For art lovers, the Mexican capital has long been attractive. Few other capitals offer as many great museums, including the Palacio de Bellas Artes, housed in an Art Deco palace with Diego Rivera murals, the Museo de Arte Moderno, showcasing works by Mexican modernists like Frida Kahlo, Rufino Tamayo, and Francisco Toledo, or the Museo Jumex, a sort of Mexican Pinault Foundation in a building designed by David Chipperfield with works by Damien Hirst, Cy Twombly, and Lucio Fontana.

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"In the last ten years, Mexico City has become an important hub for the Latin American art market,“ says Ami Oppelt. "This is thanks to the successful art fair Zonamaco and the arrival of international galleries like Kurimanzutto from New York, Marianne Ibrahim Gallery from Chicago, and Travesía Cuatro from Madrid.“ OMR is not entirely innocent in the hype: every exhibition is a visual spectacle, colorful and dazzling, cheerful and profound, much like the Mexican capital itself, at least in the trendy Roma Norte district where the gallery is located.

"Mexico City has become a magnet,“ says Carla Valdivia Nakatani. "More and more foreigners are coming, unable to resist the city‘s laid-back charm, Art Nouveau palaces, many parks, pleasant climate, and vibrant cultural scene.“ She herself is part of this trend. Born in Mexico, she grew up in the USA and studied in London before returning to her homeland in 2013, fascinated by the pulsing energy and many opportunities the capital offers. Today, she splits her time between New York, where she works as the art director of T Magazine for the New York Times, and Mexico City, where she runs her lifestyle store Hi-Bye, selling her own colorful designs and the cool indie outfits of her friends.

"In the last five years, many new brands and stores have emerged here. There is a great variety, a lot of experimentation, and financial incentives,“ she says. "This is good because, although our creative economy still has a long way to go, people have awakened. They know they have something to offer.“ Fashion designer Carla Fernández, who has two stores in the city, shares this view. Her caftans, skirts, and jewelry pieces reflect the rich textile heritage of Mexico‘s indigenous communities. Her often geometric creations are made in collaboration with weavers, embroiderers, and carvers from across the country and have been featured in London‘s V&A Museum and Chanel‘s Parisian Galerie du 19M. "In the past, we looked to trends from Europe and the USA and tried to imitate them,“ she says. "Now we have our own young fashion scene that is also gaining international attention.“

Indeed, the global image of CDMX (Ciudad de México) has been on the rise for some time. This is partly because Mexico‘s president, the physicist Claudia Sheinbaum, was mayor for five years. Today, the city is as safe as any other, confident and stylish, open and tolerant, cheerful and pleasure-loving. Walking through the neighborhoods of Polanco, Condesa, and Roma Norte, you‘ll see chic people in chic cafes, dog walkers with packs of greyhounds, poodles, and Labradors on leashes, expensive furniture stores, fine patisseries, and boutiques of global luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Tiffany, or Montblanc.

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Additionally, the culinary scene is currently giving Mexico City its moment. Chefs like Jorge Vallejo, whose 'Quintonil' is one of the top restaurants in the country, and Elena Reygadas are no longer insider tips. Last year, Reygadas was named the top female chef by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, and her restaurant 'Rosetta' has significantly contributed to establishing her hometown as a foodie hub. The gourmet fish restaurant 'Contramar' by star restaurateur Gabriela Cámara is almost always booked, and the fact that a taqueria was awarded a star in the latest Michelin Guide for the first time shows the high quality even in modest snack bars: 'El Califa de León' has only a few standing places and four dishes to choose from, the best seller is the Gaonera taco with fried beef, served with a little salt and lime juice on a freshly made corn tortilla.

"Our favorite spot is 'Tres Galeones‘,“ say Renata Prieto and Santiago Fernández in unison. "The carnitas de pescado are unbeatable.“ The two also share a professional passion: handicrafts. Their store Pingüino, just a stone‘s throw from 'Tres Galeones', presents itself as a wonder chamber full of handmade unique pieces. Almost every object has a story: the colorful creatures with human faces are produced by the fourth generation in a remote village in the Mexican state of Jalisco, with the whole family, including the grandmother who prepares and applies the high-gloss glaze, involved. The ceramic dachshunds have an ancient form but look contemporary because they are made by young artisans. The colorful hands with contrasting painted fingernails are the work of Ana Rosa from the Ocumicho region. They can stand on small feet or lie on their backs and serve as bowls for jewelry or keys. Some objects, such as the Centauro Troglodita by master potter Serapio Medrano, are museum pieces, while others, like the cycling donkey by Martin Melchora Angeles, are simply fun.

To see where trends are being set on a larger scale, you must visit the somewhat rough working-class neighborhood of Doctores, which shows little sign of zeitgeist-oriented gentrification, except for the Laguna. The creative center in a former textile factory from the 1920s offers workspace for about 250 people, including the employees of the organic coffee roastery Buna with a café and co-working space, those at the Anfora ceramics studio, the La Metropolitana furniture workshop, the Llano art gallery, the La Archiletura architecture bookstore, and the well-known architecture firm Productora, responsible for the master plan of the entire area.

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"Here, things are created with soul,“ says Cecilia Tena, owner of Decada, perhaps the most beautiful store in Laguna. They sell original mid-century furniture: a comfortable rosewood and leather armchair by Don Shoemaker, a light wood desk by Franz Ehrlich, various sleek consoles and chests of drawers from Denmark, or the round glass table 'Spigas' by Arturo Pani, whose bronze table leg is modeled after a bundle of wheat.

"Since Mexico City was named the first World Design Capital in the Americas in 2018, interest in design has grown,“ says Cecilia Tena, and her business partner Lucia Corredor adds: "Actually, Mexico has always had extraordinarily talented, creative, and innovative people who have contributed to the country‘s cultural and artistic dynamism. I believe that especially in the field of design, Mexico City has a lot ahead of it; our city is just beginning to show what it has to offer.“