Balderas is an underground

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

on the

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

. It is located in the

Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc (, ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the Aztec ruler ('' tlatoani'') of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, and the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle", an ...

borough in the center of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. It is a transfer station along Lines 1 and 3. Since 9 November 2023, the Line 1 station has remained closed for modernization work on the tunnel and the line's technical equipment. The Line 1 station was reopened on 13 September 2024.

Name and iconography

The station receives its name from the nearby Balderas street, which in turn was named in honor of

Lucas Balderas Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, or the Lucas, a 19th-century African-American singing group * Lucas, a 1960s Swedish pop group formed by Janne Lucas Persson ...

, a Mexican military officer that participated in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

and was killed at the

Battle of Molino del Rey The Battle of Molino del Rey (8 September 1847) was one of the bloodiest engagements of the Mexican–American War as part of the Battle for Mexico City. It was fought in September 1847 between Mexican forces under General Antonio León again ...

in 1847. It is said that his last words were "poor country of mine". The station pictogram depicts the colonial-era

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

preserved on the nearby Plaza de La Ciudadela. The cannon is a reminder of the

Ten Tragic Days The Ten Tragic Days () is the name given to the multi-day coup d'état during the Mexican Revolution in Mexico City. It was staged by opponents of Francisco I. Madero, the democratically elected president of Mexico, between 9–19 February 191 ...

, which was a period a little bit longer than 10 days in which a coup the democratically elected government of

Francisco I. Madero Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and statesman, who served as the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in a coup d'état in Februa ...

took place. This chapter would end with the murder of President Madero and Vice-President

José María Pino Suárez José María Pino Suárez (; 8 September 1869 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican politician, lawyer, journalist, and newspaper proprietor. He served as the seventh and last Vice President of Mexico from 1911 until his assassination in 1913, ...

, as well as the rise to the presidency of

Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 23 December 1850 – 13 January 1916) was a Mexican general, politician, engineer and dictator who was the 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of ...

General information

Nearby Metro Balderas are some interesting places, like La Ciudadela market, filled with Mexican handicrafts, the

José Vasconcelos Central Library of Mexico City José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

, and facilities of broadcaster

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

. Next to the library lies a ''

tianguis A is an open-air market or bazaar that is traditionally held on certain market days in a town or city neighborhood in Mexico and Central America. This bazaar tradition has its roots well into the pre-Hispanic period and continues in many cases ...

'' (street market) full of books old and new, comics, collectibles, etc. This station has an information desk and facilities for the

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

. It also displays a plaque unveiled on 19 September 2004, celebrating Mexican

rock musician Rock is a genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. It has its ...

Rockdrigo González Rodrigo González (25 December 1950 – 19 September 1985), better known as Rockdrigo or ''El profeta del nopal'' ("The Nopal Prophet"), was a Mexican singer-songwriter. He died at age 35 with his girlfriend, Francoise Bardinet, when the apart ...

, killed exactly 19 years earlier in the

1985 Mexico City earthquake The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of 19 September at 07:17:50 (CST) with a Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximal Modified Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). The ev ...

and composer of a song titled " Metro Balderas". In September 2011 a real-size bronze statue of Rockdrigo was also unveiled inside the station. Although this station is totally underground,

cellular phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radi ...

signals (

GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a family of standards to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks, as used by mobile devices such as mobile phones and Mobile broadband modem, mobile broadba ...

and TDMA for several providers) are able to reach the platform. The station also has charging stations for mobile devices.

History

Metro Balderas was opened on 4 September 1969, as part of the first stage of

Line 1 Line 1 or 1 line may refer to: Public transport Africa * Line 1 (Algiers Metro), Algeria * Cairo Metro Line 1, Egypt Asia China * Line 1 (Beijing Subway) * Line 1 (Changchun Rail Transit) * Line 1 (Changsha Metro) * Line 1 (Changzhou Metro) * ...

, going from

Chapultepec Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest Nature Value Area´s in Mexico, measuring in total just over . Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of ...

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

. The station became the network's second transfer station, when the first stretch of Line 3, from Tlatelolco to Hospital General, was opened in November 1970.

Incidents

On Friday, 18 September 2009 a

mass shooting A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...

occurred on the platform. A man was tagging one of the station walls with a marker, therefore, he was confronted by a police officer. He reacted by taking out a gun and killing the officer and a construction worker who tried to disarm him, he also left five more wounded. The man later claimed that he committed the killings "in the name of God" and was sentenced to 151 years in prison. The man who tried to disarm him was Esteban Cervantes Barrera. On 29 December 2018, a woman gave birth to a child inside the station, at the Line 1 platforms, helped by personnel of the

Mexican Red Cross The Mexican Red Cross (Spanish: ''Cruz Roja Mexicana'') is a non-governmental humanitarian assistance organization affiliated with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to help those in dangerous situations, such as n ...

Nearby

*Biblioteca de México, public library. *

Escuela Libre de Derecho Escuela Libre de Derecho (ELD) is a private law school in Mexico City, Mexico. Founded in 1912, it is one of the oldest law schools in Mexico and the oldest private institution focused in teaching law. Since its establishment in 1912, the Escue ...

, law school. *

Chapultepec headquarters. *Parque Tolsá, park. *Centro Escolar Revolución, elementary school.

Exits

Line 1

*North: Tolsá street and Balderas,

Centro Centro may refer to: Places Brazil *Centro, Santa Maria, a neighborhood in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Centro, Porto Alegre, a neighborhood of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Centro (Duque de Caxias), a neighborhood of Du ...

*South: Avenida Niños Héroes and Avenida Chapultepec,

Colonia Doctores Colonia Doctores (''English: Doctors' Colony'') is an official neighborhood just southwest of the historic center of Mexico City. It is bordered by Avenida Cuauhtémoc to the west, across from Belen Street to the north, Eje Central to the east ...

Line 3

*East: Avenida Arcos de Belén,

*Southeast: Avenida Niños Héroes and Dr. Río de la Loza street,

Station layout

Ridership

Gallery

Image:Metro_Balderas_02.jpg, Entrance to the station in the corner of Avenida Chapultepec and Av. Niños Héroes Image:Metro_Balderas_01.jpg, Entrance sign to the station Image:Metro Balderas Line 3 Platforms.jpg, Line 3 platforms Image:Commemorative plaque to Rodrigo Gonzalez.JPG, Commemorative plaque to

Image:Estatua_a_Rodrigo_González_(músico_mexicano)_Aka_"Rockdrigo".jpg, Statue honoring Rockdrigo

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Balderas Railway stations in Mexico opened in 1969 Mexico City Metro stations in Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City Mexico City Metro Line 3 stations Accessible Mexico City Metro stations Railway stations located underground in Mexico Colonia Roma Railway stations in Mexico opened in 1970