In Mexico, a dollar goes a long way. Cough up $20 and you’ll be thoroughly entertained, by anything from a professional wrestling match to a night of dancing to Latin music. And many of these options will steer you clear of the ready-made foreigner-friendly Mexico, while you save money and live it up with the locals.
Start with a free, self-guided walking tour in Mexico City’s Historic Center, where you’ll be impressed by the scale of the huge central plaza, the Zocalo. If you go on a weekend evening, you may run into an outdoor concert, and during the day you’ll find street protesters, crafts vendors and traditional dance groups.
The buildings surrounding the square date back to the Aztecs, whose ceremonial center was located there before the Europeans built over it. At the Templo Mayor, just off the plaza’s northeast corner, archaeologists continue to excavate ruins of the civilization that fell to the Spaniards. You can tour both the museum and the archeological site for $4.
Right next to the Aztec ruins is the city’s Metropolitan Cathedral, designed by 16 architects and built over two centuries. To the east is the National Palace, where stunning murals by Diego Rivera lay out the entire sweep of Mexican history. It’s free to enter, but well worth finding a free, accredited guide to the left as you enter or paying about $9 to one of the guides outside to explain the images.
As for Mexican music, there are plenty of options – swaying with a partner to romantic Norteno cowboy music, getting serenaded by a mariachi band or dancing to the Mexican version of the cumbia.
One of the best places to hear the costumed, guitar-playing mariachis is Plaza Garibaldi, where they ramble across the plaza and take requests from customers in the many surrounding bars. Another is the canals of Xochimilco on the city’s south side, where you can rent a 14-person boat for about $13 an hour, order lunch from passing boats for about $6 and request songs from mariachis floating by. Official prices are $2 to $7 per song depending on the type of melody, but as with most services in Mexico, prices are negotiable and tipping is customary.
To dance to Norteno music in a club that mixes rodeo, traditional Mexican sounds and modern music, go to the Rodeo Sante Fe in Satelite, in the northern part of the city, for bouncy banda rhythms, cumbia and a separate room with rock, pop and techno. For prices, concert listings and directions, visit www.rodeosantafe.com.mx.
The intrepid traveler on a budget shouldn’t miss the Lucha Libre, the Mexican version of the WWF, where you can see masked, muscly giants like Mistico and Blue Panther pummel one another in a crusty downtown arena that will bring Jack Black’s “Nacho Libre” to life.
You can even buy your own mask for about $5, and scream obscenities at the fighters along with the rest of the hyped-up crowd. While nerve-wracking for the faint of heart, most of the fighters’ swings, jumps and slaps are choreographed and safe, but be prepared for the stomach-curdling, accidental injury. Reserve tickets at www.ticketmaster.com.mx or buy them ahead of the show at the Arena Coliseo or the Arena Mexico for about $13.
After seeing the city’s wild side, it is worth getting serious and exploring the wide array of local museums, most of which charge $4 or less. Many are scattered throughout the city’s expansive Chapultepec park, where you’ll encounter outdoor monuments, playgrounds and street performers as you take a break from the city streets.
To get around, hop one of the city’s red, double-decker Turibuses that, for $9 during the week and $10 on weekends, will take you to all the main highlights. Their routes and schedules are listed at www.turibus.com.mx. The city’s efficient metro system will also ferry you around for a mere 18 cents a trip. Get off at the Auditorio or Chapultepec stops and meander along the park’s winding paths.
The Museum of Modern Art and the Rufino Tamayo Museum have interesting exhibits; Papalote is an interactive children’s museum that takes a whole day to explore. History buffs won’t want to miss the Castillo de Chapultepec, the hilltop mansion where Emperor Maximilian briefly lived with his wife Carlotta before the French withdrew and Maximilian was executed by Mexican forces. An exhibit also describes in great detail how American invaders killed heroic Mexican cadets in 1847.
Just down the hill is the world-class National Museum of Anthropology, with exhibits on the first humans who found their way to the continent, the height of the Aztec and Mayan cultures and modern-day indigenous communities. Admission to the regular collection costs $4, Tuesday to Sunday.
And just outside the museum is a fascinating spectacle – the Voladores de Papantla – ritual dancers who risk their lives climbing a towering pole and then spinning around upside down as the ropes slowly lower them to the ground. The event is free but a tip of about $1 is in order.
Anyone interested in Mexican muralists should return to the city center, to the Palacio de Bellas Artes, known for its European architecture that incorporates curvy, organic shapes in an art nouveau exterior with the straight, geometric figures of an art-deco interior. Works by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Jose Clemente Orozco, designed specifically for the space, stretch from floor to ceiling, telling the story of Mexico’s social struggles. Admission is $2.25 and free on Sundays.
After all this adventure, treat yourself to an evening at La Bodega, at Popocatepetl 25 in the trendy Colonia Condesa, where you can have dinner for about $15. Throw in $5-$10 more on weekends and you can dine while listening to live pop, rock or blues, or even a standup comedian. Check the schedule www.labodega.com.mx. You deserve it. This is a night to relax and have fun after days of adventurous budget exploring in one of the world’s most interesting and exciting cities.
If you go …
Mexico City: www.visitmexico.com/wb/Visitmexico/Visi_Ciudad_de_Mexico or 800-446-3942.
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