POLANCO--MARKETS TO MILLIONAIRES

First published in Atención San Miguel April 13, 3007

Even before the Spaniards arrived and nabbed the Aztec’s gold, the accumulation of big bucks in the hands of a small percentage of the population has been a defining element of Mexican culture. While Mexico only claims one of the ‘Top 10 Richest People in the World’ according to Forbes Magazine (Carlos Slim with $49 billion is number 3), another 9 show up elsewhere on the list, and signs of the high rollers are all over Mexico. Meanwhile at least 40 percent of the population lives in poverty, sharing just 10 percent of the country’s wealth.

Parts of Mexico City have been compared to the poorest places in Africa, but when rich Mexicans want to show off their money, they do it in style, sometimes bordering on the ostentatious.

The contrast might dazzle you into silent awe or send you into a rage of revolutionary rhetoric, but it’s hard not to be impressed in some way with high-end Mexico City. If you need a break from quaint, colonial, and rustic, get out your American Express gold card and head to the big city for some of the fancy, fabulous, expensive stuff you can find here.

Money in Mexico seems to head west. Las Lomas, a vast residential area of hills, dales and expensive walled homes, and Santa Fe, the newest area of corporate high-rises and condos that resembles a piece of Tokyo, cover much of western Mexico City, but they are inconvenient to visit without a car.

Closer to the city center is Polanco, just north of Chapultepec Park, the neighborhood of choice for grand hotels, foreign embassies, business people and a sizable portion of the city’s Jewish population; it’s a good place to experience the bountiful side of the economy. (Look for the excellent free map of Polanco in many stores.)

I never imagined I would be writing about a shopping mall, especially here, but after last month’s column about traditional markets, I thought it was time to tip the scales. The Antara Mall (Ejército Nacional near Moliere in Polanco), just over a year old, is the premier shopping mecca for Mexico City’s ‘gente nice’.

Open-air walkways line two gracefully curving arcs, each three stories tall, filled with swanky shops and restaurants--even the underground parking garage is fancy and clean. Armani, DKNY, Hugo Boss, Kenneth Cole, Body Shop, and Coach are some of the recognizable names here; Kiehl’s Cosmetics (in New York City since 1851) has a branch here, too. Casa Palacio, a store offering home furnishings and accessories in many styles from traditional to modern, is the largest and most elaborate of its kind you could imagine. When I walked in, Ella Fitzgerald was heard singing Rodger and Hart’s ‘My Heart Stood Still.’ Mine almost did when I saw some of the price tags, but the range of goods and prices is wide.

The pleasant open-air food court has some of the usual fast-food culprits (McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks) as well as a few healthier choices. When you place your order, you are given a pager which lights up and beeps when the food is ready, so you don’t have to get bored waiting in line. The eclectic crowd will have you wondering where you are. I saw one table full of gringos, another of Japanese, and a group of 20-something Mexican kids who looked like extras from Baywatch, complete with blond hair and wrap-around sunglasses. Don’t miss going to the movies upstairs at Cinemex, where the VIP Platino theaters feature reclining leather seats and waiters who will deliver your order (from their 10-page menu) to your seat. The ‘I-can’t-believe-this’ factor was worth the 98-peso admission price even before the movie started.

One curious note about the Antara mall--what could this mean?--there is no bookstore.

Avoid the mall food and head for a real meal at Aguila y Sol, (Emilio Castelar 229, Polanco, Tel. 5281-8354--make reservations) where chic, white, minimalist decor sets the stage for perhaps the best Mexican restaurant in town. Chef Marta Ortiz Chapa is known as a leading proponent of ‘Nueva Cocina Mexicana’ which uses traditional ingredients in creative, unexpected combinations. Their website is www.aguilaysol@prodigy.net.mx

After lunch, walk east on Avenida Presidente Masaryk, the Fifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive of Mexico City. In one block you will pass by (most likely being the only one on foot) Louis Vuitton, Zegna, Cartier, Chanel, Tiffany, Ferragamo, Bulgari and Burberry--and it keeps on going.

A more affordable luxury is the ice cream at Alto Tango (Mazaryk near Alfredo de Musset). It is the best I have tasted outside of Italy and France, and there is a pleasant outdoor terraza.

At Mazaryk 360, walk into the Pasaje Mazaryk, a bit of old Palm Beach in Mexico City. The area nearby, centered around Parque Lincoln, where children sail toy boats on weekends, is full of restaurants and shops and the lucky people who frequent them. There is a lot of vintage 1950s streamlined architecture here, mixed with the occasional ‘Hollywood Mexican’ home displaying an abundance of baroque ornamentation.

El Péndulo (Alejandro Dumas 81) is a bookstore/caf’e with a small, but savvy selection in English. The most appealing restaurants in this area are Ivoire(upstairs at Emilio Castelar 95, Tel. 5280-0477) with a ‘French Colonial’ menu, and El Bajío(a few blocks past the park at Alejandro Dumas 7, Tel: 5281-8245) with excellent Mexican food in a more casual setting.

There is a taxi sitio in the middle of Parque Lincoln on Julio Verne, in front of the statue of Martin Luther King.

While not the most expensive hotel in town, there is something about the Camino Real


(Mariano Escobedo 700, Colonia Anzures, Tel. 5263-8888) that captures a sense of theatrical grandeur--in Mexican style--that can be so much fun in big city hotels. The spacious architectural proportions echo the ruins of Teotihuacán just north of the city. It’s a good place to get dressed up and act rich. The Blue Lounge with its glass floors hovering over a shallow pool of water, feels like a set for a James Bond movie. The restaurant Le Cirque (also in New York and Las Vegas) has a branch in this hotel; the large dining room is opulent and elegant--and a third the price of its US locations (Tel. 5263-8888, ext. 8956).

For more intimate chic, go to the brand new Hippodrome Hotel (Avenida Mexico 188, Condesa, Tel. 1454-4599), an Art-Deco apartment building which has been lovingly remodeled into a boutique hotel and a cozy restaurant filled with beautiful people.

The look of big money tends to be the same all over the world, including in this city, so while money and shopping play their part here, it is often the lack of resources that inspires the most compelling sights: fire-eaters ‘entertaining’ commuters at stop lights by inserting kerosene-ignited sticks into their mouths, an old country woman wrapped in a rebozo selling avocados displayed on a blanket in the Centro, an 8-year old boy playing the accordion on the metro, an old man dressed in Aztec costume beating a drum for tips.

What is surprising to many visitors is not the style, but the extent of the wealth here. In a country famous for its poverty, the amount of money, and the whiteness of most of its possessors, exposes a powerful aspect of life in Mexico. Take a look.