Oh, this is so good.
- Uh-oh.
You got a friend.
- He's going to steal this.
- Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait a second
- Ohhh!
- Right there. - Oh.
- He's waiting. Come on!
No, the chocolate is mine.
[music]
Mexico my love [in Spanish]
[music]
Today, we're going to show you the most sophisticated neighborhood
in Mexico City.
It's called Polanco.
Hello, I'm Renata.
And on this channel, I bring you on a tour around the world.
I'm a journalist as well, so expect a lot of information.
In the previous video, we showed you
some really nice neighborhoods in the capital of Mexico,
like La Condesa.
- A beautiful place, huh? - Yeah.
- Wow.
- Can Polanco top La Condesa?
Well, it's a totally different style, and you'll be the judge,
so let me know at the end of the video.
Here we are in Plaza Carso,
which claims to be the largest mixed-use development
in Latin America.
There is a mall over here. There are residential towers.
But most people come here for the museums,
and there are two.
Jumex over here.
And this other one that is very iconic in Mexico City.
You see pictures of this everywhere.
This is Museo Soumaya.
This museum belongs to Carlos Slim,
one of the richest men in Mexico.
And the name Soumaya is a homage to his wife,
who passed in 1999.
Good morning! Is the museum open?
- At 10:30 a.m.
- Oh, yeah. Thank you very much.
We got here at 10 in the morning, went directly to the Soumaya Museum,
but it is closed.
It opens at 10:30.
So instead, let's check out the Jumex.
It's already open.
Hello, good morning! - Hello, good morning!
- Please, how much is the museum?
- For now, it's totally free.
- Oh, yeah? - Yeah, as there are only 2 rooms open.
- Ah, yes. Thank you!
[music]
Normally, they have one of the largest private collections of contemporary art
in Latin America, but at the moment,
two rooms are open.
And because of that, entrance is free.
And from the exit of the museum, look at that,
you got the best view of the square.
[music]
- Hello. - Hello, how are you?
- Welcome. - Thank you so much.
Wow. This is The Thinker.
It's enormous.
Some of the most important pieces of the museum
are right by the entrance,
like these two masterpieces here by Auguste Rodin:
The Gates of Hell, and The Thinker.
Here you see Mexican art, European art,
Asian art in ivory.
But they have a whole room dedicated to Rodin.
In fact, this is the largest Rodin collection outside of France.
Wow, remember that art collection downtown?
There is a lot more here, hundreds of pieces.
-Mm-hmm.
Rodin is considered the father of modern sculpture.
Instead of creating what was expected at the time,
mythological figures or important personalities,
he transformed the random human body into art.
This is by Camille Claudel.
She was Rodin's apprentice and lover.
One thing we learned at the other museum,
go all the way to the top, and start walking down.
Much easier
- These are worth so much, huh?
- Yes.
- It's amazing, these people keep them.
- Yeah.
- Look at the colors.
So bright. - Yes.
They applied gold on top, real gold.
If you download this app here,
you can see augmented reality inside the museum.
This is how it works.
You point out your phone,
and then you can hear information about certain pieces here,
so bring headphones,
but it's all in Spanish.
- I don't need an app, I have augmented reality here.
[music]
How cool.
Look at this old camera from 1910.
Wow, it's amazing that something like this can be totally free.
Oh, look at these trolleys, how cute.
Let me now show you what else is in Polanco.
If you've ever seen this piece on Instagram,
yes, it is right here in Polanco.
[music]
Wow, this is so cool
because it's like it's an open mall in the middle of the street.
But, no, there's a gate. We're actually inside a mall.
This is the Antara fashion mall.
I know someone who would absolutely love to live here,
look at that,
in those buildings, overlooking a shopping mall.
- Your sister. - Absolutely.
[laughs]
- Good afternoon, Miss. - Hello, good afternoon.
- Miss, you cannot shoot the facilities. Only selfies are allowed.
- So, one cannot shoot anything?
- One cannot shoot, cannot photograph the places...
- These are the house rules. Only selfies.
- No problem. Thank you.
They don't let us shoot anywhere over here.
So we decided, at least, getting some sandwiches
What sandwich is this?
- Jamon.
How's your sandwich?
- It's great. - Ah.
What sauce is this?
- Picante. - Yeah?
Very spicy? - Barbecue picante.
- Oh. - Yeah, put spice in your life.
The sandwiches were 100, 120 pesos.
Very affordable for Polanco.
And these juices here, wow, I didn't even mention them.
This is lemonade with mint.
And mine is strawberry with mint.
So delicious.
[music]
It is a really nice mall.
I wish I could have shown you a little bit more,
but after those images, security really got on top of us.
We couldn't shoot anything.
But it is a really beautiful place,
so even if you don't want to buy anything,
it's worth coming to check it out
[music]
Oh, here is another big mall.
This mall here is Palacio de Hierro.
We're not going in as it'll most likely be the same thing.
We won't be allowed to shoot.
So let's just keep walking here.
[music]
Remember the 1985 earthquake
that I mentioned in the video in La Condesa?
- Yes [in Spanish]
- Well, when people started moving out of that area, guess where they came?
- America. - No, over here.
- Oh, Polanco. Okay. - Polanco. Yes.
Those were all the rich and famous at the time,
they came over here.
- Oh, yeah? - Yeah.
And this became the area of the rich.
Wow, look at this church, how impressive.
This is Saint Augustine's Church.
Such an impressive architecture, huh?
- Yeah. - Wow.
- It's an interesting entrance way.
Unfortunately, the church is closed
There's a shop here, and they told me that it opens at 5 p.m.
This is a really quiet part of town here.
There's a really nice park called Parque Americas.
Do you see this MH? This stands for Miguel Hidalgo.
And here you see references to the government of Miguel Hidalgo.
And look at this avenue, how lovely.
Great space for pedestrians here,
just like in La Condesa.
Look at this. This is old money.
- Yes. - Oh, it's for sale?
- Oh.
And it's written in multiple languages, huh?
- It's interesting. - Very interesting.
Beautiful. - Yeah.
And just like that, we're now in the top area here in Polanco.
It's this avenue here called Presidente Masaryk.
- Masaryk. - Masaryk
- It's Czech name.
How does a Czech end up in Mexico?
- Well, it was a homage to him
because of the democratic process that he started.
- Oh, really? - Yeah.
Polanco offers a wide range of upscale boutiques,
restaurants, art galleries,
and this is where you find them.
Mexico Mi Amor.
It means Mexico, my love.
- Sorry, you can't use this. It's registered.
- What do you mean it's registered? - Copyright.
[laughs]
- You can't use it.
- Watch me. [laughs]
This is actually a jewelry store,
but everybody comes here for that picture.
- But I want to know where is that 800,000-dollar car in the window?
- Oh, they have here.
- Where? - They have, they have.
- You know what I'm referring to? - I know, in Asia.
Does it say the price? - The price is right there.
- Oh, yeah? How much? - No price.
- No price. [laughs]
- Bangkok. - Yes, but they have dealers here, too.
You cannot even go in.
You need to schedule an appointment. - Oh, yeah?
- Yeah. - It's not for you.
- [laughs] It's not for you, for me it is.
- It's not for you. - For you. [laughs]
They say that this is the most expensive square feet in Latin America.
- Is it? - It could be.
- That and that is the most expensive.
- Now remember in Sao Paulo,
They also have some really nice places, like Oscar Freire
- Yeah. - Don't know how it compares,
but they claim that it is here, the most expensive.
And these side streets that cross Presidente Masaryk
are really nice as well.
So many cute shops over here.
Another lovely mall.
And on the second and third floors, these are all apartments.
- Which one here is very Mexican?
- It could be the little skull, pan de muerto flavored.
- Uh-huh.
- We also have cafe de olla. - Uh-huh.
- Caramel y mango chamoy.
- A bag for your one chocolate.
- No, I got two.
[laughs]
Yes, there are two. [laughs]
- What kind? - I got here...
- Coffee? - No, not coffee.
I got here a caramel.
Look at how lovely.
- Oh.
- And?
- And a little skull,
like typical Mexican skull.
Chocolate's 4,000-year-old history began in ancient Mexico.
And walking here, I saw this charming chocolate store.
I had to get something to try.
Oh, don't tell me you want one more, baby.
[laughs]
It is delicious, but we're gonna get extra pounds here.
Polanco, it's a different level.
- Yeah, it's very beautiful here.
Even if you're not going to spend any money,
it's worth coming for a stroll.
Yeah. But who other!?
- [laughs]
- Look who's taking my chair!?
- Get away.
- Lincoln took your chair.
So here you have Martin Luther King Jr
facing Abraham Lincoln.
- Look how manicured this park is.
Oh my! - This is Lincoln Park.
- Lincoln. - Such a beautiful green space
with these lakes in the middle of the city.
I was reading about this shop,
and discovered that they specialize in artisanal handmade chocolates
using only Mexican ingredients.
So I had to do some research about the history of chocolate.
And look at this.
The first cacao plants were found right here.
And centuries later, the Mayans praised chocolate
as the drink of the gods.
The story continues. Listen to this.
By the 15th century, the Aztecs used cocoa beans as currency.
Wow! They believed that chocolate was a gift from one of their gods.
They were so right.
- Oh!
That one looks scary.
Mmm, mmm.
Oh, this is so good.
It's like a perfect combination of white chocolate
and some sweets that I have no idea what they are,
but it is so good.
- Uh-oh, you got a friend.
- He's gonna steal this.
I'm closing my bag because he knows there's food.
- He's looking.
- Ooh.
Come on!
Right there, he's waiting.
[laughs]
I started eating the chocolate, the squirrels came.
Look at that right here, they want the chocolate too.
I had to stop. [laughs]
They came rushing for the chocolate, huh?
- Yeah. - [laughs]
- Food, food. - It's like they could smell.
Wow.
- And Renata jumped further than you could believe.
- I said, no, the chocolate is mine.
- Because of the squirrel.
- No, it's because the chocolate is mine.
We just moved to another part of the park.
Hopefully, the squirrels will give me two minutes
to try the caramel version here.
- Wait, wait, wait, wait a second.
Isn't chocolate supposed to be brown?
- This is caramel.
- Oh, charming.
Mmm.
Chocolate mixed with caramel.
So good.
Oh, my God, really good.
Mmm.
Too bad you didn't want any, Gordon.
It's gone. [laughs]
[music]
- Oh, look at that sun coming through.
Wonderful [in Spanish]
Look at this house, huh?
There's a bar up there.
All these houses beside the park turned into restaurants.
Look at all that work.
Yes. - Wow.
Amazing architecture.
[music]
Here, we're also very close to one of the nicest parks in Mexico.
It's one of the largest parks in the Western Hemisphere.
It's twice the size of the Central Park in New York.
It's called in Chapultepec.
In Chapultepec, they have the museums that are considered the best in Mexico.
But unfortunately, they are closed at the moment.
So to properly cover that area
and show you how you can enjoy Chapultepec,
we're hoping to be back here in Mexico City when everything is back to normal.
But that's not the end of our Mexico trip,
we're now going to the Riviera Maya,
and we're going to show you some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
I'd love to see you back here, so make sure you subscribe to the channel,
and click on the bell to know exactly when the next video is ready.