Mexicantown Visiting Guide

Mexicantown is a place where vibrantly colored buildings, decorated
with even brighter murals and hand-painted signs, dot the main
thoroughfares of Bagley and Vernor Streets. One might guess there are
more restaurants per square foot than any other neighborhood in Detroit
— but the smell of fresh tortillas and baked goods floating down the
street provide the only proof. On any given day, the sounds of salsa or
merenge come from Discoteca La Rancherita, and in the summer, people sit outside at restaurants—like the side patio at Los Galanes, where dangling plastic chili peppers and a live musician set a festive mood—sipping the best margaritas the city has to offer.

Nebulous are the borders of Mexicantown — tucked into the greater
neighborhood known as Southwest Detroit. Some say it begins at the old
Train Station and ends at Clark Park. Others passionately insist it
includes Clark Park. More than a few people expand its spread all the
way to Livernois. The executive director of Bagley Housing,
Vince Murray, believes the term Mexicantown is too limited. He suggests
that the neighborhood might even refer to the reaches of Springwells
Avenue. Perhaps even more important to defining the neighborhood,
though, are its enviously unique traits and robust character,
attracting visitors, as well as residents, from all over the state and
even Canada.

Things
are happening in Mexicantown. There’s a brand-new 5,000-square-foot
Welcome Center on the way later this year. Partly dedicated to serving
tourists, the other component — a retail enclave, called The Mercado —
will house 85 businesses, from a torta stand to fine chocolate shop.
Plans are also under way for the Bagley Pedestrian Bridge, connecting
Bagley across the freeway — a dream that has been in the works since
back in the ’60s when I-75 sliced the strip in half. All this on the
way and a slew of current businesses expanding, and there’s still
plenty to keep visitors busy in the meantime. After all, this cultural
community is already a popular pilgrimage for tourists from other parts
of the city and beyond.

Margaret Garry, vice president and real estate and development manager for the Mexicantown CDC,
says it best: “There’s more to Mexicantown than quesadillas and
margaritas. We’re the Greenfield Village for every Spanish class in
Michigan.”

Beyond the quesadilla

There
was a rumor some years ago about the invasion of a Chi Chi’s into
Mexicantown. Of course, it never happened and the impressive cluster of
Mexican restaurants has maintained its authenticity. Many visitors have
their favorite restaurant, and keep coming back to their standby. But
be a little adventurous and you’ll learn there are so many to choose
from (so many reasons to keep coming back), and each spot is known by
the locals for a distinctive reason — from the buffet with the freshest
veggies (Los Galanes) to the “best tamales in the state of Michigan” (Evie’s Tamale’s, according to more than a few dedicated customers).

El Comal,
which has recently expanded its space and added a performance area,
attracts people with a taste for Central American cuisine. Guatemalan,
Salvadoran and Colombian favorites like pepusas served with fried
plantains give people options beyond Mexican standards.

Nuestra Familia
brings a variety of yummy salsas to each table with sliced cucumbers,
radishes and tortilla chips, and it’s rumored that the owner, Jorge,
will whip up a spicy cactus dish that’s not on the menu, if you ask
nicely.

Lunchtime is a madhouse at Lupita’s.
So is dinnertime. And 10:30pm, when late-night noshers come in just
before closing time. But who can blame them? Lupita’s serves up
seriously tasty tacos with chicken, pork, steak or even tongue, topped
with onions and cilantro, for $1 each.

Then there’s the restaurant that started it all. You’ll start seeing signs advertising Mexican Village
as soon as you arrive in the vicinity: “a very fine place to dine” they
read, modestly for such a big sign. The oldest restaurant in
Mexicantown, this Bagley Street institution has grown into a veritable
behemoth during the last 50 years. Decked out in plush red carpet and
white stucco walls, several expansions have created six separate dining
rooms downstairs and a funky, Mexican-retro lounge-cum-waiting area and
a for-rent event room upstairs. David Orlowski’s fine art mural of the
history of Mexico presides in the main dining area, and the menu is
extensive. Locals rave about the Caldo Can-Cun, a spicey chicken rice
soup topped with fresh avocado — hold the cheese, which is for American
taste buds.

Strolling and shopping

Mexicantown
residents boast about their shopping distict, but visitors also enjoy
the merch — be it fresh, pre-peeled prickly pear or a Lady of the
Guadalupe statue.

No place in Detroit brings a middle-age man with a sweet tooth to his knees like La Gloria
bakery. After being smacked in the face (in a good way) by the sugary
smell of fresh pastries, grab a plastic tray and a set of tongs and go
about your business. The serve-yourself, wall-length cabinets are
filled with a drool-worthy selection of cookies, breads, empanadas,
orejas (ears), croissants, cupcakes, cookies, biscuits, churros and
donuts — each for about 50 cents a pop. A refrigerated glass case
displays cakes (like tres leches), and a shelf of day-old breads offers discounts off to the side.

Women
in the know rave about the Mexicantown spot where they can buy Kiotis —
a skin care line made in Paris, sold in Mexico but hard to find in the
United States. Algo Especial, which means Something Special,
sells a sundry of cleaning supplies, foodstuffs, magazines, cards,
housewares, CDs and bagged herbs. If you’re looking for authentic
Mexican handicrafts and apparel, check out Xochi’s Gift Shop, which is packed tight with ceramic trinkets, candles, Wrangler jeans, cowboy boots, hand-painted platters and the like.

Honeybee La Comena
is where locals have been going for their meats and fresh veggies for
the past 50 years. They stock finds like fresh cactus and mangos, dried
spices and a killer family-recipe salsa. The best part: it’s expanding
by four times the square footage this summer, with plans to add more
meat to their meat counter, prepared hot food items for take-out and
more range in their packaged goods

Explore the culture

From the working tortilla factories to the murals representing
Mexican working-class struggle, there’s culture everywhere you look in
Mexicantown.

An adorable purple fixture on Bagley, the Matrix Theater
has been putting on original plays and puppet shows since 1991. An
integral part of the neighborhood arts community, the theater company
makes an effort to represent issues, playwrights and performers of the
Southwestern Detroit neighborhoods.

Down the street, Bagley Housing, known foremost for its broad
housing initiatives, also has a small but active art gallery inside its
maize-colored home, marked by the eye-catching bouquet of white metal
calla lilies made by the adjoining metalwork shop, Disenos.
Like the Matrix Theater, the gallery was created to showcase work from
within the community. Local artists — Jorge Torres Manrique and Mary
Herbeck — have held court, as well as nationally recognized artist Nora
Chopa Mendoza.

Mexicantown
boasts the most culturally rich — and many swear, most fun — festivals
in the city. Mark your calendars and don’t miss Cinco de Mayo, Day of the Dead, Unity in the Community and Ste. Anne Posada.

Set aside an afternoon for touring public art; the neighborhood is
full of it, and much of it can be credited to local artist Vito Valdez.
His big, green fish sculpture, at eastern border of Mexicantown on
Vernor, is symbolic of the land that was once pure and clean, and a
life-sized metal sculpture of a dog mowing the lawn sits in the gazebo
behind the BHA. His mural work includes the restoration of City
Spirits, on the corner of Bagley and 24^th. On the other side
of Bagley another building bears his handiwork: the mural Cornfields,
portraying the field workers lining up along the rows of corn under a
beaming sun and glow of the moon.

Act like a tourist in Europe, and make the effort to see one of the most historic and stunning churches in the Midwest, Ste. Anne’s.
The magnificent Gothic Revival structure was built in 1886, making it
the eighth home of the oldest Roman Catholic parish in the nation. In
addition to displaying the oldest stained glass in the city, it’s also
home to the remains of cherished local hero Father Gabriel Richard.

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For more information about Mexicantown visit the Model D
– Moving Guide
– Investing Guide

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Directions to Mexicantown

From the East:
Take I-94 West and merge onto I-96
East/Jefferies Fwy via exit 213B toward Canada. Then take the I-75
South/I-96 South exit toward Toledo and continue to exit 47B toward
Bridge to Canada/Porter St. Stay straight to go onto West Fisher Fwy,
then turn right onto 23^rd St and continue to either Bagely St or W Vernor Hwy.

From the North:
Take I-75 South and merge onto I-94 West
via exit 53B toward Chicago, then merge onto I-96 East/Jefferies Fwy
via exit 213B toward Canada. Then take the I-75 South/I-96 South exit
toward Toledo and continue to exit 47B toward Bridge to Canada/Porter
St. Stay straight to go onto West Fisher Fwy, then turn right onto 23^rd St and continue to either Bagely St or W Vernor Hwy.

From the West:
Take I-96 East to the I-75 South/I-96 South
exit toward Toledo. Take exit 47B toward Bridge to Canada/Porter St.
Stay straight to go onto West Fisher Fwy, then turn right onto 23^rd St and continue to either Bagely St or W Vernor Hwy.

From the South:
Take I-94 East toward Detroit and merge
onto exit 213B for I-96 East/ Jefferies Fwy toward Canada. Take exit
47B toward Bridge to Canada/Porter St. Stay straight to go onto West
Fisher Fwy, then turn right onto 23^rd St and continue to either Bagely St or W Vernor Hwy.

Take I-75 North toward Detroit and continue to exit 47A toward
M-3/Clark Ave. Stay straight to go onto West Fisher Fwy, then turn left
onto Clark St and turn right to W Vernor Hwy. Either stay straight on W
Vernor or turn right onto Hubbard then left onto Bagely.

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Photos:

Bagley Housing Art Gallery

Xochimilco’s

Los Galanes

An idol outside El Zocalo

Sweets at La Gloria Bakery

Cowboy hats at Xochi’s Gift Shop

The Matrix Theatre

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All Photographs Copyright Dave Krieger