Travel Sketchbook: Mexico City

Below is everything I drew in 12 sweet days in Mexico City at the beginning of January. Thank you, CDMX for your lusciously green streets, vibrant history, and countless tacos. I'll savor this inspiration steadily through my blustery, gray New England winter.

Here are fragments of my broken Spanish, sketches caught in real time, ephemera from restaurants and businesses, bites I savored, and my attempts to loosen up and work quickly. One of the places shown below is Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo's home where she lived for much of her life, which is now open to the public as Museo Frida Kahlo. I painted in the courtyard, reflecting on the beautiful life Frida had made for herself.

For a night away, my friends and I drove a few hours away to Tepoztlan, a town known for its magical energy and mysticism. We hiked through a national park and experienced a Temezcal, a prehispanic healing ritual. We spent time in the central market sampling itacates, a new favorite food of mine, made of triangular corn tortilla and fillings such as squash blossom and cheese.

Among other places we visited was Mercado Medellin, a market in the Roma Norte neighborhood, with vendors selling goods from a variety of Central and South American countries and some food stalls where we stopped for lunch and to buy a pinata for our friend Emma's Birthday. We also went to Cafebreria, a bookstore/ library/ bar combo with floors of books and a great atmosphere for hanging out and sketching- of course! By drawing directly with a pen, I found I was able to work quickly to capture the characters in the scene instead of having to return to a subject later via a photograph. I also enjoy the spontaneous feel it gives my sketches.

It's hard to sum up everything I took in over those 12 days, but my biggest takeaway is that Mexico City is a place one could return to many times and still barely scratch the surface.

Have you been to Ciudad de Mexico? Let me know what your favorite places are- for my next visit!