Mexico City has always been one of our favorite places. It was once home to the Juxtapoz Latin America office and it has a rich and long history as a magnet for writers, painters, photographers, architects, and filmmakers who continually fall in love with it. As our friends at Vans prepared to open the latest House of Vans, they were kind enough to invite us down to check out the new location and celebrate the opening of a new creative space to support music, art, skate, and street culture in Mexico City.
Like its other locations in Chicago and London, House of Vans Mexico City is designed as a community hub to inspire creativity, encourage "Off the Wall" thinking, and attract global and local talents. Located in the city's bustling Mixcoac neighborhood, HOV is located in a fascinating building that was originally a family home built in 1903. Known as Casa Morisca or Arab House, the building has seen many lives over the years, including restaurants and cafes, musical venues.
As you walk into the building today you immediately enter into a skatepark and bowl that covers most of the first floor. It's a space set up for park and street skating and BMX riding (There's also a rooftop bowl with an impressive view of the city). The two-story building also features spaces for workshops with artists, an art gallery for exhibitions, and a movie theater for Vans' premieres and independent film screenings. Music is essential to House of Vans and comes to life on a main stage for local and international headliners and a second for up-and-coming artist's concerts and rehearsals.
For the grand opening of HOV CDMX, we were treated to the wonderful talents of Japanese Breakfast, Hot Chip, and Mexico City-based musicians Molotov. The gallery space held an exhibition by Marcos Castro, the artist also responsible for the large mural overlooking the skatepark. Castro's practice utilizes symbolic elements found in Mexican myths mixed with images of nature to comment on Mexico's past, present, and future.
House of Vans Mexico City is located at Ruben 6, Col. San Juan. For the latest updates on House of Vans Mexico City, including upcoming programming and events, visit vans.mx/houseofvans
