Hosteria La Bota - An Artist"s Retreat in the Heart of Mexico City
The center of Mexico City is an absolute marvel.
In a city of over 25 million people there is so much variety and depth that one can choose to do almost anything.
There are clubs and theaters, cafes and restaurants, bars and even pubs, but at times, it all gets a little much.
The city has a well-earned reputation of being intense, and there are moments, as you speed walk past yet another modern marvel that you wonder to yourself, "Is it all this hectic, this fast?" It's not.
On a quiet pedestrian street, in the very center of the city, lies a little bar.
It's a bar where the young of the city come to exchange ideas in a comfortable atmosphere.
It's a place where everyone is your 'cuate' (friend, mate, bro).
This little bar, Hosteria la Bota, The Boot Hostelry, is becoming one of the popular spots for those who want to escape the daily routine and share the city's wealth of artistic ideas and birth new projects.
There is no huge neon sign, no posters.
They don't even have a landline.
A lone wooden sign hangs above a simple wooden bar.
The sign is handmade, probably by one of the regular clients, or perhaps one of the two brothers that began this bar.
The exterior is plain.
Though the wide spacious doorways mean the bar area is basically open to the street, the youthful crowd respectfully avoid spilling out into the walkway.
It's an incredibly refreshing reality of this bar.
Despite the fact the clientele are primarily young and vibrant, the bar itself has a quiet, relaxed ambience to it.
This bar has a genuine feel about it; a simple truth that seeps from the walls and between the people who frequent it - Friendship.
Physically speaking, the first thing you notice about this place is the bizarre array of, well, things, stuck to the wall...
well...
walls, roof, bar, tables, chairs and anywhere else someone has found enough space to glue an ornament.
It started with the two brothers wanting to put a little of themselves into the bar.
They placed a bull's head in recognition of their Spanish heritage, and began to put bits and pieces, here and there.
Before long, the bar began to feel a part of them, full, almost alive; like a scrapbook of their life up until now.
The regulars started asking to bring little bits of themselves, too, and add to the reality of La Bota.
An Italian art student brought a seven-foot wooden skeleton.
Another client brought a bicycle, now hanging from the roof, and another enterprising young frequenter brought a series of Alebrijes, the fantastic Mexican, brightly-colored, wood carved creatures, which he sells.
It's not the only way these two brothers help to promote art here in the city either.
Hosteria La Bota, is the only bar in Mexico City that actually offers grants to promising young artists.
Though the bar's small, nonetheless, it tries to play a directly active role in the artistic community.
They've also organized, with local government, two open public exhibition spaces, which they offer to upcoming young artists.
Though they are no longer part of the Casa Vecina, Neighboring House, their origin, they still hold true to the motto, 'Una casa en el centro, para todos' (A house downtown, for everyone), and make this bar one of the most welcoming communities I have had the pleasure to visit.
I remember, as I was taking photos of a closed game of dominos Antonio, one of the brothers, had decided to embed into the very surface of the table they were playing on, one of the staff members approached me during a lull in the traffic.
We began chatting and he noted that I work in photography, I nodded modestly and before the end of the next sentence, I was being introduced to his current film project, and asked if I would be interested in getting involved? This bar really is an artistic community.
Adrian Calera-Grobet, brother of Antonio and co founder of Hosteria La Bota, was the director of Casa Vecina, when he decided to create the bar.
Adrian is a published author and his brother holds a major in film and cinema studies, their bar was an outpouring of their loves.
Good food, good company, good times and art, in all its glorious forms.
But, it's not just art and bizarre wall displays.
Don't let the mythical creatures and the upside down unicycle deceive you.
La Bota, also offers a refreshingly delicious list of snacks.
Definitely don't go past the Jamon Serrano tapas, and I can recommend the mini pizzas, too.
If you have an aspiring art piece in the works, if you want to discover the next generation of art in the city, or if you just want to share a beer and a delicious meal with a friend, Hosteria La Bota, awaits you with welcoming arms spread wide and an open, friendly environment.
In a city of over 25 million people there is so much variety and depth that one can choose to do almost anything.
There are clubs and theaters, cafes and restaurants, bars and even pubs, but at times, it all gets a little much.
The city has a well-earned reputation of being intense, and there are moments, as you speed walk past yet another modern marvel that you wonder to yourself, "Is it all this hectic, this fast?" It's not.
On a quiet pedestrian street, in the very center of the city, lies a little bar.
It's a bar where the young of the city come to exchange ideas in a comfortable atmosphere.
It's a place where everyone is your 'cuate' (friend, mate, bro).
This little bar, Hosteria la Bota, The Boot Hostelry, is becoming one of the popular spots for those who want to escape the daily routine and share the city's wealth of artistic ideas and birth new projects.
There is no huge neon sign, no posters.
They don't even have a landline.
A lone wooden sign hangs above a simple wooden bar.
The sign is handmade, probably by one of the regular clients, or perhaps one of the two brothers that began this bar.
The exterior is plain.
Though the wide spacious doorways mean the bar area is basically open to the street, the youthful crowd respectfully avoid spilling out into the walkway.
It's an incredibly refreshing reality of this bar.
Despite the fact the clientele are primarily young and vibrant, the bar itself has a quiet, relaxed ambience to it.
This bar has a genuine feel about it; a simple truth that seeps from the walls and between the people who frequent it - Friendship.
Physically speaking, the first thing you notice about this place is the bizarre array of, well, things, stuck to the wall...
well...
walls, roof, bar, tables, chairs and anywhere else someone has found enough space to glue an ornament.
It started with the two brothers wanting to put a little of themselves into the bar.
They placed a bull's head in recognition of their Spanish heritage, and began to put bits and pieces, here and there.
Before long, the bar began to feel a part of them, full, almost alive; like a scrapbook of their life up until now.
The regulars started asking to bring little bits of themselves, too, and add to the reality of La Bota.
An Italian art student brought a seven-foot wooden skeleton.
Another client brought a bicycle, now hanging from the roof, and another enterprising young frequenter brought a series of Alebrijes, the fantastic Mexican, brightly-colored, wood carved creatures, which he sells.
It's not the only way these two brothers help to promote art here in the city either.
Hosteria La Bota, is the only bar in Mexico City that actually offers grants to promising young artists.
Though the bar's small, nonetheless, it tries to play a directly active role in the artistic community.
They've also organized, with local government, two open public exhibition spaces, which they offer to upcoming young artists.
Though they are no longer part of the Casa Vecina, Neighboring House, their origin, they still hold true to the motto, 'Una casa en el centro, para todos' (A house downtown, for everyone), and make this bar one of the most welcoming communities I have had the pleasure to visit.
I remember, as I was taking photos of a closed game of dominos Antonio, one of the brothers, had decided to embed into the very surface of the table they were playing on, one of the staff members approached me during a lull in the traffic.
We began chatting and he noted that I work in photography, I nodded modestly and before the end of the next sentence, I was being introduced to his current film project, and asked if I would be interested in getting involved? This bar really is an artistic community.
Adrian Calera-Grobet, brother of Antonio and co founder of Hosteria La Bota, was the director of Casa Vecina, when he decided to create the bar.
Adrian is a published author and his brother holds a major in film and cinema studies, their bar was an outpouring of their loves.
Good food, good company, good times and art, in all its glorious forms.
But, it's not just art and bizarre wall displays.
Don't let the mythical creatures and the upside down unicycle deceive you.
La Bota, also offers a refreshingly delicious list of snacks.
Definitely don't go past the Jamon Serrano tapas, and I can recommend the mini pizzas, too.
If you have an aspiring art piece in the works, if you want to discover the next generation of art in the city, or if you just want to share a beer and a delicious meal with a friend, Hosteria La Bota, awaits you with welcoming arms spread wide and an open, friendly environment.
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