Mixcoac is an area of southern

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

which used to be a separate town and municipality within the

Mexican Federal District Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of Me ...

until it was made part of Mexico City proper (the '' Departamento Central'' at the time) in 1928. Mixcoac consists of the '' colonias'' (official neighborhoods) of Nonoalco, San Juan, Extremadura Insurgentes, Mixcoac, and Insurgentes Mixcoac and is part of the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec, he was the first indigenous pre ...

. It is bounded by Avenida de los Insurgentes to the east and the Periférico freeway to the west, south of

Colonia Nápoles Colonia Nápoles is a colonia, is an officially recognized neighborhood in Benito Juárez borough, Mexico City, and one of the iconic Mid-Century neighborhoods of Mexico City along with Colonia Del Valle. Location It is bordered by: * Viaducto ...

and San Pedro de los Pinos. It is a designated ''Barrio Mágico'' ("magical neighborhood") of Mexico City.

History

The name "Mixcoac" comes from the Nahuatl language mixtli (cloud), coatl (serpent), cómo (in), and means "Place of the Cloud Serpent", alluding to the

Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...

and the god Mixcóatl. Before the Spanish conquest there was a small settlement on the edge of

Lake Texcoco Lake Texcoco ( es, Lago de Texcoco) was a natural lake within the "Anahuac" or Valley of Mexico. Lake Texcoco is best known as where the Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlan, which was located on an island within the lake. After the Spanish con ...

, the lake that surrounded the island city of

Tenochtitlan , ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-Tenochtitlan was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. The date 13 March 1325 was ...

, today Mexico City. The ruins of the settlement, occupied between about 900 AD and 1521 AD, can be seen at the Mixcoac archeological site. After the Conquest, ranchos and haciendas were established in the area, as well as a textile factory which is today forms part of the Mexico City campus of the Universidad Panamericana. In the late 19th century, wealthy people from Mexico City began establishing summer residences here and in nearby towns such as

Tacubaya Tacubaya is a working-class area of west-central Mexico City, in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo, consisting of the '' colonia'' Tacubaya proper and adjacent areas in other colonias, with San Miguel Chapultepec sección II, Observatorio, Daniel Ga ...

San Ángel San Ángel is a colonia or neighborhood of Mexico City, located in the southwest in Álvaro Obregón borough. Historically, it was a rural community, called Tenanitla in the pre-Hispanic period. Its current name is derived from the El Carmen mon ...

and

Coyoacán Coyoacán ( , ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. The former village is now the borough's "historic center". The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means "place of coyotes", when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispani ...

. In 1910 the large ''La Castañeda'' psychiatric hospital opened, functioning until 1967. In 1928 the Municipality of Mixcoac was absorbed into Mexico City proper, becoming part of a new '' Departamento Central'' within the

. In 1910 the municipality had 21,812 residents with about 1900 dwellings. In the following decades the ranchos and haciendas were subdivided and the area became contiguous with the rest of the Mexico City urban area. Nonetheless the historic center of Mixcoac around the main square is largely intact.

Points of interest

Historic buildings and sites that still exist include: * Glorieta de Goya roundabout and park with a statue of

Álvaro Obregón Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 17 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) better known as Álvaro Obregón was a Sonoran-born general in the Mexican Revolution. A pragmatic centrist, natural soldier, and able politician, he became the 46th President of Me ...

* Old textile factory (''Antiguo Obraje de Mixcoac'') - Universidad Panamericana: previously a silk clothing factory and now part of the university * Centro Cultural Juan Rulfo: former city hall built under President Porfirio Díaz, now a cultural center * Casa de la Campana ("House of the Bell") * Plaza Jaurégui: Main square * House of Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi * Galería Arte Quimera Churches include the Parroquia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (a.k.a. ''Ex Convento y Parroquia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán y Capilla de la Virgen del Rayo'', Ex-Convent and Parish of Santo Domingo de Guzmán and Chapel of the Virgin of the Ray), first founded in 1595. The Manacar tower and shopping center is in colonia Insurgentes Mixcoac at the corner of Avenida Insurgentes and the Circuito Interior freeway.

Transportation

Mixcoac is served by the Mixcoac station of the

Mexico City metro The Mexico City Metro ( es, Metro de la Ciudad de México) is a rapid transit system that serves the metropolitan area of Mexico City, including some municipalities in Mexico State. Operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC), it is ...

, lines 7 and 12.

Education

The Universidad Panamericana main campus is located in historic buildings in the historic heart of Insurgentes Mixcoac. Simón Bolívar University is in Mixcoac, as is its affiliated private primary and secondary school, Colegio Simón Bolívar. Colegio La Salle Simón Bolívar, another private school, has two campuses in Mixcoac. The Mixcoac Campus of Colegio Williams is also in Mixcoac.CAMPUS
." Colegio Williams. Retrieved on April 15, 2016. "Campus Mixcoac Empresa No. 8 Col. Mixcoac Deleg. Benito Juárez México D.F., C.P. 03910"

Notable residents

Notable residents of Mixcoac have included poets

Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and ...

and Hart Crane, chemist

Luis E. Miramontes Luis Ernesto Miramontes Cárdenas (March 16, 1925 – September 13, 2004) was a Mexican chemist known as the co-inventor of the progestin norethisterone used in one of the first three oral contraceptives. Miramontes was born in Tepic, Nayarit ...

co-inventor of the progestin norethisterone used in one of the first three

oral contraceptive Oral contraceptives, abbreviated OCPs, also known as birth control pills, are medications taken by mouth for the purpose of birth control. Female Two types of female oral contraceptive pill, taken once per day, are widely available: * The combi ...

s, Mexican president

Valentín Gómez Farías Valentín Gómez Farías (; 14 February 1781 – 5 July 1858) was a Mexican physician and liberal politician who became president of Mexico twice, first in 1833, during the period of the First Mexican Republic, and again in 1846, during the ...

, director José Solé, and authors

José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi (November 15, 1776 – June 21, 1827), Mexican writer and political journalist, best known as the author of ''El Periquillo Sarniento'' (1816), translated as ''The Mangy Parrot'' in English, reputed to be the f ...

, whose house is used for classrooms of the Universidad Panamericana and

Katherine Anne Porter Katherine Anne Porter (May 15, 1890 – September 18, 1980) was an American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political activist. Her 1962 novel '' Ship of Fools'' was the best-selling novel in America that year, but her sh ...

, the American story writer and novelist, who later translated one of Lizardi's works.

Gallery

File:Parroquia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán.jpg, Parroquía de Santo Domingo de Guzmán File:Parroquia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán, interior.jpg, Interior of the Parroquía File:Atrio Santo Domingo Mixcoac.jpg, Atrium of the Parroquía File:Parroquia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (Insurgentes Mixcoac) 2012-09-30 13-50-13.jpg, Capilla de la Virgen del Rayo File:Parroquia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán, patio.jpg, Claustro del ex-convento de Santo Domingo File:FVH 00082 1 Parroquia de San Juan Evangelista (Insurgentes Mixcoac).jpg, Parroquia de San Juan Evangelista y nuestra señora de Guadalupe File:Fachada Obraje.jpg, Façade of the Obraje de Mixcoac (textile factory) File:Casa de la Cultura Juan Rulfo, entrada principal..jpg, Centro Cultural Juan Rulfo, former Ayuntamiento (City Hall) of Mixcoac File:Portales de Mixcoac.jpg, Portales de Mixcoac, former Banderas family house File:Instituto de Investigaciones Dr. José María Luis Mora 01.jpg, Instituto Mora, house of

File:Casa lizardi.jpg, House of

File:Casa del portico Mixcoac.jpg, Casa del Portico, now the IBBY Library File:Casa de la Campana.jpg, Casa de la Campana File:Casa Serralde.JPG, Casa Serralde File:Callejon del diablo.jpg, Callejón del diablo ("Devil's Alley") File:Muro de la Paz.jpg, Muro de la Paz ("Peace Wall") File:Secundaria Mixcoac.jpg, Leopoldo Ayala high school File:Fuente símbolo de identidad histórica de Mixcoac.jpg, Fountain symbolizing Mixcoac's historic identity

Sources

"Mixcoac", ''Mexico Desconocido''"Mixcoac, el Barrio Mágico de la Ciudad", ''Chilango'', 2012-08-13

References

External links

(in Spanish)

(in Spanish) {{coord, 19.3761, N, 99.1877, W, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:MX, display=title Benito Juárez, Mexico City Neighborhoods in Mexico City Former municipalities of the Mexican Federal District