centuries were gathering places for artists and intellectuals; however, today there is no establishment "that is emblematic of a writer, a group, or where definitive books have been screened," says poet and essayist Marco Antonio Campos.
The columnist also tells La Jornada that the El Parnaso café "was the last café that brought writers together in Coyoacán. The area hadn't yet become as crowded as it is now; you don't even know who's next to you. There will be nothing left but shadows; it's a sad thing."
Café Manrique is the oldest recorded café, probably established in 1789 on the corner of Manrique (now Chile) and Tacuba streets. It was mentioned in Manuel Payno's novel The Bandits of Río Frío. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla himself is said to have visited the café.
In her book, Los cafés del siglo XIX en México (The Cafes of the 19th Century in Mexico), Clementina Díaz y de Ovando noted that Luis González Obregón mentioned that these types of establishments around 1810 were “very abundant and crowded, they were meeting places, political clubs, literary gatherings, gossip bars, newspaper reading rooms.”
