Mexico City Travel Forum

Hola,

I will be visiting Mexico City to attend a photojournalism workshop June 15-22. Having done some research the middle class seems to be growing in Mexico City, people that have own their homes, have a car, access to credit, can afford to raise a family, and have a few pesos left over, etc.

For the workshop we have to come up with an idea for a story that we want to tell through pictures. I think enough has been focused on street kids and drug gangs. Maybe they are more hardcore, but I would like to focus on something positive and that most people in the US are not aware of.

I am hoping to find a typical Mexico City middle class family that would let me into their world to see how they live, for a few days. Of course I have a hotel and it would not be 24x7 as I'll be spending much of the time in the class room, too.

If you know of a family that you think would like to participate in the project, or if you fit the bill, I would love to hear from you. Or if you have any suggestions for other photojournalism projects. I would be glad to provide the participant with a DVD of fantastic image of their family and their life, free of charge.

Gracias,

Douglas
www.douglasljungkvist.com

I'm interested in photography as well, and though I don't know a family for you, the Luche Libre (Mexican Wrestling) matches may be a good place for a project.

thats a great idea.
way too many north americans think that all mexicans are uneducated wetbacks whose only wish is going to america.

if you don't find a family in advance then i would recommend you to visit the zona rosa where the better middle class do a lot of their shopping and hang out in the cafes.

alternatively you could visit one of the universities and speak to people there about the project.

Yes, you make a good point. I could do a sports essay on soccer, bull fighting, and wrestling. I want to visit Santa Fe, too. I am very interested in vertical sprawl and urbanism in general.

Douglas

Excellent suggestions. I think I will be staying in the Zona Rosa. And I think Santa Fe, which I want to visit for sure, also has a University. Any other social networking sites where I might find what I'm looking for?

Cheers,

Douglas

That´s nice, I am so sick of the poor poor Mexican imagery, my cynical suspicion is that Mexico itself is highly invested in promoting this picture of negativity as it helps them ship their poor people abroad...

In a city of 25 million there are millions of middle class and thousands of very very wealthy, in fact middle class live arguably much easier nicer lives than like-ranked in USA... how to find somebody to participate though is tough because its kind of intrusive and this is a very family oriented, rather formal country.

I think you should start with your photojournalism school itself and ask them to make a contact. University people also may be open to this - there are many U´s and communications departments, your dates are a bit tough with school kids... Another option is trying in your hotel - if you´re staying in a nice place one of the directors or PR staff might be interested in exchange for some publicity shots. Or doing a search for galleries or spaces that specialize in photography you might meet some people who will be nice career contacts as well as fit the bill. Unfortunately I find (I work in media here in Mexico) that contacts thru internet and cold calling are not usually successful UNLESS you talk to somebody who is in your field, who is a friend of a friend, to whom you have an intro.

You might want to post or search one of the expat sites, one is www.solutionsabroad.com, most of these participants live in DF and work with mid to upper class Mexicans.

Lucha Libre they will not let you come in with cameras unless you do a deal in advance, probably a money deal. But bring all ALL your gringo and Euro press credentials and you might get lucky at some sports events... museums also they are stingy about cameras even on the offer of good publicity.

Hi!
It's interesting and positive that you are making that kind of jounalism
If you want to observe the mexican middle class you could go to zona rosa where you will find different social groups like gay and lesbian couples, emos, straight people, office workers,etc and also see that mexico city society is not as conservative and close minded as many people abroad think.
Santa Fe is a "new" mega expensive neighborhood that was bild on the top of a garbage dump and looks like some cities in the US whre the upper class lives.
In Condesa and Roma neighborhoods you will find middle upper class and they a re close to zona rosa.
About a family it's hard to tell because if you don't speak good spanish you will have some difficulties but not an impossible task. I have traveled to many countries and i would bet that mexico city residents are still friendly with foreigners and you won't have many problems finding a family to do your research.
Good look and if you need more info let me know.

Great stuff, Antonio. Thanks!

Douglas

Just my 2 cents: there's a neighborhood close to Roma & Condesa called DEL VALLE: this is also a place where many middle classers live and there's a lot of business too. Also, there's a "wealthy" zone called POLANCO (not too far from Zona Rosa) where mainly jews and rich people live, but where you can find bunches of corporate offices and restaurants/cafes as well.... so that means you will see many middle class workers who attend the shopping centers and restaurants & bars in the area (there are MANY). There is a new shopping center here called ANTARA which is rather for super rich people, but it might be interesting to at least see it as most people would not expect to find such kind of shopping mall in Mexico.... but yeah, they do exist. Pretty much like the stuff you will find in Santa Fe. And yes, there's a large university there whose students come mostly from middle class to wealthy families (IBEROAMERICANA). Not too far from there, between Santa Fe and Interlomas (another wealthy zone) there's another university of the same kind called ANAHUAC.

Hope that helped at least a little.