Travel to Mexico City without ever leaving your home
What if you experience the vibrant energy, flavors, and rhythm of Mexico City without leaving your home? With this edition of Kim’s Kurated Kultures, we’re taking a cultural deep dive into Ciudad de Mexico. We explore everything from music to mood. Our journey includes market meals and modern masterpieces. Get ready for a staycation that tastes, sounds, and feels like the heart of Mexico.
🌟 Setting the Mood: Mexico City Vibes at Home
Create a sensory experience that brings Mexico City right into your space:
- Lighting: Use amber-toned lamps, candles in clay vessels, or string lights to set a warm glow.
- Textiles: Incorporate colorful serape throws, embroidered pillows, and woven table runners.
- Scents: Burn copal or cinnamon-scented candles, or simmer orange peels and cloves on the stove.
- Decor: Display Mexican folk art, Frida Kahlo prints, Aztec motifs, or pottery.
- Plants: Add cacti, succulents, or lush greenery to evoke the gardens of Coyoacán.
🎵 Curated Playlist: Sounds of CDMX
Head over to Spotify and cue up these essential playlists:
Mix genres like mariachi, bolero, ranchera, and modern corridos tumbados. Don’t miss tracks like:
- “Cielito Lindo”
- “La Llorona”
- “Ella Baila Sola” by Peso Pluma
🎥 Watch This: Mexican Culture on Screen
- H2Omx — Eco-conscious doc about urban life in Mexico City
- Mexico City: Life in the Megalopolis (DW Documentary)
- Frida — The acclaimed film about artist Frida Kahlo
- Street Food: Latin America (Netflix) — CDMX episode focuses on tacos & tlacoyos
- Coco — Disney/Pixar’s heartwarming celebration of Día de los Muertos and family traditions
💀 Día de los Muertos: A Celebration of Life
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is one of the most iconic cultural traditions in Mexico. It is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd. It’s a joyful remembrance of loved ones who have passed. People honor them with altars (ofrendas), marigolds, candles, and their favorite foods. They also include drinks and photos.
How to celebrate at home:
- Create a simple altar with candles, framed photos, and symbolic offerings
- Decorate with marigolds, sugar skulls, and papel picado
- Make pan de muerto (a slightly sweet bread topped with sugar)
- Watch Coco with the whole family to feel the spirit of connection and tradition
It’s a moment to reflect, remember, and celebrate the joy of life—Mexican style.
🍔 One-Day Mexico City-Inspired Menu
Minimal prep. Big flavor. Total immersion.
☀️ Breakfast: Molletes
Toasted bread + refried beans + melted cheese = comfort food perfection.
Ingredients:
- 2 bolillo rolls (or baguette), halved
- 1 cup canned refried beans
- ¾ cup shredded cheese
- Optional: pico de gallo, avocado
Steps:
- Toast rolls at 375°F.
- Spread beans, top with cheese.
- Bake until bubbly.
- Add fresh toppings.
Drink: Café de olla (coffee with cinnamon + brown sugar)
🌮 Lunch: Chicken Tacos with Guacamole & Chips
Ingredients:
- Shredded rotisserie chicken
- 6 corn tortillas
- 1 avocado
- ¼ cup chopped onion + cilantro
- 2 limes
- Salsa
- Chips + guacamole
Steps:
- Warm tortillas.
- Fill with chicken + toppings.
- Serve with salsa, chips + guac.
🌆 Dinner: Mushroom Quesadillas with Crema
Ingredients:
- 4 tortillas
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- 1 cup mushrooms or zucchini
- Olive oil
- Mexican crema
Steps:
- Sauté veggies in oil.
- Fill tortilla with cheese + veggies.
- Fold, toast, and serve with crema.
🍮 Dessert: Arroz con Leche (Rice Pudding)
Ingredients:
- ½ cup rice
- 2 cups milk
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
Steps:
- Simmer rice with water.
- Add milk, sugar, cinnamon.
- Stir until thick. Chill or serve warm.
🍹 Happy Hour: Paloma + Tajín Snacks
Drink:
- 2 oz tequila
- ½ lime juiced
- ½ cup grapefruit soda
- Salt rim
Snacks:
- Tajín-dusted cucumbers or roasted peanuts
🛒 Shopping List
- Bolillo rolls or baguette
- Canned refried beans
- Shredded cheese
- Avocados, onion, cilantro, limes
- Corn + flour tortillas
- Rotisserie chicken
- Salsa + tortilla chips
- Mushrooms or zucchini
- Mexican crema or sour cream
- Rice, milk, sugar, cinnamon stick
- Grapefruit soda, tequila, Tajín
- Marigolds, candles, pan de muerto (for Día de los Muertos setup)
📍 Iconic Mexico City Sites (Virtual Travel Inspo)
- Zócalo: Historic city center
- Templo Mayor: Aztec ruins in the heart of CDMX
- Palacio de Bellas Artes: Grand architecture + murals
- Coyoacán: Artsy neighborhood with Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul
- Chapultepec Castle: Hilltop museum with stunning views
- Xochimilco: Colorful boats + floating gardens
- Teotihuacán: Ancient pyramids just outside CDMX
🚀 Fun Facts About Mexico City
- Built on a lake: CDMX sinks a few centimeters yearly
- More museums than any other city in the world
- Tenochtitlán was founded in 1325, long before NYC or Paris
- CDMX street food is UNESCO-worthy
📱 Wrap Up: Your Mexico City at Home Experience
Cue the playlist. Light the candles. Serve up a mollete with café de olla. You’ve just brought the soul of Mexico City to your own kitchen and living room. This is armchair escape the Kim’s Kurated way.
✨ Stay in. Travel far. ✨
