Iztapalapa
Filming in Mexico City's Hidden Jewel.
Filming in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa neighborhood.
The Best Filming Locations in Mexico
Our Mexican production company team members are experts in the best filming locations across the country, from the more well-known spots to off-the-beaten-track gems. Here’s our filming guide to one such hidden gem, the Mexico City neighborhood of Iztapalapa (eats-ta-pa-la-pa).
The Contrasts of Mexico City
Mexico City is known for its color, chaos, and magic. Mexico City is massive: it has an area of almost 1,500 square kilometers (577 sq mi) and is home to more than 9 million people. Greater Mexico City, which consists of the sprawling conurbation surrounding the main city, is even more gigantic: it covers an area of 7,866 square kilometers (3,037.1 sq mi) and has a population of almost 22 million.
Like most capital cities, Mexico City is a cosmopolitan place that combines a variety of cultures, ideologies, beliefs, and traditions. As you would expect, it is full of neighborhoods with entirely different characteristics.
Mexico City is known for its color, chaos, and magic.
Mexico City is undoubtedly a city of maximum variety when it comes to its neighborhoods. First, there's Polanco, a very chic barrio with window displays showing off Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Tesla. Then there's gritty Tepito, home to one of the city's most hectic markets, where you can buy anything and everything.
The Historical Center is a pure reflection of the cultural syncretism of Mexico. There you can observe people going to mass in the Metropolitan Cathedral and finishing with a cleansing ritual with the "concheros," who dance with their bells next to the ruins of the Great Temple.
Mexico City is culture, history, modernity, art, and diversity. The city offers incomparable images, especially in those neighborhoods that are not fashionable, where life is a little more complex. This brings us to Iztapalapa, a visual jewel where photographers and filmmakers can document incredible urban landscapes.
Iztapalapa: a Vibrant Open-Air Art Museum
Iztapalapa is one of the most important mayoralties in the city, one of the most populous and one of the poorest. This poverty is why recent governments have paid particular attention to developing and promoting cultural projects that mitigate violence and offer the inhabitants a better quality of life.
Thus, little by little, Iztapalapa has morphed into a vibrant urban canvas and open-air art museum. Murals, markets, colorful houses, alleys with old stone walls, bridges, and cable cars have shifted the spectrum of this neighborhood from desolate gray to the glowing colors of life and art.
A ride on the cable car will give you an idea of the new face of this area: roofs adorned with murals, with phrases that highlight human rights, recognition of ancestral cultures, or remembering departed friends and relatives.
Iztapalapa is an artistic district, where local governments have focused on creating an open-air art museum feel in order to mitigate violence and improve quality of life.
Filming in Iztapalapa has security challenges, so securing the correct permits and working with local fixers who know and understand the area is crucial. Our Mexico-based production company can help arrange all you need to film in Iztapalapa and bring your client and audience a different flavor of Mexico beyond the typical tourist attractions and cliched imagery. If you want to show the soul of Mexico City, then Iztapalapa is your place.