Zona Rosa ('Pink Zone') is an area in Mexico City which is known for its shopping, nightlife, LGBT community, and its recently established Korean community. The larger official neighborhood it is part of is Colonia Juárez, located just west of the historic center of Mexico City.
The area's history as a community began when it was developed as a residential district for wealthy foreigners and Mexico City residents looking to move from the city center. The development of the area stalled during and after the Mexican Revolution. From the 1950s to 1980s the neighborhood was revitalized by artists, intellectuals and the city's elite who repopulated the area, gave it a bohemian reputation and attracted exclusive restaurants and clubs for visiting politicians and other notables. It was during this time that the area received the name of Zona Rosa, from José Luis Cuevas. The era ended in the 1980s, when many of the upscale businesses moved out and tourism, men's clubs, prostitution and crime moved in.
Although the area declined during the 1980s, it is still a major shopping and entertainment district and has also become a major tourist attraction for the city, one that the city has worked to preserve and rehabilitate since the 2000s, with mixed success. From the 1990s, the area has also become home to Mexico City's gay community, which is prominent around Amberes Street and sponsors an annual pride parade on Paseo de la Reforma.
Its neighbours Colonia Roma to the south create one of the major hotspots for nightlife, dining and culture in the city.
History
Zona Rosa began to be developed along with the rest of Colonia Juárez in the mid-19th century; however, it has always had an independent identity. Originally the area was called “La Teja”, then “La Zona Americana” or “Colonia Americana”, as presidents from Benito Juárez to Porfirio Díaz promoted it for foreign investment and residency up until the early 20th century. The area also attracted Mexico City's elite who were looking to escape the city center. During this time, the area was filled with cafes, pastry shops, and a number of green areas designed to create a European atmosphere. For this reason the streets were named after European cities such as Hamburg (Hamburgo), London (Londres), Copenhagen (Copenhague), Genoa (Genova), Nice (Niza), and Liverpool. The Mexican Revolution put an end to the building here and the initial mansions remained, but many were abandoned.
Nevertheless, the area remained one of the more glamorous zones for most of the 20th century. Expensive cafes and restaurants, art galleries, and jewelry stores continued to attract wealthy residents, although on a reduced scale.
Bohemian appeal In the 1950s, the area was repopulated and reinvigorated by artists and intellectuals attracted to its location between the historic center and Chapultepec Park. This period saw the opening of trendy bars, clubs, restaurants, cafes, bookstores, and art galleries which gave the area a bohemian feel. Pasaje Jacaranda was an innovative shopping center that opened on Genova Street in the 1960s. By the 1960s, politicians such as Adolfo López Mateos, Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, and Miguel Alemán, as well as painters such as José Luis Cuevas and writers such as Carlos Fuentes and Carlos Monsivais, lived, worked and visited the clubs here such as Café Kineret. Fine restaurants were established such as Focolare in 1953, La Gondola in 1958 and Passy, also in 1958. These three don't exist anymore. Clubs and restaurants were exclusive, with dress codes. However, there were also several clubs known for chorus girls. One of these was the Can-can, on the corner of Hamburgo and Genova Streets. This mix of bohemian and propriety prompted Cuevas to comment that the area "Es demasiado ingenua para ser roja, pero demasiado frívola para ser blanca, por eso es precisamente rosa (is too naive to be red, but too frivolous to be white, for this reason it is precisely pink)". This is the origin of the area's current name.
In 1967, Cuevas created a mural on a rooftop in Zona Rosa only to destroy it seconds afterwards. This event was meant to rebel against the social and political content of most of Mexico's post-Revoluction mural movement. In 2003, a reproduction of Cuevas’ “ephemeral mural” was placed on the same rooftop on which the artist created and destroyed the original. This era of Zona Rosa's development continued until the 1980s. During this time many galleries, bohemian bars and restaurants opened. The area was considered to be tolerant, intellectual and cosmopolitan. It even had its own literary magazine called Zona Rosa.
Decline Problems in the area began as early as 1968, when the construction of the Mexico City Metro caused the area to lose its exclusiveness and crime increased. Real deterioration began when the older, finer businesses such as boutiques and galleries moved out, mostly due to the economic crisis of the 1980s and the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, which substantially damaged the area. Many of the more exclusive businesses were replaced by men's clubs, gay bars, and massage parlors, which has made Zona Rosa more “red” than “pink”. As the area was promoted for tourism, fast-food places, nightclubs, and bars sprung up, which have engendered problems with underage drinking and prostitution.
La Ronda was an establishment visited by intellectuals such as Guadalupe Amor and Manuel Felgueres, but today it is a men's club named Foxy's. Other establishments, such as a bar named Tirol once located in one of the area's old mansions, have simply shut down and their buildings remain deserted. Many of the stores selling jewelry, arts and other fine merchandise have been converted into stores with more mass-produced items and souvenirs. Another change occurred in the vicinity of Amberes Street, where bars, clubs and other businesses catering to the gay community have appeared. These are distinguished by the use of rainbow colors on their facades.
Most of the decline of the area occurred in the 1980s and 1990s, when the city was governed by appointees of the federal government. In the late 1990s, the city government began to be elected by residents and in 1997, the ruling PRI lost power in the city to the PRD. The new city government was more interested in promoting and restoring the neighborhood. Tourist police were implemented, and efforts to better regulate businesses, control prostitutions, repair infrastructure and promote tourism were undertaken at various times during the 2000s.
These efforts have had mixed success. The city has conducted some high-profile raids of clubs such as the Bar Continental DJ Club, searching for drugs and minors. This operation eventually led to the expropriation of the property on Florencia Street as well as another club on Berna Street. They mayor stated it was part of ongoing operations and meant to be a warning to other club owners in the area. The expropriated building on Florence Street now houses a contingent of the Mexico City police. There have also been other raids in response to complaints about underage drinking and illegal gambling.
In late 2005, serial killer Raúl Osiel Marroquín frequented the area in search of gay men to kidnap. Marroquín, who expressed deep hatred for gay men, kidnapped and brutally tortured six men, killing four of them. He was arrested in January 2006 and sentenced to 280 years in prison. Due to targeting gay men, Marroquín is known as The Rainbow Killer.
In 2007, a public-private venture was started to connect and promote Zona Rosa along with the historic center as the Reforma-Centro Historico corridor. Crime has decreased, but residents and businesses continue to move out, while more “red” businesses move in. In 2004, two theaters were opened exclusively to show erotic movies under the name of Contempo Cinema. According to the owners, the movies shown are not pornography but rather films such as Last Tango in Paris, Basic Instinct and Wild Orchid, which do not have explicit sex scenes meriting an XXX rating. The new venues have about 200 seats each with a bar, restaurants and film store.
Work on infrastructure has been completed, mostly on Genova and Hamburgo Streets, but residents complain that the work is too slow, hurting their businesses. There are fears that these interventions, along with those scheduled between 2010 and 2012, will not be enough to save the area.
Description
Zona Rosa is a portion of the official neighborhood of Colonia Juárez, comprising 24 of the colonia's 99 city blocks. The borders of the area are formed by Paseo de la Reforma to the north, Varsovia Street to the west, Avenida Insurgentes to the east and Chapultepec Avenue and Metro Insurgentes to the south. Most of the streets in the area are named after European cities. A number of these streets are made of cobblestone, with two pedestrian-only. About 40 sculptures – 17 created by young artists from the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas of UNAM – have been installed on various streets, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Zona Rosa.
The area is one of Mexico City's primary shopping districts and nightclub areas. Streets are filled with bars and nightclubs, which fill on weekends. Among these clubs, men's clubs with table dances and gay bars stand out. In total, there are 714 businesses in the area, 137 of which are restaurants, which cater to foreign and Mexican visitors as well as businessmen who work on nearby Paseo de la Reforma. From its bohemian and intellectual heritage, there are also art galleries, bookstores and the like.
One echo from the area's past are a number of early 20th-century mansions built when the area was an exclusive residential area for Mexico City's wealthy. These homes were designed to look European, especially French. Some of these still remain, such as the one at 115 Hamburgo Street, but most are abandoned.
Leading to the area from the Insurgentes Metro is Genova Street, a pedestrian mall lined with eateries, 13 of which own areas on the street on which to put tables. It is popular with both locals and foreign visitors. Here, dozens of people handing out flyers stop pedestrians and drivers advertising gay bars and men's clubs, some of which operate illegally. It is also the site of the Corridor de Arte José Luis Cuevas, which occurs on weekends when an average of 40 artists display their works for sale. On this street stand around 40 sculptures created by young artists of the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas of UNAM.
Despite the installation of tourist police and other efforts, crime is still a problem in the area. The streets with the most problems are Londres, Hamburgo, Florencia, Liverpool, Niza, Amberes and Genova.
Gay community
Another prominent area is Amberes Street, home to Mexico City's gay community. This community was established in the 1990s due to the area's overall tolerance and the fact that police here did not extort members of the gay community. Today, homosexuality on Amberes Streets and the rest of Zona Rosa is fairly open with handholding and kissing among same-sex couples. This has led it to be compared to Barrio de Chueca in Madrid and the Castro District in San Francisco. It is famous for being a gay encounter area, especially for young gay men, with some being minors. A number of gay men make money through prostitution, mostly younger men soliciting older men. In 2010, the city opened a consulting office for homosexuals wishing to take advantage of Mexico City's law allowing them to marry.