Mexican Murals - Children and Nature at the Soul Café [CCC's Street Art Contest #253]

Welcome to la Roma, the most famously gentrified neighborhood of Mexico City. Of course, it's not the only such socially stratified colonia, but this is the one that crossed from the typical to the stereotypical. Here the beautiful old buildings and relatively calm streets combine well with the modern, urban, and artsy crowd, all of them pretty well off, whether Mexican or expat (both of them well represented). And as such, the Roma offers plenty of large scale murals, most likely commissioned by local (though deep-pocketed) businesses, of famous (but still up-and-coming) artists.

The Soul, Couldn't Be More Typical

On the corner of Mérida and Tabasco streets you'll find a small restaurant that is almost a caricature of this hipsterized neighborhood. It is advertised as a hamburger place, but we came here for a Saturday brunch, which was also quite delicious. The large green areas with its shady trees, the cut-off corners, and outdoor seating areas offered a pleasant experience, where you could relax and chat for hours, while sampling a good variety of breakfasty dishes. Of course, the wall paintings on the upper floor offered an opportunity to compose this post about this café, something I probably wouldn't have done otherwise.

Kids Amidst Giant Plants

The pale green facade, which already looked quite pleasing, has been added more visually appealing images of children among huge flowers and birds. One boy is even hugging a giant macaw. Instead of an overload of cuteness, this mural actually builds up on the already lush setting of the neighborhood, offering a pleasant experience for the eyes. Though I could not find an identifying sign of the artist (and I did not ask the wait staff, though they probably would have known...), I'm sure it can be found out easily: That's right, a quick search revealed it to be Ricardo Gonzalez / itsaliving. BOOM! Okay, after trying to verify it, I'm not so sure any more. But I won't let this be a reason for not publishing this post.

Take a Look at More Murals!

As always, this post is my entry to this week's CCC's Street Art Contest, the 253rd since its beginning. By now there are more participants than I like to count, offering posts of amazing street art from around the world. Not quite as extensive, but equally impressive is my own collection of Mexican Murals I have posted about over the last few years. Please visit and enjoy!