Puebla the concrete giant

by Ismael Castañeda (Mexico)

I didn't expect to find Mexico

Puebla, Puebla is a Metropolis located close to Tlaxcala and México City. This city takes the best from both places goes from the traditional Mexican food stands on the streets to one of the biggest malls that I have ever visit. When I first visit Puebla I never imagine the size of the city, you can really lose yourself between the buildings, It’s an amazing place with colonial details combined with a modern era constructions, I felt like an ant walking the streets, everything is so big and organized that makes it hard to lose your way. The first encounter you will have with the city is the bus terminal I would highly recommend to get a donut from el globo and a “choco-mio coffee” from Chocolate Mayordomo the best combination of flavors if you have a sweet tooth. This bus terminal is nearby a market well known around the city for being a little dangerous, I have to admit that I found things that I would not imagine like portable phone chargers, self defense mechanisms, all of this next to food stands that sells the famous “cemitas” and stands that sells traditional Puebla candies. It’s a little difficult to understand, that around Mexico this kind of markets are not weird, but this one it’s an enter under your own risk kind of place. If you don’t got out from the bus terminal you can take the metro-bus line, this will take you directly to the city center, you are supposed to buy a metro card, it can help you go around, but if you don’t want to buy the card (if you are only visiting), you can ask one person in the terminal to lend you theirs and only pay the person the cost of the metro-bus ticket, which is around eight Mexican pesos. You can enjoy the views of the city as you are traveling, it is surreal to see the different places, the first thing you’ll notice would be this market next to the bus terminal that looks like a close space with a lot of plastic sheeting around and just a few seconds later you will see residential areas so clean and modern style, and just as you watch this, the tallest buildings of the city are going to appear in front of you entering in the commercial area nearby the city center. Around this place is Plaza Dorada this is a big mall with a lot of stores, everything that you could need, and the things that you didn’t even know you needed, are going to be found here, If you are looking for designers clothing and that kind of stuff this is the place, but if you want to go for something different, right across the street there is the Benito Juarez park, is amazing to find a place so green and big in a city like this, and even if it’s hard to believe there is not acoustic contamination, you can relax there. Nearby is El Sótano library, in here you can find a lot of book titles from classics to the new best sellers. The city center is not far away from Plaza Dorada, I love to walk it gives you an opportunity to appreciate the architecture, and on your way you can buy water or peanuts on the streets, to enjoy a little more your walking experience with the sound of the city, and the nice weather but if you don’t like walking you can take the metro-bus line again. The architecture here looks like a colonial Spanish time with a lot of Mexico on the streets, there are some street sellers that will offer you from the newspaper, to candies and toys for the kids to play in the parks. In here you can find events in local pubs and other local stores, people is very friendly so you will be invited right away as you walk by. One of my favorite places was the city hall there is a hidden gem there if you like architecture. Puebla is a concrete giant with a lot of internal beauty once you are inside.