Mexico City is a place I’d always wanted to visit, so when some friends told me they were traveling there to attend the Corona Capitolmusic festival, they didn’t have to try hard to get me on the plane. We set up camp in the Condesa neighborhood, which proved to be the perfect home base with its proximity to an overwhelming amount of restaurants, cafes, museums, parks, and more.
Generally, I go with my gut reaction when it comes to street photography, quickly taking a shot when I see something that makes me feel a certain way. This free association way of shooting makes photography feel more like a bit of punctuation to a story rather than the entire objective. It leaves me free to be present and actually absorb everything happening.
I spent a week in town strolling through the shady tree lined streets and bustling mercados, stuffing my face with conchas and tacos at every opportunity, and sipping coffee and mezcal to my heart’s content.
Mexico City can be an overwhelming place. Even a cursory online search of activities yields a staggering amount of options to fill your days in town. Fortunately, Ubers are super cheap in town and a very cost effective way of getting around.
The view from my window seat en route from JFK > MEX.
The Biblioteca de Mexico Jose Vasconcelos, an incredible "Inception"-esque library. It’s easy to get lost in the stacks at this architectural wonder.
CDMX’s Chinatown, known as "Barrio Chino," is only about two blocks long.
Palacio de Bellas Artes. Pro-tip: I snapped this from the Sears department store across the street. The upper floors offer a gorgeous view of the center.
CDMX is a super dog friendly city. I came across this dog on the balcony while on the way to El Pendulo one morning for coffee.
A night at Baby, a gay club, was easily one of our most fun nights in town. At one point in the evening, a couple of drag queens came out and started dancing to Queen. Bohemian Rhapsody, the movie, had just come out, so people were losing it.
Some street style in Roma.
Roma Records in the Roma neighborhood was a small but really cool record store in the heart of the city.
Corona Capitol music festival.
There were tons of beautiful book stores in CDMX. This one was called The Looking Glass Books.
I didn’t expect CDMX to be as tree lined and leafy as it was. There was so much greenery everywhere. If you ever needed shade, it was never far.
The Parque Espana was one of my favorites. There were tons of dogs in this pretty, expansive feeling park.
A carousel in Bosque De Chapultepec.
Bosque De Chapultepec was nothing short of stunning. The park is one of the largest in the western hemisphere—over twice as big as NYC’s Central Park!
I strolled through Bosque De Chapultepec on a busy Sunday and soaked in the sights. It was easy to pretend I’d stepped back in time at this ageless place.
We hit Plaza Garibaldi to check out the mariachi bands and mezcal museum, then strolled through plaza to soak in the sights.
There is a popular witch market inside Mercado de Sonora. I stopped by on my last day in town because I love weird stuff like this.
Casa De Toño had incredible pozole!
People really love dogs in CDMX!
Lucha Libre, a must hit if you’re in town. Even the best tickets that get you right up ringside are around $10. A better time can’t be had than drinking spicy cervezas at this unapologetically over the top spectacle.
Some street tacos after Lucha Libre. A friend of a friend of a friend who is a local took us here and these tacos were incredible. A perfect way to end the night after all the madness.
Chona Kasinger is an editorial and commercial photographer that splits her time between Seattle and New York City. Her clients include the New York Times, Rolling Stone, GQ, Glamour, Bon Appetit, Airbnb, American Kennel Club and more. Her work can be viewed here.
