There and Back Again: A Beautiful Ghetto

The narrow street where I lived, typical of La Barona

Last week I stayed in Cuernavaca, with my wife's cousins in a community called La Barona. La Barona is typically considered the worst neighborhood in Cuernavaca - a city about an hour south of Mexico City. Back in the 70's there was a time that there was a murder every day, taxi's refused to take people there, and the buses stopped at the first traffic circle - pretty much the only way in and only way back out to the rest of the city.

Since then, this neighbourhood has a complete turn-around, and it's now a pleasant & vibrant family community where you can live comfortably with all the basics within walking distance. I've written about this community before - see A Community Turn-Around Story in Cuernavaca.

An important point is that the bad reputation has long outlived the reality. Sure, basic common sense and care must still be used. Yes, the community is generally a poor one; but it's not the ghetto it used to be - it's safe, and, in it's own way, picturesque and beautiful.

The community is a labyrinth of tree-lined streets, alleys lined with colorful flowers and roundabouts with playgrounds in the middle, but where you really can't tell which is the "main street" going in and out. It's also very hilly, with nice views of the nearby hills that separate Cuernavaca from Mexico City, and hide the magical village of Tepoztlan. There are lots of local small shops that sell everything from fruit and freshly baked bread to appliances, computers and cell phones. Because of the flowers, the trees, the views and, perhaps most of all, the relaxed lifestyle of the people, the many half-built homes, shops covered with graffiti, the unplanned tangled overhead wiring become a lot less unpleasant.

I've been accused before of liking ugly and off-colour places just to be different; but I can guarantee you that this is not the case with La Barona. My wife and I lived there for 3 months, and every time we go back, we feel more convinced that one day, in the distant future, it could be a good home for our family. We feel comfortable and at home there.

One of the nicer houses - this was probably built up, little by little

The bad reputation, though, has some advantages:

It gives the community a very distinct atmosphere of its own; places that are "quaint" because they were planned to be that way often all end up being the same and somewhat boring. This place is very down to earth, real and practical.
It keeps the prices low. Rent is low; $100 USD/month gets you a large house that will need a bit of paint but is fine to live in. Food is cheap (not quite as cheap as the main downtown market, but much better than other places I've seen - in Cuernavaca or anywhere else. I've written about a similar theme in The Low Cost of Living in Cuernavaca.)

A typical main street, lined with trees

As I said, it's picturesque in its own unique way. I'll admit quite readily it's not the place for everyone's taste, but that's true of anywhere. Here are a few pictures with some comments.