Teniendo gran cantidad de imágenes

November 26, 2007 4:34 PM

Suggestions for a photoshoot in mexico City.

I'm going to Mexico City this week for four days with the intention of taking lots of photographs. Other than the Zocalo I want to get some non-touristy shots. I will be going to Teotihuacan one day. My transport will be the metro. Any suggestions welcome.

posted by Xurando to Travel & Transportation around Mexico City, Mexico (6 answers total)

Plaza de las Tres Culturas and Tlatelolco. Photos.

Historically, it's a heavy place: Abandoned Foreign Ministry building, Aztec ruins, Spanish cathedral, site of a massacre. It was empty when I visited in the middle of a weekday earlier in the year, but it's surrounded by public housing which was built around the same time as the 1968 Olympics (and much of which was damaged or destroyed by the 1985 earthquake - si usted puede leer español, haz clic aqui). Accessible via Metro Tlatelolco.
posted by mdonley at 5:07 PM on November 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

I really like Coyoacán and San Ángel, two neighborhoods in the south of the city. The colonial houses and cobblestone streets are very nice.

La Condesa is a popular place, there are still some houses from the deco period.

Markets are good choices, too.

Check out this Flickr group for more ideas.
posted by clearlydemon at 6:05 PM on November 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

I've always felt that Cuicuilco is largely ignored by most people, and it's a shame. True, it isn't as striking at first first site as Teotihuacan, Malinalco or Xochicalco, but it's a very interesting site and it is believed to be one of the oldest cities in the world.

Also, as opposed to the other sites I mentioned, Cuicuilco is actually within the city (and next to the National Anthropology and History School).
posted by micayetoca at 7:00 PM on November 26, 2007

It would be easier to answer this question if you clarify what you want to or like to shoot -- crowded street scenes? architecture? etc.? All good suggestions above, i'll try to add.

You could go up to Plaza Garibaldi on a weekend night when mariachis hang around waiting for someone to hire them. (Warning: This neighborhood can be a little sketchy, though I think you'd be fine on the plaza itself.)

If you take clearlydemon's advice and head for a street market, I can recommend one on Tuesdays around the intersection of Juan de la Barrera and Pachuca in the Condesa neighborhood.

Another idea might be the vendors who walk around intersections trying to sell (cell phone cards, newspapers, Kleenex, windshield wiping services, all manner of things) to motorists stopped at traffic lights. You should be able to find this easily during morning and evening commute hours on most main central thoroughfares, for example the frontage road lanes of Paseo de la Reforma, Insurgentes x Chapultepec, etc.

For what it's worth the Zocalo is a little weird right now because they're putting up the world's largest urban ice skating rink (or something like that). I think it might be opening this weekend, which could provid for a unique opportunity.

If you're interested in architecture/urban planning/environmental issues you might have fun walking around especially in the historic center and focusing on land subduction. Keep an eye out for the crazy angles caused by buildings sinking into the former lakebed.

If you're interested in seeing how most of the city's 20M+ people live and how this place sprawls unimaginably, head out to Nezahualcoyotl.
(This area, technically a city in the state of Mexico, is also a little rough around the edges.)

If you want to grab a beer, shoot me a MefiMail!
posted by donpedro at 8:05 PM on November 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

Xochimilco is a really great photo op and a lot of fun; lots of color and botanical beauty and boats that pass with mariachi bands or snacks and booze. Out of the way a bit, but definitely worth it. Take the train and hire a gondolier (for just your party or jump on one with several other people) and you'll have a memorable time, guaranteed. There is an island called Isla de los Munecas which is apparently a surreal scene where some guy apparently collected dolls (as I recall) in remembrance of the lost children who had drowned in the canals over the years and there are dolls, and doll-parts, in varying states of decay in the trees and on the ground. I regret that I didn't have time to go here when I went to Xochimilco last year.

I loved the Palacio de Bellas Artes near the Centro. Beautiful sculpture and art. Gorgeous statuary and fountains in the surrounding park. Have a great time!
posted by theperfectcrime at 9:02 PM on November 26, 2007

Late to the game, but for future readers of this thread, this is a piggyback on the comment left by mdonley:

Plaza of the Three Cultures (in English)

The Tlatelolco Massacre

About.com Latin American History: The Tlatelolco Massacre.
posted by mynameismandab at 7:39 PM on April 2, 2008