Assouline’s new Mexico City book to inspire your trip

Assouline Mexico CIty .

Built on Aztec history, Mexico City has a rich cultural history worth recounting over and over again. Highlighting this cultural legacy is the latest addition to Assouline’s ever-growing ‘Travel Series’, Mexico City by Aleph Molinari and Anfisa Vrubel.

The beautiful monograph, filled with stunning images and interesting stories, covers the vast cultural landscape of one of the oldest inhabited settlements, and celebrates its contemporary cinematic appeal.

Mexico City book by Aleph Molinari and Anfisa Vrubel

(Image credit: Courtesy of Assouline)

Mexico City is wrapped in folklore and creativity, a constant source of inspiration for artists and creatives alike. The new book guides readers on an in-depth tour through boldly painted architecture in a rainbow of warm colours, shaded side streets hosting make-shift altars, and intricate textiles draped in local markets.

Young women, outfitted in traditional costumes, attend a folk festival in Mexico City, circa 1910 (Image credit: Gircke/ullstein bild/Getty Images)

An assemblage of Día de los Muertos decorations (Image credit: Gary Parker)

Molinari, who was born in Mexico City and is now based in Paris, and Vrubel, who lives between the Mexican capital and New York, delve into Mexico City’s indigenous, pre-Hispanic beginnings in the 14th century, and explore its distinctive colonial architecture with a Spanish baroque aesthetic, and the use of native materials such as cantera and tezontle (types of volcanic stone).

Brightly coloured still life of a cactus in Mexico City (Image credit: Trent Lanz/Stocksy)

Also celebrated are landmarks such as Diego Rivera’s Anahuacalli Museum and architect Juan O’Gorman’s Cave House, along with local cuisine, the city’s art scene, and festivals such as Día de los Muertos.

A collaboration between architect Ricardo Legorreta and artist Vicente Rojo, País de Volcanes, is a fountain consisting of over a thousand pyramids in a shallow pool (Image credit: Felix Lipov/Alamy Stock Photo)

A participant takes part in the parade, starting from the Zócalo and ending in Paseo de la Reforma, during the Día de los Muertos, 2017 (Image credit: Carlos Tischler/Shutterstock)

San Rafael (Image credit: Carl Campbell/Unsplash)

From Oaxacan photographer Enrique Leyva’s series Realismo Mágico II (Image credit: Enrique Leyva)

Inside the Mexico City townhouse belonging to interior designer DirkJan Kinet (Image credit: Pablo Zamora)

Inspired by Carlos Fuentes’ Where the Air Is Clear, Vicente Rojo created Pérgola Ixca Cienfuegos in Polanco (Image credit: Frank Nowikowski/Alamy Stock Photo)

‘Mexico City’ by Aleph Molinar and Anfisa Vrube is available from Assouline.