573: CDMX '25 tips, gentrification, and street vendor NFTs
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Finishing up my week in Mexico City (Ciudad de Mexico, CDMX) so time for impressions.
The altitude (CDMX is 2000 feet higher than Denver!) got to me this time more than past visits. Hydrate, moisturize, and sleep well!
CDMX impressed me with how strong the post pandemic culture is here. Cosmopolitan neighborhoods, food, nightlife, vegan eats - it has everything you would expect from the largest city in North America (22 million). I could definitely winter here.
That said, their water shortage remains a problem, traffic, noise, and smells are that of a developing country, and the nearby earthquake and volcanoes are things to keep an eye on.
The Mexicans here are so friendly and warm! Not that others are not, but they usually want nothing but money from me on the coast, so it’s great to interact with locals as equals. Maybe the reverse of Paris and France.
For tips, there’s my local friend Nico’s plaintext list, my gringo visitor friend Michael’s Gmaps list of restaurants, or my expat transplant now local friend Raquel’s Linktree.
I enjoyed Mora Mora’s vegan eats, Supra Rooftop's views, Chui’s vibey warehoues vegan gourmet, Open Hub’s coworking, the Museum of Anthropology, Mai vegan ramen, and just walking around Condesa and La Roma like always.
Technology
Dittto uses AI to optimize your Google Ads using best in class AB tests and a huge dataset. Yet another example of general AI leverages towards a hyper specific niche.
Ideologies
Channel 5’s exploration of Mexico City post pandemic gentrification from a few months ago is some of their best reporting IMO, covering all sides of the issue and highlighting the 4 stages of gentrification - artists, hipsters, developers, and yuppies.
Memes
One thing you can’t miss in CDMX is the junk trucks playing an annoying loudspeaker recorded jingle of a girls voices advertising scrap metal removal services. Raquel from above even made an NFT about them.
This 99 % Invisible post explores the history of the jingle and why people put up with it:
Pregones have a certain undeniable charm, but there is a harsher reality behind them. They remain common because many street vendors in Mexico and other parts of Latin America can’t find decent jobs. More than 50 percent of residents in Mexico City work in the informal economy. In a metropolitan area with 22 million, that’s a workforce of millions going out everyday, from mariachi bands to scrap metal haulers. You might wonder why the government would tolerate street selling at such a scale. The short answer is they don’t really have a choice.
Technically, street selling is banned in certain sections of the city, including parts of the historic center – areas that are often packed with vendors. The ways in which restrictions are actually enforced often comes down to political expediency. This leaves a huge gray area, governed by unspoken codes and occasionally bribes.
The city has also recently enacted noise pollution rules. While primarily aimed at construction sites and industrial businesses, it also applies to vehicles and trucks blasting fierro viejo would very likely exceed the 68-decibel limit. So far, no one seems to be getting tickets, but the days of blasting out fierro viejo and other such calls may be numbered.