The story
Step onto the pavement of Colima Street and take a deep breath. Can you feel the shift in the air? Here in the heart of Roma Norte, the city’s frantic pace seems to soften, filtered through the thick canopy of ficus and jacaranda trees.
You are walking through a living gallery of Mexico City’s golden age, but there is a whimsical secret hidden beneath these elegant facades. To understand Colima, you have to look back to the turn of the twentieth century and a man named Edward Walter Orrin. Orrin was a British circus entrepreneur who owned the most famous spectacle in Mexico, the Circo Orrin.
When he helped develop this neighborhood during the Porfiriato era, he didn't name the streets after heroes or battles. Instead, he named them after the cities where his circus had performed its most successful shows. Colima, Durango, Jalapa—this entire grid is a map of a traveling performer’s itinerary.
Every time you cross an intersection, you are tracing the path of a ghost parade of acrobats, lions, and clowns. Look up at the buildings surrounding you. This is the realm of the Porfirian dream, where French influence meets Mexican ambition.
You’ll see Art Nouveau curves and the sturdy, symmetrical lines of the Belle Époque. Notice the ornate ironwork on the balconies and the stone carvings around the doorways. If you look closely at some of the older entryways, you might spot the delicate, long-legged silhouettes of herons.
These birds, or garzas, became symbols of the neighborhood's grace. They reflect a time when the wealthy elite wanted to transform this former swampy marshland into a European-style paradise. But Colima isn't just a museum.
As you walk, notice how the past leans into the present. A hundred-year-old mansion with a crumbling stone gargoyle might now house a cutting-edge contemporary art gallery like OMR, or a minimalist coffee shop where the aroma of roasted beans replaces the dusty scent of history. This street is where the "eco," the echo, truly lives.
It’s in the sound of a vintage bicycle bell ringing past a refurbished townhouse and the sight of a modern mural painted alongside a colonial-style window. Take a moment to pause near the intersection of Colima and Orizaba. Just a stone’s throw away is the Rio de Janeiro plaza with its replica of Michelangelo’s David, but right here on the sidewalk, the story is more intimate.
This street has survived earthquakes and revolutions, yet it remains the most sophisticated spine of the Roma. It is a place where the grandeur of the circus and the stillness of the heron coexist, inviting you to slow down and listen to the stories written in the stone.