They have breakfast service and Comida. The breakfast will be served past noon. Comida usually becomes available around 1:00. The place will get crowded at 2, and will stay that way until close.
Hustlers
The corner of Hamburgo and Praha is where the hustlers in Zona Rosa work at this current period of time. They change their location consistently, but not frequently. This corner gets busy later at night, and very busy on the weekends.
Estella
The dissident youth spirit of Glorietta de Insurgentes lives on in this new project of legalized points of smoking marijuana. I wrote an entire post on this place, and its proximity to so many of Mexico’s Most worthwhile tourist attractions.
The new frontier – trendy stuff and the newest gay bars in town
This is the new area of Colonia Juarez and it is developing just as the previous parts (Zona rosa) developed. Trendy stores with the most forward Mexican fashions.
Havre
This is the most fashion forward street in all of Mexico City. if you want to see the type of fashion that is coming out of Mexico’s top designers, look no further. Every store on this street will speak English to you and will wait on you hand and foot. the prices will be expensive. Think Tulum prices, not Mexico City.
If you want to shop on a budget, the thrift stores in Roma Norte have a really great selection and there are some great pieces to be found, and deals. Follow my Roma Norte Walk.
Bagels Lepu
If you’re craving a bagel or a delicious cookie, this is the spot. Scottish Owned Bagel shop in Mexico City. The owner is a lovely kind and cool woman.
Quentin
I’m a big fan of this chain. Their coffee is good (although kind of small portions) and their chocolate croissant is delicious. They also have a croissant filled with Guyaba. It is simply to die for and a perfect mix between fresh pasrterie and Mexican ingredients.
Sic Club and Estereo Club
In my opinion, the two best clubs in Mexico City. Estereo is open Friday night only and Sic only on Saturday. These are first on my list of best clubs and bars in Mexico City.
Artifacts of the old Zona Rosa
Somos Voces
Unfortunate the ratio of population size and number of gay book stores in Mexico City is disproportunite. Somos Voces is the only bookstore that focuses on gay literature.
If you don’t speak Spanish, this place may be a little above your head, but it’s still worth a look.
Take a look at ‘La Cartelera’ of the month. This is the calendar. This bookstore is host to an abundance of programming such as
- Book Clubs
- Gay Art Galleries
- Open Mic
- Storytelling
- HIV Support
- Discussion Groups
Bukowski
This bar is located on the second floor of a popular chain of bookstores called El Pendulo. It has a piano and often offers bands and programming.
This bar isn’t an old staple, but it was designed to capture the intellectual cafe vibe that made Zona Rosa Famous in the 1950’s.
The restaurant has menu in English and Spanish. It offers Mexican and international cafe food. Along with a nice list of cocktails.
The bar area has seating where you can people watch everybody walking on the street below.
There are two other dining areas with other vibes.
If I happen to meet somebody spontaneously in the neighborhood, which happens quite often, this is one of my favorite places to take them.
Bellinghausen
This restaurant is classic Mexico City Fare in an upscale atmosphere with reasonable prices.
I really like the patio that they have in the back of the restaurant. If they don’t have tables available outside I would go somewhere else.
Great place for a late lunch in between 2-4.
I know this is a small window, but that’s how it is with nice upscale lunches in Mexico.
Taquería Orinoco
This is a new tacqueria chain that is going gangbusters. I think their tacos are the best I’ve had in Mexico.
I include this in the old school Zona Rosa section becasue it has a retro vibe and also becasue it’s a must try.
The tacos are served with a plate of 5 salsas of the house. None of them are too spicy but they all have a great kick. You pick whatever taco filling you want. I like the one called ‘El Norteno’ which is steak or carne asada. The one of Pastor is also good. I have not been brave enough to get the chicharron one.
The tacos are served with slices of avocado and onions. You also get a side of a few smashed and fried potatoes which are truly to die for. They’re open for lunch and stay open late, until about 3 in the morning. Great for Lunch, Dinner, or a late night snack.
Plaza del Angel
Really cool antique market. Even if you’re not into Antiques, I think you should stop by. The items in this mall will give you an idea of what was inside the artistocratic homes of the old Zona Rosa, when it was Colonia Juarez.
Weekends the halls are filled with more vendors and it takes on a flea market atmosphere.
History is a big part of Mexico. I feel Mexicans are much more aware and appreciative of culture and history than other countries.
Are There Gay Friendly Hotels In Zona Rosa?
No.
To be honest, I find the whole concept of gay friendly hotels to be way overused. While I’m sure there are some adorable B&B’s owned by gay couples in Vermont, with home made scones and fine linens, the reality is that most people who are telling you that one hotel is more gay friendly than another are not basing that on any criteria whatsoever.
I think the hotels in Zona Rosa are overpriced because of the brand name of the neighborhood. Click here for my recommendation of the best neighborhood for gay travelers in Mexico City.
