“So…” my lovely boss said “Do you know

any pedagogues or not?” That was a good

question… well, not the question itself but all

what it implied. That week at the office

things got complicated by the lack of

personnel. For the next week we needed

about 3 psychologists, 5 pedagogues and 7

accountants, willing to work with us for free

(well, it was about social service, but in our

office its almost the same), and so far we had

success only with one Freudian psychologist

and two clueless administration students

(those count as accountants, right?). So,

basically we were still in big troubles.

Her question was innocent and free of malice

(or that’s what I tried to tell myself), after all,

I’m studying Economics at the UNAM, the

university with most students of the country,

so I should know a truckload of people,

right? I had to know dozens of acquaintances

and friends from all age groups, majors,

income and prettiness levels, so I should

know about a couple of pedagogues or

psychologists, right? Well, to be honest, of

about 200 people that I had the opportunity

to meet in UNAM, most of them are fellow

economists, like me, at the school and the

rest are the engineers that usually populate

the CELE.

It’s not an aspect of my life that surprises

me, after all, most of the places that I go to

socialize are mainly small reunions with close

friends that end with me screaming in pain

the next day, swearing that’s the last time I

drink alcohol in my life, so it would be naïve

to think otherwise.

Now, I needed to meet new people, I needed

to go out and learn a little about the social

life at my own university and get those

volunteers to my office but, where do the

accountants dwell? Where do the social

workers drink? Where are the places where

dentists go dancing? When do the law

students plan their next evil scheme?

So, instead of solving the problem at hand in

my office (and other insignificant things, like

completing my major thesis or my final

exams) I armed myself with 138 hastly-made

surveys and I went around Ciudad

Universitaria (UNAM’s main campus) in the

Pumabus (the university’s transport system)

to find out, and in the process, give you

some tips and recommendations about

which places you can visit and meet all those

wonderful people that take classes at UNAM.

SO MANY PLACES, SO LITTLE TIME

First, we must understand some little facts

about or “social habits” when we are going

out in Mexico City.

Mexico City is a huge place, with over five

thousand restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

It’s almost impossible to name them all or

just the ones that students like. With so

many places available it’s natural that every

person has their own personal favorites, all

of them scattered along the 2000 square

kilometers that conform this city.

By Omar Luciano López Velázquez

Nevertheless, it was possible to find some

favorite places in the surveys, most of them

preferred by their location, close to Ciudad

Universitaria. One of the main reasons for

this is transportation time. Most students do

not live close to campus. In fact, many live

several minutes, even hours away. So, if you

live far in the north like in Tlanepantla or

Naucalpan (far in the north of the City), you

probably won’t find attractive the idea to go

to drink to Coyoacan or Xochimilco, (both

sections located far in the south), on top of

the 2 or 3 hours that it will take you to go

back home.

Coyoacan’s main square

So, in the next sections I’ll try to show you

just the main activities, the two or three

places that received more mentions and

some recommendations if you are planning

to go there. Let’s start.

PARTY HARD!

The first significant findings in my

investigation had to do with the student’s

preferences to spend their free time. An

overwhelming amount prefers to go drinking

and dancing. Of course, this is not

particularly surprising. A lot of young people

around the country and the western world

like to go out and have fun with a little help

of alcohol. But what really surprised me is

the fact that most of them are not very

different from me with regards to going out.

To my surprise, 11.7% of all the people

surveyed prefers to go to local parties, and

from that total, almost 80% prefer to go with

the almost the same people and close friends

every weekend. Even the people who prefer

to go to nightclubs admitted that they still

liked to go to small parties with close friends

from their major or school. Massive big

parties with dozens, if not hundreds of

people were not amiss (2.1% of the total),

but those were certainly atypical. The most

common activity was just to hand around the

very close friends always in one of their

places.

Now, as I said, this surprised me at first. As

an almost social pariah, I imagined that the

rest of the university population were much

more outgoing and looking forward to

making new friends and that loners, like me,

were atypical students, preferring to go to

intimate reunions only with the closest

friends. But once I heard their explanations,

my surprise vanished right away.

Those reasons were almost the same. In the

first place, we have costs. When you go to a

friend’s house you don’t have to worry about

entrance fees or overpriced drinks. You just

go to your friend’s house after a short visit to

the nearest supermarket for the

corresponding alcoholic products, play some

music and you have got yourself a nice party.

There are also some security factors to

explain this preference. Maybe we don’t like

to accept it, but a lot of nasty stuff can

happen in big parties or even in respected

established night clubs; from wallet thefts

from waiters, to violent fights fuelled by

alcohol. The dangers of going out are many.

Also, there is the problem of transportation.

Most of UNAM’s students do not own a car,

so if a vehicle is unavailable, the parties and

get together need to finish earlier in order to

avoid being left stranded in the middle of the

city once the buses routes stop running.

Likewise, it’s not worth paying a high

entrance fee in and expensive drinks in a

club if the fun is going to end by 10:00 pm.

Last but not least, there is the cultural factor

in the Mexican culture; we just love to hang

out with our friends, enjoying the company

of persons that we know best and who we

got a special emotional bond with. I guess

that makes us feel secure and happy.

Now, if you were planning to meet new

people while you are studying at UNAM,

please do not feel discouraged by this

information, make new friends in Mexico is

easy, just talk a little with your own

classmates and you’ll find a friendly group

that would accept you in no time. Once you

got some friends, it’s even easier to get

invited in this kind of parties, in fact, it’s

almost unavoidable.

Some recommendation to keep an eye if you

are planning to go to bigger parties include

going with close friends or acquaintances,

keep an eye on your belongings if you are

planning to drink too much (you never

know!), and relax.

Also, most of the parties take place in the

south of the city, in neighborhoods like

Coyoacan, San Angel, Coapa or Pedregal

(43.75%) or around Ciudad Universitaria

(25%), so, if you are looking for a flat, it could

be a good idea to look around those areas…

unless you don’t want to end being the host

of those parties, of course.

About the kind of students that you are

going to find, well, considering that we are

talking about small parties, you can bet you

are going to find people from your school,

but if you are from the Philosophy or

Architecture schools, your chance to get in

one of those parties increases.

Now, I guess you will find it easy to get

invited to those small and personal reunions

with people of your own major, but if you

are reading this, I suppose that you want to

find good places to go out and maybe meet

some of your peers from other schools, and

I’m not going to let you down.

COFFEE AND DINER

I know that I’ve been talking about alcohol

and that the first thing that I think about

non-academic activities somehow involves it,

but that’s not true for all the students in this

university.

A noticeable 29% of all the people surveyed

do not consider alcohol an indispensable

element in their fun. Their favorite activities

include going to a nice place to have a good

meal (7.2% of the total), go to the movies,

(6.5%), to a café (5.8%), to walking or

shopping (5.07%) and some cultural

activities, like the theatre and museums

(2.17%).

Sport activities take a rather meager rate of

just 2.17% of the total, so I guess that’s why

we are so fat in this country. But to be fair,

many students actually play some kind of

sport, like the ever popular soccer or

racquetball, it’s just that practicing sports is

not our favorite activity.

The preferred places to eat are, again, mainly

around Ciudad Universitaria and Coyocan’s

central square. This sounds logical as at lunch

time you probably are… well… listening to

lectures, so going to “La Condesa”

neighborhood for a couple of sandwiches

between classes seems kind of stupid. With

the demand of over 100,000 students, the

places to enjoy a good taco are virtually

impossible to name all and, from all the

surveys, not even one place was repeated.

My recommendation is to try out the

Architecture and the Philosophy School

cafeterias if you want something cheap and

not too fancy, (although the Architecture

cafeteria is a little more expensive). If you

are feeling adventurous and you don’t care

too much about decoration, science school

cafeteria is a good option. In case you are

not afraid of the “Montezuma’s revenge”,

near the science school cafeteria you will

find several other options In some informal

food carts that range from homemade

cooking to a salad bar.

The Cineteca Nacional is famous for displaying international

cinema

If you want to get a little far away from the

campus, you could check “Las Tortugas”,

which is near subway Copilco station you can

reach it coming out from the Medicine

School pass going to the station, after the

7/11 store. You need to try the “enchiladas

suizas” and the salads. In front of “Las

Tortugas” you can find a Japanese restaurant

if you are already tired of Mexican food.

Also, close to those ones there is “El Ciruelo”

in “Paseo de las Facultades” street, famous

for its “Arrachera” steak. Finally, next to the

entrance to the metro station you can find

“Los Tres Poblanos”. Try their “aguas frescas”

(cold and natural fruit flavored drinking

sodas).

American fast food chains are not exactly

favorites among the student population, but

there were a couple of mentions about them

in the surveys, so, if you want standard

flavors it’s your call.

Not all is about food, and if you just want to

enjoy a good cup of coffee and good chat,

you can find several great cafés along

Coyoacan and Tlalpan central squares. There

not only can you get to meet UNAM’s

students, but also some arty people, like

Did you know that there

are over 9 cafeterias and

102 fast food shops around

Ciudad Uivesitaria??

writers and future artists. If it’s certainly true

that chains like Starbucks are winning market

share among the students but they are not

the main favorites of the students. The

favorite places use to be small coffee shops

not too fancy and with bohemian aura. Still,

that doesn’t means that those coffee shops

can’t turn into chains, an example is “El

Jarocho”, famous for their great taste and

cheap prices. You can find the “original” café

a few meters away from Coyoacan’s main

square, but there are several ones scattered

along the south of the city . For something

different, you could try “La Ruta de Seda”, a

small place near the “Miguel Angel de

Quevedo” subway station, on the avenue

with the same name. It was recommended

due to its “passara” tea and cakes like

“Kyoto” and “Tartetatia” (do not try to

pronounce it fast…).

Going to the movies remains a popular

activity, with the “Cinepolis” chain

complexes winning the market share of

students, the favorites being the ones

located in “Perisur” and “Universidad” malls.

But if you want foreign and art films, the

most popular place is “La Cineteca Nacional”,

located by Coyocan’s metro station, just

behind “Centro Coyoacan” mall, which is

actually cheaper than Cinepolis or Cinemex

movie chains.

Finally, if you want to enjoy a cultural event,

there is the “Centro Cultural Universitario”

inside UNAM’s campus where you can find

always a dance recital, a play or just take a

tour to the “Museo Universitario de Arte

Contemporaneo”, to find a little taste of

what modern artist have to offer.

I’M STILL SOBBER…

If you are like me, you are probably anxious

to know where the booze and the nice chicks

get together, but as in all the previous

sections, we need to understand first some

aspects of Mexican society.

When you are planning to go out in México

City, you must be aware of the kind of place

that you might want to go to, the kind of

things that you’d like to do and how much

money you want to spend. I think we all do

this no matter what part of the world you are

from, but in a country like Mexico, with

drastic income differences among social

spheres, this becomes an aspect to consider

more carefully.

Having said this, I’ve categorized the places

recommended into the amount of money

that the students usually expend there and

into the kind of people that usually go there.

So, let’s start.

THIS PLACE IS SO RAD, BRO!

First, let’s start with the “nice” places, for

“nice places” I mean sites located in well

established neighborhoods or districts, with

good services and usually close to high-

income residences or commercial zones.

These places are generally more expensive

than others, so you can expect to find high-

income students.

A still image of a typical night in the Pata Negra

From this category, a night out can cost you

(and only you) between $400 and $1000

pesos, and maybe more. Most of the

recommended places are located in the

“Condesa” and “Roma” sections, where most

of the offer of restaurants, bars and clubs are

located. Expect to find young students, not

only from UNAM but from several private

universities, and the kind of music you’ll hear

it is going to be alternative and electronic.

For the preferences among students, a

whopping 18.11% of the students attend

with some regularity to these places. It’s an

interesting number considering that most of

the UNAM´s students can’t afford those

places.

One of the favorites clubs was “El Pata

Negra”, located in Juan Escutia and

Tamaulipas Street, near Mexico Park, fancied

by its great casual environment (the mojitos

are recommended). Favorite mainly among

psychologists, phisicians and dentists was the

“Bulldog Café” or just “Bull”, as most people

refer to it, located in Revolución Avenue and

Rubens, near Mixcoac subway station. Expect

to find many students from other universities

here, and also, be careful with anything

strange that the waiters put on your drink, as

some have reported it provokes a little eh…

let’s say… “adverse sexual behavior”.

But one of the main favorite and the most

recommended places, not only from this

segment but from all the surveys in general

(with a 2.9% of the total), was “Centro

Cultural de España”, located in the center of

Mexico City, in Guatemala Street # 18, just

behind the cathedral. The place was favored

by its original concept. The place mixes the

bar aspect with all sorts of cultural activities,

for example, they have an art gallery

showing recent tendencies in art from

national and international artists, also there

are several programs and courses special

events. Another important aspect of the

place was the magnificent view of the

terrace. If you are planning to go, try the

Chocolate Martini, the Mojitos and wear

casual (NO sneakers or cap casual). Expect to

find students from the architecture school.

Main gate to Centro Cultural de España

NOT SOO MUCH, NOT SO LITTLE

Now let’s talk about the middle income

places, which prices ranged from expending

$150 to $350 pesos the night. These places

make up the majority of the results (18.84%),

so you’ll find here the most diverse student

population. This sector is composed by

people not too rich that go to the “Bull”

every weekend but not so poor to forget

about Fridays completely. Here I found a

marked shift in the geographic area of the

city, moving from La Condesa neighborhood,

to the south of the city and the surroundings

of Ciudad Universitaria.

Many different places were recommended in

Coyoacan, Coapa and San Angel

neighborhoods, although no place in

particular was mentioned more than once, I

recommend that you check out Coyacan’s

downtown, Acoxpa and Cafetales Avenues in

Coapa and “El Elemental” bar in Santa Ursula

Avenue (try out the “gomichelas”, beer with

lime, chili and jelly sweets).

The most favored place in this segment, with

2.9% of the total, was the “Rosso” Billiard

room, most commonly known just as “The

billiard close to Copilco”. The difference with

the other most favored place (Centro

Cultural España) is that what makes it special

is not an original concept or exotic drinks nor

the view. It is simply that it is too darn close

to the Filosophy, Law, Economics and

Dentistry schools, so it receives a good influx

of students from those schools. Located in

Cerro del Agua Street and Copilco Avenue

very close to the Copilco subway station, its

main highlight is the Thursday´s karaoke,

where the main activity is not to sing, but to

make fun of those who do. The other

highlight: the cheap beer. Funny enough, no

one recommended the billiard tables.

A rare view, El cenote Azul is empty…

Another favored place was “El Cenote Azul”,

located just 10 minutes away from the

Medicine School in Alfonso Pruneda Street

#24, the restaurant-bar is preferred by its

proximity to the university, its comfortable

environment, ample space and the pizzas

prepared there. El Cenote Azul also works as

a hostel so you should consider staying there

if you plan to come to UNAM just for a

couple of days.

NO ONE UNDESTANDS ME!

For the next to the last segment I’ve chosen

to name the most “alternative places”, and

believe that I mean it when I say

“alternative”. These places are in the same

list because they share a very specific market

niche, the one where kids paint their hair in

different colors, use black clothes and

“Terrible service, terrible

environment, too expensive and they

can’t even keep a reservation” Pharmaceutics Student about

“Sinatra” a karaoke bar located in Insurgentes

Avenue

extravagant looks. Here you will find Goths,

punks, emos, and other very alternative

lifestyles. This made up to 9.42% of the total

of the places, and ranged from very

clandestine establishments in the most

dangerous neighborhoods, to the snobbish

style of Coyoacan. In this segment you’ll find

students mainly from Filosphy, Sciences and

Political Sciences schools.

Most of the places recommended for this

segment are located in the center of the city,

with very variable prices. Clubs like; “El

Clandestino” in Rio de los Remedios Street,

“El Ghetto” in Cinco de Mayo Steet or “El

Abundio” in the ever dangerous “La

Guerrero” neighborhood, had affordable

prices albeit little variety of drinks.

The Underground is a good place to express your middle-

income angst and alternative attitude

But if you not very willing to visit the real

underground pars of the city, there are

always places like “The Real Underground”

(see what I did there?), or just “El Under”, for

the kids who are not very sure about what

they are rebelling. This a bar where “darks”,

goths, punks and other counter-culture

urban tribes meet to drink vodka and hear

heavy rock and gothic music. The place is

located in Monterrey Steet No.80, close to

the old Cibeles roundabout. As the location

of the place may suggest you, these are not

exactly real outcasts of society, but young

students with money trying to be different. A

good place to check in if that’s your thing. If

not, try out “El Bizzarro” in Coyoacan’s

downtown in Cuauhtemoc Steet # 168, with

almost the same kind of patrons and the

addition of flavored beers.

If by alternative you are not thinking in black

clothes and dyed hair, the “Oasis Moto-

Club”, just next (once more) to Copilco

subway station, could be of your taste… if

that taste means Mexican country music and

Caribbean rhythms. Recommended for being

a great place to dance Salsa its proximity and

cheap beer prices make it a favorite between

students of all the schools.

Finally, albeit not very alternative in the

original sense of the world, you can try the

baffling experience to get drunk on board a

boat in a canal inside the city. In Xochimilco

you can rent a “trajinera” (a folkloric river

boat) for $200 pesos the hour, a music player

and enjoy the experience of getting wasted

in middle of an ancient canal. Make sure to

bring your own beer.

THAT’S DARN GOOD, CUZ

For the last segment, which is composed by

the most cheap places in the city, I’ll have to

admit that I come empty handed, not

because there weren’t students who went

there (7.24% of the total), but because the

places where to diverse that I’ve problems to

name just one. I can only say that most of

them were located in the outer rim and the

center of the city (not the nice part of the

center neighborhood), where you can have a

nice time by no more than $100 pesos.

The only place that I can recommend you is

the “Las duelistas”. This place is not a cantina

nor a bar, but a “pulqueria” a place where

pulque, an alcoholic drink made of

fermented sap of maguey. The pulque is the

most traditional drink that you’ll find in

Mexico city, and “Las duelistas” is one of the

most popular places to drink it by young

people, mainly because it allows the

entrance to women, a policy that most

pulquerias in Xochimilco do not follow. As

the flavor of the pulque is an acquired taste

it is usually mixed with other ingredients like

fruits or nuts, this allows for a greater offer

of drinks which are called “curados”. So, if

you are visiting Las duelistas and you are not

feeling very brave to drink pure pulque, try

the curado of pinion, oatmeal or tangerine.

Las duelistas is one of the few pulquerias mainly populated by

young people

Well, as you can see, there social places to

meet and befriend UNAM students (along

with students of other universities) is

virtually limitless. Of course, there are other

places to drink and pass a good time besides

of the ones listed here, but I don’t want to

promote places like “Las islas” (UNAM’s

central plaza) and other green areas of

Ciudad Universitaria, where 5.79% of the

students use to go drinking, so let’s stop

here.

As conclusion, I would want to say that I’ve

found kind of sad the kind of social activities

that we, UNAM’s students, are involved. I’ve

found so many places and so many activities

and I find kind of depressing to think what

we are all missing by going to the same

places and meeting the same people over

and over again. I’m not saying that we should

change of friends every two months, I’m

saying that there is a lot of the interesting

and fun people out there, people who could

be great friends or even partners and we are

missing the opportunity to meet them and

talk with them.

So, my resolution for this next semester, it’s

to visit all the places that were

recommended in the surveys, make a few

dozens of new friends and… and… and…

Well, I’ll think more about it once I find

about 3 psychologists, 5 pedagogues and 7

accountants.

PHOTOGRAPS:

Head: ciberpostales.com – www.ciberpostales.com

Casa del Vagabundo - http://casadelvagabundo.blogspot.com

CCE - www.ccemx.org/

Cenote Azul - www.elcenoteazul.com

Instituto Mexicano de la Radio - http://www.imer.gob.mx/

Pata Negra - www.patanegra.com.mx