In this city every day something so surprising and unexpected can happen to make us feel like we are inside a fictional story; that’s why many writers were inspired by it and today we have some places in CDMX that appear in books.
Here we tell you about some places in the capital that appear in some wonderful books so you can read them or, in case you already know them, take them with you to this literary route and take pictures of the covers in the spaces that were the setting of their stories.
1. Café La Habana (“The Savage Detectives” by Roberto Bolaño)
The Chilean writer mentions Café La Habana under the pseudonym Café Quito as a frequent meeting point for the characters in his novel that portrays Mexico City in the 60s and 70s.
In addition, it is said that this place for a rich breakfast was a meeting place for other famous authors of the literary world, such as Octavio Paz and Carlos Monsiváis. It was also a meeting place for editors of newspapers near the establishment.
If you want to try its magnificent coffee and discover its menu, it is located at 62 Morelos Avenue, in the Cuauhtémoc district.
2. Café Nin (“La hija única” by Guadalupe Nettel).
Reading “La hija única”, a story by Guadalupe Nettel where she criticizes motherhood, we can notice how familiar it is to today’s Mexico City because it takes place in recent years within the capital.
One of the most iconic and delicious places that appear in the book is this coffee shop located in Havre 73, in Colonia Juarez, which has one of the best pastry proposals in the capital.
Although in the book one of the characters loves Café Nin’s baked eggs, we recommend you try the guava bread.
3. Donceles Street (“Aura” by Carlos Fuentes)
In the middle of the Historic Center, you will find Donceles Street, where Carlos Fuentes located the mansion where the mysterious main character of his novel “Aura” lives.
Although the house number does not exist in reality, walking down this street, full of old buildings, old bookstores and photography stores with relics, you can discover why the author made reference to this space to show that time is an illusion as wonderful as it is terrifying.
4. Roma Norte (“Battles in the Desert” by Jose Emilio Pacheco)
Reading Jose Emilio Pacheco ‘s Mexican literary classic means going back to the Roma neighborhood of the 1950s. In this story, where we meet Carlos (a teenager who falls in love with his friend’s mother), there are several moments that occur in the colonia built in the early 20th century.
Some places, such as the ice cream parlor La Bella Italia, no longer exist, but others you can still visit, among them the church Nuestra Señora del Rosario, where the main character and his family go to mass every Sunday, or the walkway of Álvaro Obregón.
In addition to this work by Pacheco, Roma is one of the places in CDMX that appear in other books, such as “El vampiro de la colonia Roma” by Luis Zapata.
5. Giordano Bruno Square (“El libro de los héroes” by Antonio Malpica)
In the wonderful saga of Mexican writer Antonio Malpica (consisting of five issues) we can enjoy the adventures of the adolescent protagonist from Chilango who faces the worst demons and battles for an unexpected event.
A fundamental point on the map for the book is the statue in Plaza Giordano Bruno (in Colonia Juarez), a figure that has made many readers experience fear and terror. Do you dare to read the saga to throw yourself into this scenario?