In my opinion, there’s no better way to learn than by traveling. Every time I go someplace new, I take home a handful of stories. I tend to ask a lot of questions, and I collect the answers for future inspiration. My trip to Mexico City was no different.

Did you know that Mexico used to be pronounced “meh-shee-ka,” a word that the Aztecs, the country’s indigenous inhabitants, used to describe themselves? Their long history ended in destruction thanks to the Spanish crown handing the country over to Cortez. That’s around the time when most of the Mexican culture we recognize today began.

Early settlements and their architecture were European-inspired. The European powers that came and went also brought wheels and wagons, which meant they needed to fill the lakes and canals. The beautiful architectural homes built during the 1800’s in the historical district, known as Centro Historico began to sink by the turn of the century. The wealthy elites fled from their crumbling homes in the historic district. But where to go?

In comes Colonia Roma, the historic neighborhood turned trendy district where I made my home base. Back in 1872, three investors (“developers” as we call them) saw an opportunity and built a European style upper class neighborhood for the aristocrats from Centro Historico to land. One of those developers was an Englishman Eduardo Walter Orrin, a circus owner who had traveled the world over with his performers. Orrin bought up the land of Roma and successfully marketed it to become “Roma.”

So what happened to the circus? It had been such a success in Latin America that Orrin had the finances to develop Roma and build a permanent venue. The circus operated inside what is now the Teatro Blanquita in the Centro Histórico, for over 26 years!

Knowing what happened on the land where you’re traveling brings a different feeling to the experience. It’s stickier that way. You take some of that story home with you. Then it becomes part of yours.