San Rafael and Santa María la Ribera

Two of Mexico City’s first official neighborhoods outside of Centro Histórico, San Rafael and Santa María la Ribera have been considered well-located residential areas since the late 19th century. These neighboring colonias in the Cuauhtémoc borough have some similarities, but there’s much that changes when you cross the Avenida Ribera de San Cosme.

First off, Santa María la Ribera is a lot busier than San Rafael. There are more restaurants, a coffee shop on seemingly every corner, and a number of beloved cantinas, and its activity is largely based around the late 19th-century Moorish Revival gazebo. The neighborhood has had its ups-and-downs over the years, but during the day, you’ll see more parents picking up their children from school and elderly locals going about their daily business. Perhaps slightly rough around the edges for some, Santa María la Ribera feels like a small pueblo surrounded by a very large city.

Just south of Santa María la Ribera and north of Cuauhtémoc, San Rafael is mostly residential, with wide sidewalks, a few very good restaurants, long-running taquerías, classy cantinas and chill cafés, and its most famous offering: theaters. It’s notably quieter than Santa María la Ribera, but equally as well situated to exploring the city. San Rafael could be said to hide its secrets well: it's not flashy and there aren’t as many young people or foreigners around (although with its relatively low rents that will likely change soon). But for now, it remains a storied neighborhood, with a history focused primarily on its number of theaters that have been in operation since the 1950s; some, like Cine Opera, have closed down but are in the process of renovation—an apt metaphor for San Rafael as a whole.