Insider Guide
W Hotels x them. Mexico City
Queer culture shapes this city’s past & present, and you’ll find hints of it everywhere in CDMX.
Insider Guide W Hotels x them. Mexico City
The essential guide to queer Mexico City
W Hotels has teamed up with them. to create a guide to Mexico City that celebrates the diverse historical, social, and insider experiences that are at times overlooked by traditional guidebooks. Each one serves to celebrate individuality everywhere and inspire a new generation of travelers to get up and go.
Queer culture in Mexico City is as joyful today as it has been in the past, however it hardly operates in the shadows anymore. LGBTQ+ people have founded some of Mexico City’s most exciting and enduring cultural institutions, and visitors to the Mexican capital will find a bustling and vibrant array of nightlife and daylife destinations to enjoy as they take in this incredible city. If you’re currently considering a trip to Tenochtitlan, we’re here to help. Here are some spots where queer Mexico City shines.
When in Mexico City, You Must
El Parnita
Bright, brunch-friendly taco spot
Av. Yucatan 84, Roma Nte
Baby
Intimate dance club with popular DJs
Londres 71
Museo del Estanquillo
Queer art, photography and collectibles
Calle Isabel la Catolica 26
Voces en Tinta
Bookstore with vast collection of LGBTQ+ titles
Calle Niza 23
Know Before You Go
Neighborhoods to Explore
1. Zona Rosa
Mexico City’s traditionally queer neighborhood, known for its nightlife, energy, and shopping.
2. Coyoacán
Famed for its bohemia, Coyoacán is a place for the development of Mexican artistic voices.
3. Tabacalera
The downtown Tabacalera neighborhood is known for its iconic position highlighting how far Mexico City has come in terms of LGBTQ+ rights.
Ultimate Access to Mexico City
Traición
Calle Gral. Prim 30
There are many queer parties in CDMX, but only Traición is guided by its own mythic, genderqueer Aztec deity. Each edition features queer performances you likely won’t see in the city’s clubs, plus a well-curated lineup of musical acts that represent the finest of Latin America’s sexo diverso diaspora.
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This is a very well-known but underground party. The music, the diversity of patrons, and locations are all mind-blowing.
Casa Azul
Londres 247
Frida Kahlo, who is today arguably Mexico's most famous queer creative, is much beloved here. Explore Frida’s famously florid life by visiting the gorgeous home in Coyoacán where she was born and eventually died, now preserved as a museum.
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Inside Casa Azul, you’ll find the painter’s maximalist collections of dolls and figurines, her orthopedic shoes, the vestiges of her years coupled with Diego Rivera, and a garden courtyard whose charms will linger in your dreams.
El Baile de los 41 plaque
Calle Dr Mora 1, Colonia Centro
Hidden on an average street in the downtown Tabacalera neighborhood, this plaque located at Calle Doctor Mora 1 commemorates a 1901 party whose queer attendees were arrested by police and sentenced to hard labor, many of them dying as a result. This plaque serves as a somber note highlighting how far Mexico City has come in terms of LGBTQ+ visibility.
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It’s whispered that el Baile de los 41 actually had 42 names on its original guest list, with then-President Porfirio Diaz’s own son in attendance, but allowed to sneak away before his unlucky friends were subject to his father’s homophobic censure.
Quintonil
Newton 55, Polanco
Diners that appreciate a subtle, plant-based approach to haute Mexican cuisine should head to Jorge Vallejo’s much-lauded Quintonil. Here, the restaurant’s garden helps fuel a rotating locavore menu that at times includes charred avocado tartare, smoky catches of the day, and the bushy, broccoli-adjacent huazontles, which may come paired with a fresh Chiapan cheese.
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This is an in-demand restaurant — if you want to dine at Quintonil while you’re here, be sure to try to grab reservations online at least two or three weeks in advance.
Licorería Limantour
Av. Álvaro Obregón 106
Sample Mexico City’s rich cocktail culture at Licorería Limantour, where mixology culture in the city really started shaking. Owner José Luis León Martinez is now one of the city’s legit bar stars, and one glance through his spot’s bold, rotating menu will explain why.
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Instant classics have included León’s intriguing green margarita and an entire menu update based on works of literature, such as Like Water to Chocolate and Pedro Páramo, a 1955 novel featuring a protagonist who finds himself in a ghost town.
Teatro El Vicio
Calle Madrid 13, Del Carmen
El Vicio was founded in 1954 by one of CDMX's most prominent queer writers, Salvador Novo. The poet envisioned the Coyoacán venue, with stages situated around a leafy green courtyard in a neighborhood famed for its bohemia, as a place for the development of Mexican artistic voices.
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The space’s mission remains the same over 70 years later, and it’s a perennial favorite for those looking for edgy theatrical programming, with a special focus on cabaret.
Kurimanzutto
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec
Kurimanzutto was founded in 1999 and spent its first nine years as an itinerant art space, occupying produce markets, semi truck shipping containers, and the Mexico City airport in its quest to support a new generation of Mexican creatives.
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The gallery recently opened a New York outpost, and in an inversion of previous mercado takeovers, the artist Gabriel Orozco last year installed an entire OXXO convenience store under Kurimanzutto’s graceful high ceilings.
Rosa Pistola
Calle, Lic. Verdad 11
DJ Rosa Pistola began her rise to fame as one of the reggaeton genre’s most powerful female figures by playing in Mexico City’s queer clubs, and has become a key force in making the metropolitan area's perreo scene more inclusive. At her eponymous streetwear boutique, tucked into a historic building found behind the Zócalo, Rosa sells her own unisex line of crop tops and hoodies, plus bodysuits, risqué cut-out sweatshirts, and handmade leather accessories from local queer designers like Deerton, Ivan Fiend, and Sébastien.
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Her private showroom accepts reservations — let them know in advance when you’re coming through.
AWAY Spa at W Hotel Mexico City
Campos Eliseos 252
Whether you’re looking to sweat out a long night on the town or just in search of some much-need rest and relaxation, the AWAY Spa and Fitness Center at W Mexico City is exactly where you’ll want to go.
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This is the only hotel spa in the city to feature a temazcal, or a traditional adobe sweat lodge used in ancient Mesoamerican rituals — meaning your self-care day won’t come at the expense of a rich cultural experience.
W Mexico City
Where trend-seekers meet to explore chic shops, a fast-paced cultural landscape, and tempting nightlife.
Spotted in Mexico City
Mexico City
Where trend-seekers meet to explore chic shops, a fast- paced cultural landscape and tempting nightlife.
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