Architecture of Mexico City Audio Guide | Context Travel

Audio Guide Details

Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
Product Type: Audio Guide
Venues: Condesa Neighborhood

Parque Mexico

Preview Architecture of La Condesa: Mexico City Audio Guide

La Condesa

Porfirio Díaz

Hotel Condesa DF

Photos & Highlights

Audio Guide Description

Developed in the early 1900s, when the country was struggling to redefine its identity, La Condesa neighborhood is filled with buildings that reflect the most important architectural movements in the country's history. On this walking tour with artist, professor, and Context Travel expert Julio Pastor, you'll discover the neighborhood's soul as you walk in the footsteps of the architects who built it, explore multiple architectural styles, and peer into busy cafes.

Starting outside the Edificios Condesa apartment complex, you'll trace the neighborhood's evolution from a horse racing track to a residential and cultural hub, where resilience and creativity converge. You'll marvel at the daring experimentation of architects like Francisco Serrano who seamlessly blended Art Deco with Modernist flavors, and Luis Barragán's famous style of connecting the interior with the green world outside.

As you wander through streets adorned with Mayan arches and Art Deco flourishes, you'll gain an understanding of how earthquakes have shaped the landscape, sparked architectural innovation, and created societal shifts, transforming Condesa into an enclave for artists and a beacon of urban renewal.

On this 75-minute self-paced tour, you'll have a chance to:

• Learn about the architect Le Corbusier's four design rules and the profound influence of European architects during Díaz's era

• Take in Juan Segura's visionary fusion of colonial style with Mayan arches

• Find out how horizontal windows helped architects take advantage of concrete, a relatively new material in the late 1800s and early 1900s

• Gain insight into the Modernist Movement's impact on Mexican architecture

• Take in the elegant Hotel DF, where modern aesthetics blend seamlessly with the historical charm of a 1928 building

• Stroll around Parque España, a haven adorned with trees and plants from around the world, nestled in the heart of Mexico City

• Gain an appreciation for the Art Deco movement with its geometric patterns and decorative elements that, when blended with aerodynamic elements, create the Streamline Moderne style

• Pick up the politics in nationalist architectural movements, from Neo-colonialism to the fusion of Art Deco with Pre-Colombian shapes

• See echoes of the Mexican Revolution in the neighborhood's architecture, a testament to the resilience and spirit of the Mexican people

In the Condesa, architecture transcends mere structures – it embodies the spirit of a nation striving for progress against the backdrop of a complex past. Experience the rhythm of Mexico City as you stroll through its streets, where every building narrates a new chapter.

Meet Your Expert

Julio

Born and raised in Mexico City, Julio Pastor is a proud pedestrian of his native city. He completed a BA in Fine Arts at UNAM. In 2008, he moved to the Netherlands where he completed his MFA, specializing in the Urban Landscape. After seven years, he returned to Mexico and turned the focus of his art production to the city that he roams every day. His art production is thoroughly inspired on what he encounters during his everyday walks, but also by a great deal of reading on topics related to architecture and urbanism. When not working at his art practice, Julio can be found teaching undergraduate drawing courses in the architecture department at the Universidad Iberoamericana, or enjoying the city with his wife and two children.

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