Fondas and loncherías are being transformed by gentrification in Mexico City.
Which one is hotter? It was the typical question Mexico City residents would ask when they arrived at the taco or quesadilla stands.
Now, the vendors answer, “They’re not hot, the gringos don’t like them.”
Many blame gentrification. Others blame culinary resistance.
Red sauce is no longer the hottest, garnachas are no longer prepared soaked in grease, and signs for “delicious hot tortas” are now minimalist menus in English. Gentrification has many faces. One of them is rising prices and changes in the culinary offerings of some Mexico City neighborhoods, transformed by the arrival of people with greater purchasing power.
“Food gentrification generates deep structural inequality,” explains José Antonio Vázquez Medina, a doctor in Food and Nutrition who has studied this phenomenon in Santa María la Ribera, in the Cuauhtémoc municipality, since 2018, in an interview.
This process generates new businesses for a very specific segment, such as foreigners or tourists, whose income allows them to afford more expensive dishes—sometimes unattainable for people who have lived in some neighborhoods for years.
“The neighborhoods become rooms for foreigners, and that doesn’t suit us who already live here. The media often says that tourists’ stays are temporary, but they point out the rising costs, and not just for housing. What used to be sold at such a price in the market is now more expensive,” describes Martha Ramírez, who has lived in Santa María la Ribera for 67 years.
Old businesses, like Lonchería Lupita, now compete with modernized establishments with higher costs. “Sales have been declining for a few years now, and ingredients have gone up, but we’re still here, thank God,” says Mr. Juan, who has been running this place since he was a child. They sell quesadillas, pambazos, and the specialty that neighbors savor: guacamole sopes.
“We have to adjust the ingredients to suit our customers’ tastes. We understand that gringos don’t like spicy food. So if we want to sell, we have to make it without too much chili,” he adds.
“Man, this is incredible. What do tacos that aren’t spicy taste like?” says a Mexican.
