A couple of weeks ago a couple of friends of mine, one in Dallas, Texas and the other in Geneva, Switzerland e-mailed me the article Art? Yes. Lattes? Not Yet from the New York Times. I took the two articles as a sign to check out a new up-and-coming artist neighborhood named Col. Santa Maria la Ribera here in México City. The article made the neighborhood sound like fun and adventuresome AND since I am looking for a new apartment I decided to check it out. It really was an adventurous outing, going to the places mentioned in the article, like the cantina Salon Paris and the Russian restaurant Kolobok.

HOWEVER, what I also found was a gay café and restaurant called La Dolce down the street from the Russian restaurant also on Salvador Díaz Mirón street. La Dolce is decorated with a large rainbow flag on the outside of the building and plenty of little rainbow flags inside the place. I went to La Dolce during lunch time and it was full. Great food and drink for only 35 pesos, which is a little, less than $3.50 USD. Staff was friendly and helpful, but busy!

Around the corner at the other side of the park I found a pulqueria by the name of La Xochital. Looking up Xochitl on the Internet I found: is a day for creating beauty and truth, especially that which speaks to the heart who knows it will one day cease to beat. Xochitl reminds us that life, like the flower, is beautiful but quickly fades. It is a good day for reflection, companionship and poignancy; it is a bad day for repressing deep-seated wishes, desires and passions.

The name, Xochitl is a Nahuatl word, the language of the Aztecs and sounds all muy pretty, but the place was scary: I took a peak inside but did not go in because it was an odd little place. As you can see from the picture a homeless man parks his stuff outside La Xochitl while he goes inside to drink some pulque; pulque was a drink the Aztecs consumed at religious ceremonies.

A hand written sign on the swing door translates to say: No Minors, Women, police and military uniforms. Hmmm, does that mean no LEATHER?