About two weeks ago, I left my apartment in Lindavista area of Mexico City.
In contrast to other parts of the city, the specific area I am in seems to not have too much street food or restaurants available around the hours between 9 PM to 12 AM.
Where other areas, like Roma Norte, Centro Historico, Copilco area, Pedregal de Santo Domingo and others would have food available until 4 AM often enough.
So, where I live, you have to do a little “Dora the Explorer” game to find food at these hours.
There’s a little Ceasers nearby that is open until 10 PM and 11 PM on the weekends.
And you can get pastes until 8 PM.
If you walk closer past this one shopping mall nearby, you can find a lot more food options later into the night (tacos, hamburgers, tortas, etc).
But that’s about a 25 minute walk from where I am.
Going the other direction, you’ll be closer to Basilica area of Mexico City where there’s this great hamburger place.
It was the first time I ever visited the spot as I came across it.
I’ve probably been back a few times now because the lady who cooks the burgers does it great for me.
As I wrote here, sometimes you have to ask for something special in Latin America when the menu doesn’t have everything that a red blooded true American with high T and big D would want.
In this case?
The menu didn’t have any burger option with bacon nor double meat.
What type of burger place offers burgers without double meat or bacon?
It’s like this one burger place I went to when I lived by Copilco area of Mexico City a few months ago.
I had to ask them if they could put bacon on it for an extra price.
Same with this spot.
“Can you add two portions of bacon and double meat with extra cheese?”
She said yes!
All for 5 bucks.
As an American, you might have certain tastes from home but can’t find them on the menu.
Just ask!
More times than not, I’ve found that they’ll work with me for a reasonable price always.
Anyway, as I’m waiting for the burger, this motorcycle chick is sitting next to me giving me lots of attention.
There was some flirtatious attitude coming from her but it never went beyond that.
And a lot more of basic conversation between us about whatever basic stuff.
Where I’m from, what am I doing in Mexico, how I learned Spanish, etc.
In short, she seemed very interested in me.
Not just in a flirtatious way though mostly but a lot more of a “wow, you’re from where? What are you doing here?”
Now, keep in mind, Mexico City does have plenty of foreigners here.
Lots of them!
Even more since the Covid shit started as you have those looking to escape Covid rules and all.
However, so many of them concentrate in very specific pockets of the city with only some who occasionally travel outside of those bubbles.
And even fewer, like myself, who live outside of those bubbles.
In Lindavista?
I live VERY close to a touristy area called Basilica but I haven’t seen a single obvious foreigner here in my first month so far.
Even in Mexico City, you can find spots where you got a rare foreigner living there and a slightly lesser rare foreigner visiting but with basically no real gringo presence.
At least not compared to the gringo presence of areas like Roma or Condesa.
For example, when I traveled to the center of Coyoacan recently as you can see here, it was like being in a completely different city.
So many foreigners!
So much English!
So many hustlers trying to make money from me.
Suffice to say, nobody gave a fuck that I was from another country.
A dime a dozen in the center of Coyoacan.
But a sexy Benjamin dolla I am in Lindavista.
At any rate, the food was done.
Paid and left.
But that wasn’t the last time someone in Lindavista area really took interest in me.
“Wow, Que Haces Aqui?”
As you can read here, my birthday was last month.
After spending the night with a Mexican girl named Jovi, she left back to her apartment.
Soon after, I walked about 30 minutes towards that one spot of the city mentioned before past the shopping mall.
I remember seeing an interesting burger place by there and decided to check it out.
Once I got there, I opened up in Spanish asking for some “meat lovers” burger or whatever it was called.
The waiter opened up in English asking me “where are you from?”
Similar to the taco guy we’ll get to, I responded with a “como?”
Then said I’m from Russia when he asked in Spanish where I’m from.
We then conversed from there.
As the food was being made, the dude yelled back at some employee in the spot telling him that “hey, he’s from Russia!”
And basic conversation from there.
All around seemed very interested in me from being outside of Mexico.
Not so much interested necessarily in my newly invented “Russian identity” but more about “what am I doing here?”
In typical fashion, he asked me if “I have a Mexican girlfriend?”
That seems to be a typical question some ask when they want to figure out why you live in Mexico for so long and why you live in their specific, non-touristy area.
The logic being that “OK, the girlfriend brought him to the area!”
I didn’t say I had a girlfriend and just explained that I live in Mexico City and wanted to see a new area.
Conversation flowed from there.
That was it.
“We Mexicans Love Foreigners!”
Today, I decided to get some food outside.
As I walked towards Basilica area, I was initially going to get some pastes.
Which are meat filled pastries.
However, the lines at both of the spots for pastries were long as fuck.
So I decided to go to the Burger King next to them.
However, to my surprise, the Burger King DOUBLED its prices for chicken and I love chicken.
But I didn’t bring enough money with me since I only had 150 pesos on hand and I wanted to buy dinner also for later tonight.
So I walked back to the pastes.
Waited a good 15 minutes to order my food.
On the walk back on this cloudy day, I noticed some “tacos al pastor” spot.
Despite walking around the area quite often, I never noticed it before.
It must be new or something!
There’s a few other spots that sell “tacos al pastor” in the area but they want like 10 to 12 pesos for each taco.
For those who don’t know, these tacos are SMALL AS FUCK.
And they always sell for like 4 to 6 pesos a piece.
Who the fuck is trying to sell it for the 12 pesos a piece?
That delicious hamburger spot I mentioned before!
I began to assume that the owner must’ve smoked a lot of meth and realized at the same time that were limited options for “tacos al pastor” in this specific part of Lindavista.
Or else I don’t know how the hell he came up with that price.
Lots of meth, amigo.
But I did begin to think he was right because I have seen a relative lack of “tacos al pastor” spots in this area compared to other areas of the city that I’ve seen.
Anyway, I was happy to find a spot for “tacos al pastor” for only 5 pesos a taco!
I got 10 of them as you can see here.
When I began ordering, the waiter asked me in English “where you from?”
Because I didn’t know him, I pretended to not speak English and said to him a few times “como?”
Then he switched to Spanish.
I told him I’m from Russia.
And the conversation flowed from there.
Thankfully, he didn’t try speaking Russian to me or telling me how he loves Putin as I’ve two people do the above before!
One taxi driver in Colombia who asked me to “rate his Russian” as he told me he was learning years ago in Barranquilla.
And a Mexican newspaper vendor on the street who flipped his newspaper open and told me about how he “LOVES PUTIN!”
Thankfully, no Russian language review lessons here nor any homosexual love expressed for European leaders.
Just some basic ordering of tacos!
The tacos came quick enough.
Though 10 tacos might seem a bit much, I have to tell you again that the tacos are SMALL AS FUCK.
You really do need 10 if you’re a red blooded American with high T and big D that needs LOTS of protein.
Anyway, from the second the tacos were being cooked to when I had them in my hand, this waiter was just telling me ENDLESSLY about how he LOVES foreigners
And asking me LOTS of questions about Russia and what I’m doing in Mexico.
All of the basic questions like “do I like Mexico?” and “how did I learn Spanish?” and “if I like Mexican women?”
For some odd reason, I always find it funny when a local in Latin America asks me if “I like the women?”
In my mind, the question gets translated as such:
“Don Gringo, do you like our women? Are their pussies tight enough for your superior American cock? Would you please fuck my wife too, Don Gringo? I BEG YOU. My small ass faggot 2 inch Mexican penis can’t do her no justice. PLEASE DON GRINGO, just answer me – DO YOU LIKE OUR WOMEN, DON GRINGO?!?”
It’s just a weird and funny question.
I wouldn’t ask random foreigners in my country – “do you like American women?”
A little bit funny but I get it’s just one dude talking to another.
Anyway, like with the Mexican newspaper guy mentioned, I half-assed my response about “what is Russia like?”
Very basic answers.
“It’s different from Mexico. It’s cold, very cold. We drink lots of vodka. And it’s cold. And we drink vodka.”
To be honest, I’m more down to tell someone I’m from the US and let them practice their English on me if I actually know them for at least 30 minutes.
If it’s a complete stranger? I tell them I’m from Russia because it does sometimes annoy me a little bit when dealing with a local who wants to come across as educated or practice English with me for free.
However, if I get good vibes from the dude, I’m OK with them speaking English with me.
Had I known this guy ahead of time, I would’ve said I’m from the US but the damage is done and it’d look weird to change it to “I’m from the US.”
It's not either that my Spanish is perfect and that I'm judging folks for their English skills. I just don't like being forced to practice English with a stranger for various reasons beyond what I'll cover in this article (and what I have already covered in other articles).
Anyway, as I get my tacos, I take some baby steps away and the guy follows me a little bit.
We walk closer to the next street as he keeps talking to me about Mexico.
How it’s a great country.
How he’s happy that I’ve lived here for so long and how I like it.
To explaining to me very strongly how “we Mexicans LOVE foreigners! Love meeting them. Having people from all over the world visit us.”
And it didn’t feel like the dude was trying to be extra nice to me for a tip during any point of our conversation.
He genuinely seemed both interested in telling me how nice Mexico is to foreigners and also how “he RARELY meets foreigners.”
And, out of curiosity, I asked him if he never meets “Americans, Canadians, etc.”
Because there was a part of me that thought that maybe he’s reacting this way because I said I’m Russian.
After all, I imagine the amount of Russians in this area is less than Americans.
And he said “well, sometimes but not many. Not in this area.”
Going on about “no importa. We love meeting foreigners from anywhere. WELCOME WITH OPEN ARMS!”
And he didn’t seem ingenuine.
He genuinely came across as real.
Very motivated to tell me how foreigners are very welcome here anyhow.
But good vibes all around.
And all of these little stories bring me to the main two points I want to bring up
Final Thoughts
First, you have some who say that parts of Latin America have so many gringos that we aren’t a novelty anymore.
I get it.
But I also don’t entirely agree.
Look, most foreigners who come to Latin America stick to the very touristy areas.
Way too many gringos who shake in their panties in fear at the thought of leaving Roma, Condesa, Polanco, center of Coyoacan or El Centro.
Some do leave those areas!
But those who do tend to for a visit and are a statistical few.
Those who live outside of those areas are even fewer.
Well, to be fair, there’s a few other spots in Mexico City where gringos hang out more commonly but you get the idea.
Because of that, even in a place like Mexico City, you can find spots where gringos are few and far in between.
I’ve lived in them!
Around Lindavista area, I have yet to see a single gringo here so far in my month and counting in this area.
Around Copilco and Pedregal de Santo Domingo area? Never saw a single gringo in that area in my year there.
By Cuatro Caminos? Can’t remember one.
And nor do I remember seeing any gringo sin other areas of the city that aren’t touristy.
That isn’t to say that other gringos don’t occasionally visit those areas or that you don’t have some who live in those areas.
But I’d be willing to bet that at least some of those who live in those areas have Mexican heritage also.
Second, you also have more of that “extra interest” in you by the locals in those areas.
When I lived in Pedregal de Santo Domingo, I remember apartment hunting over a year ago when I first came to the area.
Some street dude just sitting down people watching was nice but also just confused as to what I was doing there.
He never met a single gringo in the area.
I met other locals like that in that area.
They were nice!
Just curious about me, what I’m doing there and my life in general.
Not at all trying to make money from me or practice English.
A vibe among them that felt more genuinely nice than what you find among the locals in touristy areas like Roma.
In areas like Roma, you got more of the upper class Latino who, if I’m being honest, I just don’t vibe well with most of the time.
I don’t know why.
I vibe a lot less well with folks who come from wealthier or very comfortable backgrounds.
We just don’t connect.
I feel like I’m talking with a faggot when I speak with some of them.
Some limp dick faggot who is more conscious of “social rules,” is extremely passive-aggressive, orgasms in fear when facing confrontation and who runs in his pokemon underwear around going “i SpEaK eNgLiSh!!!!”
Meanwhile, in areas like Roma, you got other locals who see me as an English tutor or ATM machine.
In places like Lindavista?
None of the above seem to exist so far.
Never saw it much at all (if ever) in places like Pedregal de Santo Domingo or Cuatro Caminos.
And the people are much nicer to hang out with.
When I lived in Pachuca, I remember going to some bar where the locals were none of the above and all around cool to discuss shit with.
Invited me to their table and we had a good time.
For me, meeting the locals is all around much more fun and memorable in a place like Lindavista or Pedregal de Santo Domingo than Roma or Condesa.
Granted, touristy areas have their charm in their own ways.
By being touristy, they have touristy places obviously!
And usually come with some specific bars and restaurants that are worth mentioning.
And so how is life in Lindavista?
Well, to be fair, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
The apartment I picked, as you can read here, is kinda shit.
But all of my problems with this new area are tied to the apartment.
I don’t plan on staying in this apartment for long and will find a new place somewhere in the same neighborhood soon.
But anyway – we’ll leave it at that.
The major points being that the novelty of being a gringo does still exist in various non-touristy pockets of Latin America and, at least for me, locals in those areas are more cool to talk with.
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Thanks for reading.
Best regards,
Matt