Desierto de los Leones National Park

Desierto de los Leones (Desert of the Lions) National Park is located entirely within the limits of the Federal District; it stretches between Cuajimalpa and Álvaro Obregón boroughs.
It is located in the Sierra de las Cruces mountain range west of the city center with an area of 1,867 hectares, representing fifteen percent of the entire Valley of Mexico. The term ''Desierto'' (‘desert’) is used in this context in the archaic sense of “wild, sparsely populated area” rather than in reference to an arid environment. ''Leones'' (‘Lions’) refers not to the big cats but rather to the original landlord's surname.

The park's altitude varies between 2,600 and 3,700 meters above sea level, giving the area a relatively cold and damp climate. It is a forested area primarily with pines, oyamel firs and oaks with many brooks, ravines and waterfalls. The park is considered to be the oldest protected biosphere in Mexico. It was originally declared a forest reserve in 1876 by President Lerdo de Tejada with the intent of conserving its fresh water springs to supply Mexico City. It was later declared a national park on 27 November 1917, by President Venustiano Carranza.

History

The original name was "Desierto de Nuestra Señora del Carmen de los Montes de Santa Fe", but over time it was modified by people in nearby communities who started calling it Desierto de los Leones. It was given the name "''desert''" due to the location of the park that was built in a place far away from the city. There are two versions that explain why people started naming it de Los Leones. The first one says that the name was given due to the large amount of wild felines that lived in that region. The second version is attributed to the last name of a family that helped the religious order acquire legal possession of the property. Since the friars could not perform secular charges directly, they relied on the Leon family so that they could represent them before the Spanish Crown.
While this beautiful forest served as a connector between Mexico City and Toluca, the order of barefoot Carmelites chose this place to build a convent that served as a retirement and a place of meditation far away from the restlessness of the city.

The first stone was laid on January 23, 1606, which started the construction of the first convent, the 10 hermitages (El Portón, La Soledad, San José, San Elías, San Juan, Magdalena, Trinidad, Getsemaní, San Alberto y San Miguel) and the wall that encircles the area.

The convent had two levels and was built by the Friar Andrés de San Miguel. Since the place presented complicated weather conditions, by 1722, this structure had greatly deteriorated. As a result, it was demolished and a new one was built in its place adjoining just south of the original complex, the current convent completing in 1814. Just when the war of independence had begun in 1810, the Carmelites order had to abandon its peaceful convent. The property was given to the government of the city to be used as military headquarters that lasted until the beginning of the 19th century.

The post-reform government was aware of the area's resource exploitation, which had been used to fulfill the demand of the city. As a result, the mountain was declared a forest reserve area and of public interest in the year 1876. After the revolution began, President Venustiano Carranza named the mountain a national park on November 15, 1917.

The monastery was declared a national monument in 1937 during the mandate of President Lazaro Cardenas. Nowadays, the 18th-century structure has a number of areas that have been restored and opened to the public. The park that surrounds the monastery offers activities such as day camping, overnight camping and mountain biking.

With the growth of the city to the western valley of Mexico and the need for natural spaces, the Mexican government has sought for the expansion and preservation of this important place. On December 19, 1983, President Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado decreed the expropriation of 1,529 acres which were assigned to the preservation, development and beautification of the Desierto de los Leones. Subsequently, due to fires in some of the areas in 1998, the structure suffered deterioration which then became an ecological restoration zone within an area of approximately 400 acres.
Finally, on April 16, 1999, the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) signed the coordination agreement where the Federal Government transferred the full administration
of the "Desierto de los Leones" National Park to the local government, which was formalized with the Delivery and Reception Act on November 24, 2000.

Life In The Convent

The lifestyle, complicated and selfless, that the Carmelitas has existed since before their story in the convent.

Getting inside the convent was difficult, not only due to the wall surrounding the building, but also because this wall only had one door located in the only existing road, connected to Cuajimalpa. After that, there was a paved road protected from end to end in both sides, in which end there was a fountain that protected the main entrance and received the people who came. The main door was always closed, so the visitors had to ring a bell and wait to be granted access.

Besides the main door, there was a painting which symbolized the practices and modus vivendi of the Carmelita's community. Next, is the description made by Father Friar Agustín de la Madre de Dios, the official chronicler of the Carmelitas of New Spain:

''“The first thing one sees in the painting is a Carmelita who is frightening everyone who sees it because it is an image of what happens inside. The Carmelita is crucified on a cross, with a padlock in his mouth, silicon in his eyes and where a baby Jesus is resting within his visible broken heart inside his chest. The friar’s right hand is formed into a fist, which exemplifies a harsh discipline and in the left hand he holds a candle: to watch others and see the candle burn. Two trumpets touch his ears. Two misconceptions, where one is death telling him that life is over and the other is an angel calling for a trial in a frightening voice. The padlock in his mouth means the eternal silence that the Carmelitas must live in alongside discipline and continuous penance.”''

The painting represents how the monks must conduct themselves: by discipline, humility, service, penance, prayer, silence, and other values mentioned by Friar Agustin.

The monks dedicated themselves to prayer and the realisation of their domestic labours. These values or attitudes were present in every moment of the community's life, ever since the beginning of the convent's construction process. As soon as dawn was upon them, every member of the community had to go to mass, and later continue with the construction of their new home. After the mass was finished, all the priests would cut down the nearby trees, which later would be dragged by yokes of oxen. Cleanliness was of utmost importance since they rarely found themselves in a messy environment.

The sacristy was simple in comparison with others, without too many ornaments, nor figures made of precious metals. In any case, the decoration was based in “al fresco” paintings of religious themes, all of them were huge and in large quantities.

An important aspect for the Carmelitas was to fulfil their vows of chastity, poverty and reflexive prayer. Due to the little contact they had with the world outside the convent, they were considered hermits. The ones living all alone in the hermitages surrounding the building were worthy of admiration, because of their attitude regarding the search of a greater mission. They lived for the spirit, with only their basic needs, in silence and meditation of nature and themselves.

Despite living in their own community, monks were mainly focused in accomplishing with devotion their personal duties, but not participating in collaborative projects or supporting the other monks who lived in their community. This belief agreed with their vows of silence. With the purpose of avoiding confusion of said vows, the Carmelitas developed a system of signs and signals to allow effective communication. For example, they would make the sign of the cross with an open hand in order to ask the priest for something or pretend to beat eggs in order to request their presence in the kitchen.

The Carmelitas had few cows to supply the little milk they drank every few days as a way to accomplish their vows of poverty and austerity.

As a result of the custom of their time, women weren't allowed to access the convent, thanks to a decree of Pope Clemente VIII, which said that any woman who trespasses the wall would be banned from the Catholic Church.
Another relevant point, was living in penance, which is why they asked for ordinary mortifications to the president of the community. In requesting penance, they had to take off their habit capes and be on their knees, accepting the assignments without refutations. Some penances were ordinary, such as walking barefoot at night with a heavy cross and with a crown made of thorns, like Jesus in the Passion, or the flagellation on Holy Friday. The penances varied according to the liturgical time, or for welcoming or saying goodbye to visitors just to name a few.

In ordinary days, they would attend mass, read, have silent meditation and spend time soul-searching, focusing more on the spiritual life than in the necessities of the human body.

Decree

In 1876, the then President of Mexico Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, enacts Desierto de los Leones as an ecological reserve in order to protect existing natural springs and provide water to Mexico City. With this decree, Desierto de los Leones became the first Natural Protected Area in Mexico.

After the Mexican Revolution in 1917, the forest Desierto de los Leones became the first National Park in the country.

The Decree by which the area known as Desierto de los Leones is constituted as a National Park was published in the Official Gazette of November 17, 1917 designating with it an area of 1,529 hectares under President Venustiano Carranza's rule.

The first article of the decree stipulates that Desierto de los Leones would now be named as Desierto de los Leones National Park.

The second article states that the management, conservation and improvement of the park would now be in charge of the Ministry of Public Works. With the exception of historical ruins, whose care and conservation would depend on the Ministry of Communication and Public Works.

The last article authorizes the Ministry of Public Works to exploit resources within the park, such as dead, diseased, defective or outdated trees, and those which can alter the development of the forest. They would be able to improve the park using their own products. Also, Ministry of Public Works would be the only one allowed to cut trees among the park. The Secretariat is not authorized to contract or grant permissions to individuals for the exploitation of these resources, neither is for hunting and livestock grazing.

Geography

The park is located in the Federal District of Mexico City distributed between the boroughs of Cuajimalpa and Álvaro Obregón. Its altitude varies between 2,600 and 3,700 meters above sea level. The park is seven km long, three km wide with an area of 1,867 hectares. It is one of the most important natural areas of the Federal District, protecting much of the Sierra de las Cruces mountain range and represents about 15% of the Valley of Mexico.
The climate of the park is relatively cold and damp due to its altitude. It rains here daily much of the year and fog is common year round. Because of this climate and the rugged terrain, it has many ravine

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