Cantina la vaquita mexico df

the vaka parrillada buffet

The cantinas are excellent places of obligatory stay for parishioners and occasional diners, but they are also an eloquent attraction for national and foreign tourists, because in them they have the opportunity to observe the freshest and most genuine manifestations of the human condition, besides hearing about business, sports, romances to begin or to continue and to know about the concerns and ambitions of the attendees.

This beautiful venue is located on 5 de Mayo Avenue and Filomeno Mata. It is undoubtedly one of the most representative tourist sites for the consumption of liquors in the Historic Center; its origins date back to the Porfiriato.

Today, without street vendors, you can still recognize the façade of the cantina and you can play dominoes (bone) or dice (dice cup or leather). There is a simple but well prepared enchilada service. It is worth mentioning its huge bar (more than 6 meters long) where the bottles are «filed».

It was originally located in Plaza Guardiola, but nowadays it receives its diners and parishioners at 18 Motolinia Street on the corner of 5 de Mayo Avenue. One of its regulars was the recently deceased Don Andrés Henestrosa, who remembered it as a classic cantina that did not allow women to enter, although it was said that some smuggled them in to try the excellent dishes.

la vaquita chocolate

Except for the first of these places, the others offered diners a three-course snack service, which was the closest thing to a normal meal: watery soup, rice or pasta and stew, one per glass; and in them the traditional jukebox could be heard or the trio would arrive to sing for the couple, friends or the solitary drinker.

More popular in character, La Vaquita was also a centennial business that became famous for the cakes it sold to passersby in the Historic Center in one of its windows, while the interior of the place offered a variety of snacks with the traditional system of times by the glass.

Above the entrance that was on Isabela La Católica Street, a mosaic can be seen with the image of a Sacred Heart crossed by two arrows and on the upper part of the building, the traditional stove with a religious image.

The premises, where it is now located, used to be a carpentry shop, then the cantina was opened, which was given that name because next to it there was a hotel with that name, which ceased to operate in order to give more space to the cantina.

the vaka

The history of Mexico has been sipped in the cantinas, as well as in the heartbreak, victories and defeats. The oldest cantinas in the city are a piece of living history, an engine for coexistence and continue to be a seedbed for the best anecdotes.

The first regulations for the sale of liquor date back to 1529 and are the result of an attempt at prohibition. The conquistadors saw a threat in the consumption of pulque and other alcoholic beverages and getting drunk soon became unacceptable, especially for the new religious order that was the main promoter of this prohibition. Of course, the measure was rejected by Indians, mestizos and Creoles who, regardless of their social origin, maintained a deep-rooted taste for alcohol that made them forget their sorrows for a while.

The cantinas as we know them were in charge of mocking the disapproval of alcohol consumption and generated a new place for interaction and coexistence. In the 17th century, another of their main characteristics was established: the sale of food in the form of the famous botana. This tradition survives to this day and was created with the aim of keeping customers from getting drunk too quickly.

la vaquita cancun

The program «Historia Viva», from the Department of History of the Universidad Iberoamericana, will offer a tour on January 30 to reflect on the historical value and tradition of cantinas in Mexico City. Seven historic cantinas» will be led by the academic Luis Arturo García Dávalos, who will explain to the attendees the history of seven cantinas located in the Historic Center, informed the institution in a press release.

In addition to being a place to share ideas, feelings and experiences, the difference of the Mexican cantina is that it is a place to talk about politics and business, besides being the center of the construction of cultural discourse.

«Many people think that they are old places for the elderly, but each one has its own personality, besides being part of Mexico’s recent history,» explained García Dávalos, who assured that a large part of Mexican culture and politics was built in cantinas, now sites of great historical value.