Hello. I'm Mónica Unikel. Some people call me Monikel. I'm the granddaughter of immigrants from Ukraine and Lithuania who arrived in Mexico in the 1920s.
Thirty years ago, I began creating various sightseeing routes to explore the footprints of our Jewish ancestors in Mexico City's Historic Center and other neighborhoods. This brings together two of my passions: the Historic Center and the stories of Jewish immigrants in Mexico.
The tours are "living history" based on the memories of real people who have shared their stories with me, which are priceless treasures. These visits honor their memory. And after so many years, I can assure you that I'm still thrilled every time I begin a new experience in the fascinating streets of the city center.
One incredible thing is that the interest has been so great that I've had to train other guides so that many people can enjoy this wonderful experience. And they're great. Many people seek them out directly because they were recommended, and that makes me very happy.
Why do I give guided tours?
Because I believe in the power of the street and its memories, and I enjoy it more than academia. Because I believe that the secrets of the past can be found in the streets, as long as we have immigrant stories and reference images to guide us.
What do I seek to generate in the people who take a visit with me?
I seek to create an emotional experience, not just an informative one. I want them to leave with something that moved them and that they want to share with their loved ones.
Let them learn about the migration experience through stories, old photographs shared during each visit, and the places themselves. Let them smell them, walk through them, feel them, and imagine them.

Monica works a miracle, reliving the existence of that neighborhood on a walk, as if all that existence suddenly became present: the grocery store, the neighborhoods of Jesús María, Loreto, and Moneda streets, the kosher butcher shop, the Shami industriousness, the Ashkenazi humor, the Halevi solidarity...
Monica transports us to a world where the theater of life takes over, unfolding without hesitation, as if after knocking on the door of any house in the neighborhood, the furniture, the pots, the voices, the footsteps, and even the heartbeats of sleepy, motionless neighbors appeared before us, ready only to wake up if someone, like Monica, dared to believe for a moment in their existence.

Manu Valentín, 2017