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Cantina La Jalisciense
This always lively neighborhood cantina is frequented by the arty characters who populate the southern district, though it has a distinctly down-to-earth atmosphere. In operation since 1870, in the revolutionary era it was a parting stop for gun-toting bandidos bound for the hills. Gregarious owner Miguel Ángel Fernández carries forward the legacy with his homemade sangría and toothsome bacalao sandwiches. But take heed: swearing is strictly prohibited.
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Casa De Cultura Jesús Reyes Heroles
This cultural center is set in a gorgeous colonial-style building, complete with arches, patios and bubbling fountains. The modest theater stages plays (free), as well as small concerts featuring local musicians. There is also an exhibition space; pick up a copy of the monthly Cartelera Cultural Coyoacanense , which includes a theater program. The center is located in Santa Catarina's pretty main square.
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Celtics
An Argentinean-run facsimile of an Irish pub, Celtics remains hugely popular with young defeños . A Guinness will set you back around $70 here, a draft Sol around $35 . The soundtrack is more U2 than Chieftains; bands play Sunday to Tuesday evenings.
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Centro Cultural De España
Young hipsters pack the roof terrace of the Spanish cultural center each weekend for its excellent DJ sessions. Located directly behind the cathedral, the rebuilt colonial structure is usually quaking by midnight.
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Centro Cultural Helénico
One of the city's most prominent of the larger theaters, established in the late '80s, with a vigorous program, including the occasional English-language production. The comfortable Helénico performs everything from comic farce to monologues and drama. Productions take place from Fridays to Sundays and tickets can be purchased at the box office, by phone, Internet or Ticketmaster.
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Centro Cultural Ollin Yoliztli
Regular year-round free concerts of chamber ensembles and string recitals are held at this Cultural Center's Sala Herminio Novelo, with music students and professionals consistently delivering polished performances. Admission is free and, at the time of writing, the concerts took place weekly at on Thursday (although confirm, if possible, before setting out).
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Cibeles
This fashionable new antro is a low-ceilinged, L-shaped living room with a perversely eclectic array of mismatched sofas, armchairs and coffee tables. The mood swings throughout the week from quiet and conversational (Tuesday) to loud and raucous (Friday, when DJs mix '80s hits with lounge-y beats). Reservations are a must on weekends.
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Cinemark
This Cinemark complex opened in November 2007, as part of the spanking new Plaza Reforma Mall; the company is massive throughout Mexico with a total of 29 complexes (nine in the city). This one has 11 modern auditoriums, equipped with Dolby sound and THX, comfortable seats and digital image. There is a car park and a kick-back lounge-cafeteria.
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Cinemex Casa De Arte
This Cinemex Casa de Arte ( House of Art ) screens independent first-run and foreign films in its four-screen complex, which also thoughtfully caters to the hearing-impaired. The venue is also the annual host to the Muestra Internacional de Cine (International Film Festival), when a selection of some of the most exceptional foreign films is screened.
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Cinemex Palacio
One of over 30 multiplexes in the capital, Cinemex is the largest chain of movie theaters in Mexico City. It was founded back in 1993 by three astute Harvard college students (majoring, naturally, in Business Studies) after regulations were lifted with the new Cinematography Law. Known for their bigger screens, plush carpeting, well- lit interiors and US-style food and drink vendors, back in the mid-'90s this was also the only chain in the world with 100% digital sound.
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Cinépolis Diana
Yet another cinema chain, although Cinépolis has a modest half-dozen complexes. This one has a manageable, six-screen choice with air con, comfortable reclining seats, Dolby sound and a cafeteria. Matinees are shown at weekends. This cinema is also the venue of the Festival de Cine Franco-Mexicano held annually during the second week in November.
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Cineteca Nacional
Film buffs will love the thematically focused film series that are shown here on six screens, with at least one devoted to Mexican cinema. There are cafes and bookstores at the center of the complex, which is located close to metro Coyoacán. In November the Cineteca hosts the Muestra Internacional de Cine , Mexico City's international film festival.
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Cinna Bar
Looking at Parque España through red-tinted windows, this lounge-cum-dining room sports a self-consciously minimal aesthetic. Smartly outfitted professionals stop in after work to nosh on Vietnamese spring rolls, sip raspberry martinis and groove on sounds concocted by DJs with iBooks.
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Contempo Cinema
Located inside the Zona Rosa's Plaza del Ángel shopping center, the Contempo screens contemporary Mexican and international films, with an emphasis on gay and erotic themes, as well as staging occasional theater and cabaret productions.
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Cream
The longstanding El Colmillo club has been spruced up and reborn as one of the city's premier electronica venues. Beyond the ghoulishly red narrow front room, steps lead down to a hallucinatory party lounge, where internationally renowned DJs work from a catwalk above a laser-lashed dance floor.
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Cultural Roots
Portraits of Marcus Garvey, Haile Selassie and Emiliano Zapata glare down over the throngs of skanking youth who fill this warehouse-sized room, where DJs pump out a heady blend of contemporary reggae. Despite the pervasive aroma, signs remind you that ganja use is prohibited.
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Dada X
Black-clad youth gravitate toward this space on the upper floor of a magnificent colonial building. The varied program includes cult films, poetry readings and live music, which might be anything from ska to electronica.
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El Balcón Huasteco
This center for the preservation of the Huastec culture of Hidalgo and Veracruz stages performances by the region's fiery trios. There are wooden platforms for traditional zapateando dancing and snacks from the area.
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El Bataclán
A theater within a club (La Bodega, see above), this intimate cabaret showcases some of Mexico's most vivid performers, with frequent appearances by the wonderfully surreal Astrid Haddad. Cocktails and antojitos are served, with tables on stepped levels leading up from the stage. Afterwards, catch top-notch Cuban son combos in La Bodega's various salons.
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El Colmillo
DJs crank the volume to coccyx-crunching levels at this hallucinogenic hangout. Downstairs there's a dance floor on which to take advantage of the music (deep house; psychedelic trance) and a bar-lounge area; a more subdued upstairs lounge has performance events. The line at the door doesn't keep people waiting too long.
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El Gran León
Two or three top-notch Cuban son ensembles take the tropical stage nightly at this old-school club. Unescorted (and escorted) women should expect to be invited up onto the tightly packed dance floor.
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El Lunario
Regular weekly cinema screenings take place every Thursday at this see-and-be-seen fashionable theater, film-house, cabaret and good-time bar.
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El Nivel
The country's first cantina proudly displays its license (No 1), dating from 1855. Inside the building that once housed the hemisphere's first university, it's within shouting distance of the Palacio Nacional. Since then, every Mexican president except Vicente Fox has stopped in for a trago . The botanas (drinking snacks) here are particularly fine.
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El Templo De Diana
This classic pulquería, a block east of the main market, has a cheerful sawdust-on-the-floor vibe, with patrons from a broad age range enjoying giant mugs of the maguey-based beverage behind the swinging doors. Even a few females may pop in. Pulque is delivered fresh daily from Hidalgo state, and expertly blended with flavorings like mango, tomato, and pine nut.
