Gabriela was born and raised in Condesa, a leafy central district of Mexico City. “It was a very nice, communal life,” the 36-year-old historian recalls, explaining how her family shared a car, walked to each other’s homes and knew all the shopkeepers. But, after the pandemic, the area changed fast. First, the empty next-door building was bought and renovated by an American. Then her local bakery was driven out, the locksmith moved away, and a café where workers had lunch was replaced by a fancy pizzeria and coffee shop. “It’s like Condesa has become just another neighbourhood of Manhattan,” Gabriela says.