Parque La Mexicana
The financial district of Santa Fé, on the western portion of Mexico City, is an up-and-coming part of the city that’s not only known anymore for business offices and cookie-cutter steakhouses looking to make a few pesos from those business executives. It’s starting to come on its own as a proper community with its own identity. As such, in 2012 construction began in what was going to be its brand new public green space, “Parque La Mexicana”, it was designed by architects Mario Schjetnan and Víctor Márquez and was proposed by politician Adrián Ruvalcaba Sánchez and the Asociación de Colonos de Santa Fe (a neighborhood association), it was inspired by the concept of “Martin Luther King” park in Paris, France.
The park has 100,000 m² of forest areas, 60,000 m² of grass surfaces, an open-air theatre, several courts for different types of sports, an artificial lake, a 4.3-kilometer bikeway, a 3.4-kilometer track, a “dog park”, a skatepark, and a Starbucks. Residents of those tall glass buildings that line the park finally have a place to come down to and walk with their kids, play with their dogs (leash-free) or just enjoy a little bit of outdoor activity that’s pretty commonplace in other parts of the city. One of the main attractions for visitors, of course, is the “dog park”, which is divided into two parts actually, one for little dogs, and one for big dogs, which is pretty convenient, considering it’s the only area in the park where the dogs are allowed to roam without a leash; this “dog park” also has drinking fountains, ramps, a “game zone”, and trash cans for mindful neighbors who have the nice habit of always picking up after their dogs. As with the rest of the park, it’s handicap-accessible.
The maintenance of the park is handled by a trust that’s managed by the Asociación de Colonos de Santa Fé and it’s a completely sustainable park, it has some cool systems designed to collect rainwater and is powered by solar energy. Santa Fé might not be the most pedestrian-friendly area in the city but it’s changing its ways and this gorgeous park is a testament to that, it might also merit a special visit, and even though there are public busses that reach this area, your best option is to probably take an Uber or Taxi from the nearest Metro station which is “Observatorio” from Línea 1.
