A house shaped by a tree, a pool and color
A guide appointed by the hotel arranged Smrekar's visit to Casa Gilardi as part of a walking art tour. Although interested in design, she writes that she had not previously known Barragán's work. The house in San Miguel Chapultepec quickly became a discovery she wished she had known to seek out.
Advertising executive Francisco Gilardi commissioned the home for entertaining, with an indoor swimming pool he could use daily. According to the Barragan Foundation, construction ran from 1975 to 1977 on a site south of Chapultepec Park. Preserving an existing jacaranda tree and including the pool were requirements of the owners; Smrekar recounts that the tree drew Barragán out of retirement at age 80.
The commission coincided with growing recognition of the architect. After years of limited acclaim, Barragán received a retrospective at New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1975, the year he was approached about Casa Gilardi. In 1980, he became the second recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which was first awarded in 1979. His separate residence, the Luis Barragán House and Studio, was built in 1948 and added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2004.
At Casa Gilardi, Smrekar describes color as integral to the architecture rather than simply decoration, with light central to the experience. "I left completely gobsmacked," she writes.
Photography, handicrafts and design along the walk
The neighborhood itinerary extended beyond Barragán's house to studios, shops and galleries. At LAAA, short for Laboratorio de Arte, Arquitectura, y Arqueología, the focus was architectural and archeological work involving reproductions and replicas of ancient artifacts. Patricia Conde Galeria presented work by notable Mexican photographers.
Mexican handicrafts filled Casa ONORA, while the Hiperlocalidad co-op offered ceramics and furnishings. The group also visited Daniel Orozco's interior design studio to see his mixed-material furniture. At Yakampot, a women's fashion boutique, Smrekar tried linen sets from the Mexico City-based brand.
After the walk, the group ate at Carmela y Sal. Smrekar chose chef Gaby Ruiz's tasting menu, organized like a concert into Preludio, Interludio, Clímax and Outro. Dragon fruit ceviche and the signature chile en nogada were the dishes she recalled afterward. The afternoon meal reflected a dining pattern she describes in Mexico City: a substantial midafternoon sitting that serves as both lunch and dinner.
A base above Paseo de la Reforma
Smrekar reached Mexico City on a short nonstop flight from Dallas, making her first visit at age 40. She praised the city's mild temperatures, which she describes as lasting almost year-round, and said the trip surpassed her expectations. Her account presents the capital as an art destination with more dining and shopping opportunities than she could fit into one stay.
Her hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Mexico City, overlooks tree-lined Paseo de la Reforma and Chapultepec Park. Hospitality Net reports that it opened on October 28, 2021, in a 58-story building conceived by Taller G. Its 153 accommodations include 19 suites with private terraces. Smrekar highlights the different city views from the rooms and describes feeling particularly safe and secure there.
Chapultepec is twice the size of New York City's Central Park, as Smrekar notes. Mexico City's official tourism site puts its area at about 686 hectares across four sections and identifies it as one of the Western Hemisphere's largest urban parks.
Dining and drinks at the hotel
The hotel's 38th-floor bar, Carlotta, paired skyline views with a lychee martini that earned Smrekar's praise. Staff also invited her behind the bar to make a margarita, an exercise she says she would leave to the professionals next time.
Her recommendation for an evening visit was the 6 p.m. Pasaje presentation. The Día de Muertos-inspired cocktail combines tequila, citrus and warm spices, accompanied by smoke-and-mirrors effects and Mexican music, including mariachi and echoes of "La Llorona."
At Samos Sabores Míos, the hotel's signature restaurant, Smrekar ate chilaquiles for breakfast while watching the city wake up. Her dinner favorites were the Sweet Potato Salad and the "Zarandeado" Octopus Nayarit Style.
