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Mexico
City History: Before Christopher Columbus set sail for
the New World, the Valley of Mexico was already a bustling center
of life and commerce. Known for being the longest continuously inhabited
city in the Western Hemisphere (it was founded in 1325), Mexico
City now ranks as the largest city in the world. Once called Tenochtitlan,
the Aztec capital city was built on a one-square mile island in
an enormous shallow lake. By the early 1500's it was the capital
of a military empire that stretched from Texas to Honduras. The
Spanish crown, led by Hernan Cortes, conquered the Aztec Empire
in 1521. It was not until the early 1800s that Mexico began its
long, hard quest for independence - which it won in 1821.
Not only is Mexico City the capital of Mexico, but it is also Mexico's
commercial center. The zocalo, or central plaza, is the world's
largest square and Mexico City's main historic district. A whirlwind
of history can be discovered in the district's museums, hotels,
cathedrals, and public buildings. One mile to the north is the Tlatelolco
Reforma and Chapultepec Park. Once housing the historic Aztec marketplace,
it is now home to the Plaza of Three Cultures, depicting the three
dramatic eras of Mexico City's evolution. The elegant Paseo de la
Reforma surrounds Mexico City from west to northeast. It was modeled
after the Champs-Elysees in Paris and built during the reign of
Emperor Maximilian, the Archduke who ruled Mexico from 1864-67.
Just south of the Reforma is the fashionable Zona Rosa, or the Pink
Zone. Built in the 1920's and reminiscent of Greenwich Village,
its location is ideal - half-way between the zocalo and Chapultepec
Park. Most of the superior and deluxe Mexico City hotels are located
here, as well as the city's finest restaurants, historic landmarks
and public buildings. |
