Zona Rosa
Once a luxurious and swanky area of the city, this part of Colonia Juarez has become to be Mexico City’s epicenter of tolerance, liberalism, and the LGBTQ community as well as the most significant enclave of Korean immigrants in the country, called Pequeño Seúl (“Little Seoul”). The area was promoted during the XIX century by dignitaries, such as presidents Benito Juárez and Porfirio Díaz as the “Zona Americana” or “Colonia Americana” in order to lure foreign investment, and there was some success as many mansions were built around this time in a European style, especially French. Trendy nightclubs, social clubs, bars, dance clubs, and restaurants moved in to service the wealthy patrons. The area slowly turned into a bohemian and cultural epicenter during the ‘50s. With the construction of the Metro station “Insurgentes” the area experienced rapid decline and those fashionable businesses moved out.
But ever since then the area has been experiencing a type of renaissance and still is, to this day, one of the most popular destinations for tourists. It’s located right next to Paseo De La Reforma and its main attraction, the Ángel de la Independencia and is serviced by Metro station “Insurgentes”, which is located inside the Glorieta de los Insurgentes, a big circular plaza that has food and clothes vendors on the weekend, including a bazaar operated exclusively by members of the LGBTQ community.
Retail stores abound in this bohemian neighborhood and there are several quality boutiques for men and women, even a plaza devoted to antiques, the Plaza del Ángel on Londres street. All of the streets are named after European cities and it harkens back to that European flare the original developers were looking for. Retail prices are more affordable than those at more upscale neighborhoods like Polanco or Santa Fé.
Nightlife is paramount in Zona Rosa and there are various places like clubs and bars that are especially aimed at the LGBTQ community. Foodies will certainly enjoy the Korean restaurants in the area, which boast authentic Korean dishes thanks to the large Korean population in this area. La Zona Rosa is particularly young in spirit and in composition, this has translated into a diversity probably unparalleled in the rest of the city.
