Queer Girl City Guide: Mexico City

I moved to Mexico City a year and a half ago to teach English after I graduated from college. I’m originally from Illinois, so I definitely have an outsider’s perspective on the city; but I also love it here, and I’m so excited to tell you all about how wonderful it is.

Mexico City, also known as Distrito Federal, or D.F., is one of the biggest cities in the world. It’s located in the Valley of Mexico, on top of what used to be a large lake, surrounded by mountains. Sometimes, depending on where you are in the city/ how bad the pollution is, you can even see the mountains! The city is divided in to 16 delegaciones (boroughs) and who knows how many hundreds of colonias (neighborhoods). Fun fact: people who live in D.F. are known as chilangos or defeños.

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The Gay Situation

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Diana Cazadora Zona Rosa via Flickr user lito

Mexico City is, in many ways, the gay capital of Mexico (the other competitor for this title is Guadalajara, but I’ve never been there, so I can’t say). It’s large and cosmopolitan, which tends to ensure that people will be open-minded. Queer people here enjoy a whole host of important rights: same-sex marriage is legal in D.F., same-sex couples can jointly adopt children, trans* people can change their gender on legal documents. In Zona Rosa you are sure to find cute queer couples canoodling and kissing, but you won’t look at all out of place holding hands with your sweetie in Condesa or Roma, either. Even in my very boring, un-cool neighborhood (Navarte), I occasionally see queer couples. Most parts of D.F. are, if not gay-friendly, then at least gay-tolerant. However, it’s a big and diverse city, and what is fine in one neighborhood may not be considered acceptable in another. I’ve only recommended places in this guide that I think you can confidently go to while being queer; but when visiting new parts of the city, you should make a quick judgement of your surroundings before you start making out with your girlfriend.

These are some of the neighborhoods you’ll want to know while you’re here:

Centro Histórico, which is crowded and old and filled with historic buildings, but which also has a lot of cool stuff to do if you know where to find it.
Roma and Condesa, D.F’s trendy / hipster / yuppie neighborhoods, where you’ll find a lot of the best bars and coffee shops and such.
Coyoacán, the former home of Frida Kahlo, which used to be its own town and now is one of the quieter, more idyllic parts of the city.
Zona Rosa is a strange mix of gay clubs, sex shops, and fast food stores, frequented both by queers and by the business people who work on nearby Reforma. It’s not for everyone, but it’s the place to be if you want to find fellow queers.

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The Queer Bars

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Zona Rosa is the obvious place to go when looking for queer bars. The scene is very club-focused, and, as is true in many gay neighborhoods, it caters mostly to men. But not to fear, queer ladies! There’s stuff for us here too, and it’s worth point out that women are generally welcome everywhere, even though you might end up in the minority.

Just so that you’re prepared, I should note that the gay clubs here almost always feature stripper shows (usually male), along with drag queens and other performers.

On Thursdays, Lipstick (Amberes 1) has lesbian night, with no cover for women before 10:30. Lipstick is an upscale-type place, with a fancy staircase leading upstairs to multiple rooms with some seating and chandeliers and big windows. The women are pretty and mostly femme-y, and the beers are expensive.

Cabaretito (Londres 77) also has a lesbian night on Thursdays, with a very different crowd. This place has a more casual vibe and a wider variety of gender expression than at a place like Lipstick. The women are friendly and the drinks are cheap. On Thursdays men aren’t allowed on the main dance floor, so leave your guys friends at home.

Oasis via Maho Irigoyen

Botas Bar (Niza 45) has two different floors, one for men and one for women, so this is your place to go for a women’s bar on a night other than Thursday. This place has a somewhat older crowd than most of the bars in Zona Rosa; you’ll see lots of couples dancing to cumbia here. Not a great place to meet single girls, in my experience, but a good place to go with a group of friends.

Of the mixed bars, I like Lollipop (Amberes 14) best. This is your classically generic gay bar with three floors and lots of people dancing to electronic/pop music. They have a nice balcony on the second floor that overlooks Amberes street, where you can go for some fresh air or a cigarette. Though it’s mostly men, there are always other women there.

If you don’t like clubs, you’ve got plenty of other options in Zona Rosa. I’m a big fan of Taco-Bar (Estraburgo 33). This strangely named place (if they serve tacos, I’ve never seen anyone eating them) serves very cheap beer to a crowd of young queers clustered around outside the bar, with loud music blasting from within. It gets busy on the weekends, when you can find people dancing on the sidewalks or singing along to Selena songs.

There’s also La Botica (Amberes 1b), a mezcalería with a few different locations in the city, though this one is obviously the gayest. Mezcal is a smokey liquor made from the maguey plant (it’s like tequila). It’s extremely popular in D.F., so you’ll see mezcalerías all over the place. La Botica is one of the best.

If you’re tired of Zona Rosa, there’s also a small queer area in the Centro Histórico, on República de Cuba. This street is even more male-dominated than Zona Rosa, but I like it because it has less of a chain-store vibe. There you will find Mexico City’s gay cantina, El Viena (República de Cuba 2). A cantina is a classic style of Mexican bar, traditionally reserved only for men. El Viena is still overwhelmingly male, but it’s a friendly place; you might want to go on a weeknight for a more relaxed atmosphere, though. They’ve got a great jukebox at this place, filled with Spanish-language hits, and some Madonna thrown in for good measure.

Next door to Viena is Oasis (República de Cuba 3), another very male bar that is fun nonetheless. Down the street there are some better options for meeting girls. La Purísima (República de Cuba 17) has a dance floor downstairs and a pulquería upstairs. Pulque is another alcoholic drink made of maguey. It’s an acquired taste—one that I have yet to acquire—but they also serve beer. The pulquería is kind of kitschy and fun to take people to, though the loud music makes it difficult to have a conversation. I guess you’re just going to have to sit extra close to that cute girl you’re with! Across the street is Marrakech Salón (Republica de Cuba 18), which gets very crowded and is a fun place to go dance after you’ve had your fill of pulque.

Marrakech via Maho Irigoyen

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The Other Bars

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Maybe you’re tired of the club scene at the gay bars, or maybe you just want to hang out in some other parts of the city. There are many, many bars in the city where you can comfortably go as a queer person and enjoy yourself. Here are a few of the places I like to go:

La Nacional (Orizaba and Querétaro, Col. Roma) is a popular mezcalería that also has a good selection of Mexican beers, if you’d like to try something beyond the usual Corona/Victoria/Indio boring beers most bars stock. Actually, this one block—Orizaba between Querétaro and San Luis Potosí— is filled with bars, one right next to the other. Next door to La Nacional is another Botica, then a beer bar called La Graciela, and then a couple more bars next to that one. Around the corner is Lilit (Orizaba 125, Col. Roma), which serves cocktails that are pricey but delicious.

via Maho Irigoyen

This is a good street to go bar hopping—all the bars fun, generally crowded, and when you get tired of one place you can just move next door. Another good street for bars is calle Regina, in the Centro Histórico. This pedestrian street is filled with cute mezcalerías and little restaurants, and there are always people out. I like Al Andar (Regina 27) for mezcal—the staff are really friendly and will help you pick out a mezcal if you don’t know what to order. Down the street is Los Canallas (Regina 57), which has great mojitos, good sangria, and other mixed drinks, along with a relatively extensive menu. The bar’s attached to a hostel, so there are often tourists here; but it somehow resists feeling touristy.

Salón Malafama (Michoacán 78, Col. Condesa) is my choice for pool—its big space is almost entirely given to well-maintained pool tables. It can get pretty crowded at peak times, so you might have to wait for a table. Or you could come earlier—they have discounts before 4. They serve food at this place, but I’ve never seen anyone eating it.

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Things to Eat and Drink

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Mexico City is a great food city. The best way to eat here is to eat on the street—street food is delicious, cheap, and available everywhere you go. It’s hard to recommend specific stands, both because there are so many amazing ones and because it can be hard to find any individual one if you don’t already know where it is; but I can tell you some of the foods you should look out for.

In the mornings you should have tamales. They’re sold out of big metal canisters, along with atole, a sweet, hot, corn-based drink that I highly recommend. Later in the day you can have tacos, piles of meat with salsa and cilantro and onion all on top of a soft corn tortilla. Go for the al pastor if you see it—these tacos, with pork marinated on a shawarma-style spit with pineapple, are a Mexico City specialty. If you don’t eat meat, you could have quesadillas, instead. Quesadillas, which do not automatically include cheese here, can be stuffed with anything from squash blossoms to huitlacoche (corn fungus) to more meat. At most quesadilla stands you’ll see them making the tortillas fresh and by hand! These places usually sell other corn dough based foods, like gorditas, huaraches, and tlacoyos, so ask what your options are. Then there are tortas, the Mexican sandwich with avocado, tomato, mayo, chipotle, and/or rajas (spicy pickled peppers). I usually get egg and cheese, but there are lots of other choices.

Also be on the look out for esquites: cups of corn mixed with mayo, lime, salt, chile powder, and cheese. YUM. For something to drink, the juice stands sell amazing fresh-squeezed juices in all sorts of combinations, and with prices that will make you horrified that you ever paid 4 bucks for a tiny little glass of fresh juice back in the States. I recommend the anti-gripal (flu-fighter): orange juice, guava, pineapple, lime, and honey.

Eventually, though, you might want some options other than street food. Not a problem! Here are some suggestions:

Delirio (Alvaro Obregón and Monterrey, Col. Roma) is a trendy cafe-deli on Roma’s central street, Alvaro Obregón. Owner Mónica Patiño is one of D.F.’s most prominent chefs, and this is her venture in to more casual dining. They sell delicious sandwiches and salads here, along with things like bread, jams, cheeses, and coffee beans to take home with you. Eat your food on the sidewalk tables for excellent people-watching.

Corazón de Arbol (Coahuila 143, Col. Roma) is a small and adorable vegetarian restaurant. They have a wonderful rooftop patio where you can eat which might make you temporarily forget that you’re in a major metropolis. Downstairs they also sell hard-to-find products like quinoa and organic milk.

If you want to try some food from the Yucatan region, I like Xnic (Tabasco 258, Col. Roma). They serve two yucateco specialties at this hole-in-the-wall: sopa de lima, a chicken soup with lime and tortillas, and cochinita pibil, a delicious type of marinated pulled pork.

Parque Mexico

Cancino (Plaza Villa Madrid 13, Col. Roma) might be a good place for a date night. They serve what I think is the best pizza in D.F., with toppings as traditional as margherita and as strange as baba ghanoush. The wood burning oven they bake the pizzas in makes for a nice backdrop, and the restaurant faces the very striking Cibeles fountain.

MOG (Alvaro Obregón 40, Col. Roma) is a Japanese restaurant in a space that looks like it’s been furnished with flea market finds: mis-matched chairs, old lamps, strange art on the walls. The waitstaff are all beautiful hipsters and the food is tasty.

I like Las Soupremes (Chilpancingo 35, Col. Condesa) largely because of their awesome name; but they also serve good soups, salads, and sandwiches there, with well-marked vegetarian and vegan options.

Good coffee can be frustratingly hard to find here (they grow coffee in Mexico! Why does everyone drink instant?) but I like La Jardinera (Campeche 294, Col. Condesa). This place is small and fairly new, but the atmosphere’s friendly, and they sell little sandwiches and other snacks along with the coffee (make sure to ask for it without sugar, if that’s how you like it, or they’ll add it automatically). Café Toscano (Av. México and Michoacán, Col. Condesa) also has good coffee, plus a perfect location right in front of the beautiful Parque México. This one’s not cool at all, but the best cup of coffee I’ve had here was at the Palacio de Hierro department store in Coyoacán. They have an espresso machine in the food section, and you can take your cup and drink it at the tables in the lovely… mall. I wouldn’t recommend it for the atmosphere, but try it if you’re a desperate coffee snob.

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But Where Will I Buy My Books?

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I don’t know about you all, but I won’t live in a city that doesn’t have good bookstores. Here are the places I like:

My favorite bookstore in all of D.F. is Under the Volcano Books (Cerrada Chiapas 40-C, Col. Roma), Mexico City’s only dedicated English-language, used bookstore. Grant, the ex-pat owner, keeps the place stocked with amazing books, including stuff by queer favorites such as Jeanette Winterson and Dorothy Allison. On most Friday nights he hosts BYOB get-togethers at the store; it’s a great place to meet English-speaking literary types, if that’s your thing.

El Péndulo is a big bookstore with several locations here—I like the one in Condesa (Nuevo Leon 115), which has a nice selection of English-language books; but the one in Polanco (Alejandro Dumas 81) has been featured on at least one world’s most beautiful bookstores list, so that might be worth seeing. All the Péndulos have little restaurants inside, where you can order food with punny literary names like “Ensalada de Pollo Neruda” (chicken Neruda salad).

I have my money on Fondo de Cultura Económica Rosario Castellanos (Tamaulipas 202, Col. Condesa) for most beautiful bookstore in D.F. They’ve got a huge, very stylish space, filled with books on all subjects. I think they’ve got an especially good selection of art and design books. There’s a coffee shop in the store, so you can sit and read your book while you’re there.

Armario Abierto (Agustin Melgar 25) sells books about sex and sexuality. It’s a very small space, but much of it’s dedicated to queer stuff. Here you can get back issues of Mexico City’s sporadically published lesbian feminist magazine, LeSVOZ. They also stock a small selection of sex toys.

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Things to Do

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You may think that you’re going to be spending all you time in D.F. partying in Zona Rosa and stuffing yourself with delicious food, but you’re probably going to want to do other things, too.

The Museo Nacional de Antropología is Mexico City’s most famous museum, and with good reason: this place is absolutely fascinating. The massive building that houses the museum is divided in to two levels. The first floor is archeological artifacts from all over Mexico—think Olmec heads from the east coast, Mayan hieroglyphs from the south and Mexica sculptures from the Valley of Mexico. The second story is devoted to exhibits on contemporary culture in Mexico, with a focus on indigenous groups and traditions.

Everyone’s favorite queer Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo, lived in D.F., and her house is now a museum: the Casa Azul. Go there to learn about her life and to see the rooms she lived in; don’t go expecting to see many of her actual paintings. For that, you’re better off at the Museo Dolores Olmedo Patiño.

If you want to see a movie while you’re here, my recommendation is the Cineteca Nacional. Have you ever seen a huge movie theater completely packed on a weekday night for a Fellini film? I have—at the Cineteca! They show a great selection of old, artsy, and/or independent movies from all over the world (which means you can often find something in English if you don’t understand Spanish). It’s currently closed for renovations, but they’ve been farming out their screenings to other theaters around town and should be up and running again soon.

Xochimilco via Maho Irigoyen

Xochimilco is one of those things you can only do in D.F., and you should definitely experience it while you’re here. Back in the day, before the Spaniards came and Mexico City was still Tenochtitlan, the whole city was built around a series of canals, like in Venice. The Spaniards filled in most of the canals, but they still exist at Xochimilco. This is the best way to do it: go with a big group of friends—the more the better! Bring lots of food, beer, portable speakers; whatever you think you might want for a party. You can get that stuff on the canals, but it will be more expensive/not as good. You hire a boat driver to take you through the canals—you’ll negotiate the length of the trip and price before you get on (and you will have to haggle). Then you just relax on your boat and watch the other people go by. There’s a real festive atmosphere out there, especially on Sundays. You’ll see big families, groups of friends, tourists, floating mariachis selling songs.

If you’re not going to Xochimilco, La Lagunilla flea market is a great way to spend your Sunday mornings. Walk through all the clothes and bootleg CDs to get to the good stuff—antique furniture, LPs, Mexican crafts, and random flea market knick-knacks. There’s lots of food being sold here, so you can snack while you shop or get a michelada (beer+lime+salt+other sauces) since Lagunilla seems to fall in to some loophole regarding the normal laws against drinking outside.

If sports are your things, there’s lots to see in D.F. I’m a big baseball fan, so I like going to see the Diablos Rojos play (though I should warn you that you stand a good chance of hearing someone yell homophobic slurs at the opposing team—booo). Mexico City also has three major soccer teams: Club América, Cruz Azul, and Pumas. I don’t like soccer so I’ve never been, but, unsurprisingly, it’s very popular here. If you like your sports teams with women, Mexico City has roller derby! Visit their facebook for info on matches.

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College

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UNAM

Mexico City is home to several universities, the largest of which is the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico). The UNAM is an elite public university with a huge campus in the southern part of the city. The campus and the area surrounding it is known as Ciudad Universitaria (University City), which should give you some idea of the size. Of special interest to most of you, I suspect, is the Centro de Enseñanza para Extranjeros (The Teaching for Foreigners Center), which offers Spanish classes.

Since I don’t attended UNAM and I don’t know many people who do, I don’t know C.U. very well; but where there are college students, there are queers, so you should probably go there. The UNAM has a group for queer girls called the Grupo Lésbico Universitario; though “university” is in the name, their website says that non-students are welcome as are people with identities other than “lesbian”.

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Safety

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The first question I usually get from people back home about living in Mexico is “Is it safe?” The good news is that all the drug war stuff you read about in the news is not really an issue here. In terms of drug violence, Mexico City is actually one of the safest places to be in Mexico right now. However, regular old urban crime—think muggings and assaults—is a problem here. There are parts of D.F. that are known to be more dangerous (Iztapalapa, Tepito, to name a couple), but crime is a problem all over the city. You don’t have to be paranoid, but you should be careful: be aware of your surroundings, watch your back, don’t wander the streets late at night wasted out of your mind, etc. You know, pretty much what you should be doing in any major urban area.

One thing new arrivals to Mexico City are often told is that hailing a taxi off the street is dangerous. I do hear stories about taxi kidnappings, but I still hail cabs all the time, as do most of the chilangos I know. However, if my Spanish were worse or if I didn’t know my way around the city as well, I might not feel as comfortable doing that. A safe alternative are taxi stands (sitios), which you can find all over the city. Alternately, you can call a cab—I keep taxi numbers stored in my cell phone, and you can usually get a car to come for you within 15 minutes. TaxiMex (56 34 99 12) is a good one.

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Resources

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When I first moved to D.F., Macha Mexico was my #1 reference for the queer scene in the city. Run by an American, this English-language blog is filled with information about queer and queer-friendly events for women (macha= dyke). Sadly, it hasn’t updated in over a year, but the archives are still worth reading.

Mexico City has a queer community center, the Centro Comunitario de Atención a la Diversidad Sexual (Génova 30-H, Col. Zona Rosa). They offer legal assistance, workshops, HIV testing, etc.

The weekly events guide, Tiempo Libre, has a section for LGBT listings. You can buy it at news stands.

Well, that’s it, that’s all there is to do in Mexico City! Just kidding, you could never fit all there is to do in Mexico City in to one guide. But hopefully this is a good starting point. Any chilangas out there who want to tell me what I missed?

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Caitlin

Caitlin has written 1 article for us.

65 Comments

      • I am going to start going to all those places on your list, ticking them off one by one. The first thing on my list are the book stores, which are close to where I live now!

      • WOW you are great, I am Mexican and you know more about DF than myself God for you your article is perfect you described very well our food, our entertainmet places, everything you gave an exact idea of what is Mexico. Congratulations

        • I just created a group for (Auto)Straddlers living in Mexico. It might make finding other Straddlers in Mexico easier. Saludos chicas!

      • Hey are you still teaching/living in el DF? I finish up my study abroad this summer and was thinking about just going to work there by September. Any pointers? Def need to be in the gay scene though. Great info on your 411 writing!!

  1. I think this is my favorite autostraddle article ever. I’m from Mexico and I’ll keep in mind all this places when I travel to DF again. Glad you pointed out the lesbian places, I usually end up going to a club full of dudes.

  2. This is one of those places that I really, really want to visit but have been too afraid to go because of the news. One day…

    • ok i got excited and commented before i read the last section… but YAY macha mexico!

      also, my friends and i ran into the queer girls student union from UNAM while we were traveling in chiapas and i have never seen sexier sizzlinger punk rock lesbos in my life. EVERYBODY GOT LAID THAT NIGHT <3

  3. Thanks!!! I’m a mexican that lives in Italy. I lived in la condesa so reading your article everything came to my mind!!
    I was not out when I was in México so I have never been to those bars but as soon as I go home I will!!!
    Thanks again and have a good stay!!!
    how long are you staying? where do you teach? if I may ask?
    ana

    • I’m staying in D.F. indefinitely! And I just teach English to business people in Polanco–pretty boring, but better than my last teaching job. Secundaria students, never again.
      How long are you staying in Italy for?

      • I don’t know for how long i’m staying in Italy. I’m studying here. But maybe I’m going to go and live for some months in México next year!!

  4. Hey Caitlin!! Did we do out own min Autostraddle meet up here once? Just you and me and La Botica??? I think soo! And I took you home and had to pass by the Alcoholímetro and I was scared but playing it cool. I got totally lost on the way home btw and cried a little but I’m alive so all is well.

    I’ve lost my phone thrice since I met you, once I got mugged, next it went down the toilet, and the last one was finally an upgrade, Either way, if you’re still around my number is the same.

    I’ve been looking forward to a Mexico City Autostraddle guide since these things started happening and I’m so glad you wrote it! I have to say I never go to any of the gay bars because I just don’t really like going to gay bars in general… It always seems so “Here, drink this, make out with that girl!” pushy style and I don’t like it. I much prefer la Botica style, but, the one we went to as you might remember is too small to go by yourself and just sit. Looks way too awkward!

    I can recommend a few places in Coyoacan, my neighborhood, to eat and drink, and even my favorite esquites puesto! Los Danzantes and Corazón de Maguey are trendy and expensive mexican food places, but really yummy! I worked at los Danzantes and know first hand that their food is done with love, care and hygiene. La Coyoacana is my favorite cantina, gets very very crowded on weekends but has a beautiful outside patio and yummy food and mezcales! The market immediately next to it has the best pozole ever, and quesadillas, tacos, tlacoyos, elotes, esquites and what nots.

    I recently ventured out to Roma and Condesa and was so surprised to see so many hipsters, with the asymmetrical hairstyles and undercuts. I thought I was in queer heaven, which … just makes me question my gaydar even more, like are these kids super hip or super gay? how am I supposed to know??

    • Yes, that was me! I also lost my last two phones, in similar circumstances (but I can’t tell the story because I don’t want to scare people away…), but I’ll message you my new number! I haven’t got yours anymore.
      I mostly skipped Coyoacan because I’m hardly ever there, except to go to the Cineteca. I have to try La Coyoacana, though! I love cantinas.

      • Hey Caitlin! I really like your article, I’m mexican but I recently moved to DF, so I’m kind of new here, if you wanna hang out let me know.

      • Hello. I am a writer, translator, and English teacher just relocated to Mexico City. Looking for fun LGBT stuff to do and people to meet. I thought your article was really helpful!

  5. This seriously just made my day! I’m leaving for a month long program in Mexico City in less than a month, and this was definitely really helpful! Woohoo! Can’t wait!

  6. If I ever get married to a woman, it will be in Mexico City. My lesbian dream wedding. Mescal, tacos, mariachis, Mexicans… Ai yai yai! They’ve had gay marriage since way before Obama said it was cool and they worship a female dirty: virgin Mary.

    • Ugh! Autocorrect sux. The name should have read: I <3 Juarez. And that was female DIETY. The most commonly worshiped diety in the world is female, thanks to the 20 million people in Mexico City.

      • That´s true !! A mexican only cares about 3 things, “La virgencita de Guadalupe”, his/her mama and the national football (soccer) team (selección nacional) …

  7. THIS IS A SIGN

    I’ve been throwing around a few different cities to move to next year to practice/learn/hone spanish and Mexico City just won because of this. First one on Autostraddle wins?

  8. I want to take a long weekend and drink fresh juices and eat everything corn with you!

    Such a great piece.

  9. I am a proud defeña (!!!) working in Denmark who really loves all México, you cover a lot of things but lots more were missing like Living, Guilt, el ocho, Pride soooo many but as you said DF (México city)is one of the biggest cities in the world. There are drag shows too, you got everything in just one city …. I will love to live there again, I am dying for a Michelada o Clamato !!!
    I am soo happy that you put a photo of Xochimilco, it is one of the best places to go if you have a big group of friends and most of foreigners love there.
    You can try Pedro Infante for a karaoke bar or an after bar. Alitas is the best place for chicken wings. The best ever Mojitos in la Bodeguita del medio. Bull for a good, long, drunk night (full of younger adults) … I can keep going but I think this will be too long.

    I am so happy that you like DF, DF rocks !!!!! I am going back for a few days, hope that I can follow you up jeje

    • I have been to Pedro Infante! And I had a fun time there, but I didn’t recommend it because it seemed really, really straight to me. Do you think it’s queer friendly?
      I knew I was going to miss a lot of stuff; I’ll have to check out those other places you recommend!

    • And Garibaldi, that is another mexican part of town I love!!! MAriachi, music, food, friends etc!!!
      I miss mexico so much, it’s impressive, I live in Italy, what are you doing in denmark?

      • Garibaldi is great too, somehow I forgot about that. The good thing about México is that lot of places look really straight but they are queer friendly, yes, I went to Pedro Infante with my ex so many times and they were cool with it.
        You can try to go for dinner or lunch at España (behind Catedral in Zócalo) and you will find a lot of interesting people there.

        I work now on Denmark, but the cool thing about my job is that I could live anywhere I want so for now I am travelling around on my days off. Italy, sounds like you are studying there, am I right?

  10. this was great!
    i miss mexico
    i really wanna go for tacos al pastor at la lechuza in coyoacan like right now

  11. Thank you for this! I’d never thought of visiting Mexico before, but now a part of me really wants to. I say “part of me” because the rest of me is all “HEY YOU KNOW THERE’S THAT LITTLE THING CALLED THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, RIGHT?”

  12. DF is awesome, I can’t wait to go visit again. I went to a gay bar in Condesa called Pride, not sure if it’s still there. It was very relaxed (but super smoky, being a spoiled New Yorker that was a bit tough). It’s such a beautiful city, and I loved taking the subways! Really something to be seen, they will impress any jaded urbanite. Anyone who is worried about being safe there, just go! It’s a low risk for the best tacos ever.

  13. Yaaaay!! DF is the best city ever! I met my girlfriend there and she’s quite amazing, so by some kind of strange logic, DF must also be amazing. Seriously though, I want to live there. They have the best concerts and some really gorgeous architecture — both modern and historical. It really is a surreal city.

  14. Are you flippin´ kiddin´ me??? There are other American Lesbians living in the DF?? I have only met one bi chick from The US in the three years I have been here! Hey Caitlin we have too much in common… I came to MX to teach a little English as well. I teach Business English to folks in Zona Rosa, Polanco, Santa Fe, Roma, all up and down Reforma, even teach a little in Torre Mayor! I live with my gf in one of those dangerous places you mentioned in your article, Iztapalapa!! I haven´t gotten mugged or assaulted in any way and I walk the streets alone. The good thing about where I live is that the whole puebla knows ¨La Guerra¨ and they look after me. But I never get comfortable and I always follow the safety rules ALWAYS. Been to most of the places you mentioned and you really know the scene here… good advice given!!

    • Ha, I hope you don’t feel like I’ve given your neighborhood a bad name! Honestly I’m mostly just going on what I’ve heard–I’ve only been there once, and briefly.
      So you live with your girlfriend, do you feel like Iztapalapa is queer friendly then? I’m always curious to know how other people judge that kind of thing–sometimes I think I’m overly cautious about it.
      I teach English at businesses in Polanco; I wonder if we know people in common, I know lots of English teachers here. Though on second thought, there are tons of us, so maybe not!

  15. Iztapalapa is NOT queer friendly. You always will have the macho señors that make remarks as they pass you by. But overall I don´t bother them and they pretty much let me be. However I have to take precautions like not holding hands with my girlfriend in town or kissing on her… things like that. We don´t hang out here though we are always in the center of the city either busy with classes or meetings. If ever we go out we head to Zona Rosa or Condessa. Iztapalapa is dangerous, in fact one of the most dangerous in the city. I´m just crazy I guess but my girlfriend and I just found it convenient to stay here, for now!! Soon though we will be moving closer to the center and closer to work!! Inbox me and we can chat… wait do I have an inbox here? I just started using Autostraddle, ugg. Talk to you soon!! :)

  16. Great article Caitlin! You’ve given me a bunch of new places I want to check out! Fabulous photos too!

  17. Nice article, I’ve been trying to find out some lesbian places to visit and hadn’t found much till this! I’m going to Mexico City in October (from the 2nd) for the first time and am definately up for checking some of these places out – if anyone wants to show me the sites/hang out/explore with me let me know – ihaveinsomiaATgmailDOTcom
    Lola (from London)

    • OK, bad start, that’s supposed to read ihaveinsomniaAThotmailDOTcom – mixing up emails addresses!!

  18. I was in the DF for a hot second last week, luckily on a Thursday night and so I went to Cabaretito… it was so great! thank you for the recommendation- i even mentioned this article to several of the girls there and they were familiar with it/autostraddle. mil graciassss.

  19. Pingback: Lesbia Travel: Mexico City | Purple Roofs Gay Travel Blog

  20. Great post. I have a guide book and blog about Mexico City and it’s been hard to find much that is specifically directed to gay women–Thanks for all your research on this topic. I’ll be sure to share it.

  21. Really nice cover about Mexico City, just would like to remember everyone that Mexico and not just Mexico City is very gay friendly and you would be surprised to learn that some places like yucatan the gays has been accepted for centuries. I live in Playa and here is a great place for us that are gay. if you wanna to check more about check it at http://www.gayplaya-mexico.com

  22. I loved this article, I’m mexican, and you describe pretty amazing the gay situation specially the night life…

  23. Hi everyone! I am going to be in Mexico City from mid-May on, and would love to meet more queer friends. Feel free to email me at rrvspam [at] gmail [dot] com.

  24. I’m also in DF and looking for fellow queers to hang out with! Ill be here until July 24th! :)
    Danikabritt (at) gmail (dot) com.

  25. Hi! I just moved to DF 2 weeks ago for work and I really liked your article. Very helpful! I live in Colonia Juarez right near Zona Rosa. If anyone wants to check some of these places out let me know.

  26. Thanks for the tips. My girlfriend and I will be in Mexico for a few days in September and near the end of October. We’re from Australia so this has helped a lot. Will def hit up a number of the places you suggest. Cheers!

  27. Hey Caitlin. I’m an American teaching and living in Mexico City as well. If you’re still around here let me know. I really don’t know that many people here and would love to hang out.

  28. I am Franzi from Berlin and will be going to Mexico City in January for 3 weeks. Any queers around who wanna hang out?

  29. Great article, I’ll be in Mexico City in august for a few days and will definitely check the Zona Rosa. If anyone would like to hang or share some more insights on the gay life there I’d be glad to meet.
    Lu.

  30. So, I know this comment is a few years late, but I wanted to say thank you for this article anyways, Caitlin. Also, thanks for the beautiful bookstore tip. I’ve been enjoying exploring some of the used bookstores here in the Centro, but if like to check out El Péndulo if I get the chance.

  31. Caitlin, aka Queer Girl,
    Are you still in Mexico City? We are visiting from Chicago and are looking for a place indoors to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Any lesbian friendly events you’d recommend?

    Thanks,
    Marianne

  32. Thanks for this article! My partner and I are staying in Coyoacán this weekend. If there are any queer folks around today hit me up! My conversational spanish is not great and there are just so many options to choose from. We’d love recommendations in Coyo!
    Also for masculine of center presenting folks (I’m genderqueer with a binder and short hair. ..?) I think I’m perceived as male by lots of ppl. Make of that what you will.

  33. Honestly, in the past when I’ve thought about Cleveland, what came to mind is the fact that people think Liz Lemon is a supermodel there. (She is a supermodel, duh). But when I went to Cleveland with a group of other journalists to learn more about the Gay Games, which Cleveland will host this year, I got to do and see so much more. https://thefurniturevilla.co.uk/sleigh-bed-uk/

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