Jardín Balbuena is a neighborhood in

Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920), known as Venustiano Carranza, was a Mexican land owner and politician who served as President of Mexico from 1917 until his assassination in 1920, during the Mexican Re ...

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 ...

, east of the historic center. The neighborhood was developed in the early 1950s and most of its infrastructure was designed by architects

Mario Pani Mario Pani Darqui (March 29, 1911 – February 23, 1993) was a Mexican architect and urbanist. He was one of the most active urbanists under the Mexican Miracle, and gave form to a good part of the urban appearance of Mexico City, with emblema ...

and Agustín Landa Verdugo. Jardín Balbuena is the seat of Venustiano Carranza, as it houses the headquarters of the borough.

Location

Jardín Balbuena is located in the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

. The neighborhood is bordered by: *Calzado Ignacio Zaragoza and Sidar y Rovirosa street on the north, across which is Colonia Moctezuma *Lázaro Pavia street and Eje 3 Oriente Francisco del Paso y Troncoso on the west, across which is Magdalena Mixiuhca and Colonia El Parque *

Viaducto Miguel Alemán Viaducto Miguel Alemán is a crosstown freeway, opened in September 1950, that runs east-west across central 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 No ...

on the south, across which is Granjas México *Jesús Galindo y Villa Avenue on the east, across which is Colonia Ignacio Zaragoza

History

The area was known as Potrero de Balbuena (Balbuena Paddock), named for Spanish poet Bernardo de Balbuena, and was used by locals to feed their cattle. It was later bought by the Braniff family, who built two

hacienda A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...

s, Magadalena and Santa Lucía, and changed its name to Llanos de Balbuena (Balbuena Plains). On 8 January 1910, Alberto Braniff took off his

Voisin Voisin (French for "neighbour") may refer to: Companies *Avions Voisin, the French automobile company :* Voisin Laboratoire, a car manufactured by Avions Voisin * Voisin (aircraft), the French aircraft manufacturer * Voisin, a Lyon-based chocol ...

airplane, imported from France, from Llanos de Balbuena, and flew over Mexico City, becoming the first aviator to fly a plane in Mexico and the second in Latin America. Llanos de Balbuena became the first airfield in Mexico. On 30 November 1911, President

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 ...

became the first Mexican head of state to fly in a plane, when he flew in George Miller Dyott's Deperdussin over Mexico City, taking off and landing in Llanos de Balbuena. It was also used by the fledgling

Mexican Air Force The Mexican Air Force (FAM; ) is the air service branch of the Mexican Armed Forces. It is a component of the Mexican Army and as such overseen by the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA). The objective of the FAM is to defend the integrity, in ...

for bomb target practice. Jardín Balbuena was developed in the early 1950s funded by the

Bank of Mexico The Bank of Mexico (), abbreviated ''BdeM'' or ''Banxico,'' is Mexico's central bank, monetary authority and lender of last resort. The Bank of Mexico is autonomous in exercising its functions, and its main objective is to achieve stability in th ...

and Agustín Landa Verdugo were in charge of designing most of the neighborhood's infrastructure, such as the Unidad Kennedy, the biggest

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

project in Jardín Balbuena, named in honor of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. In 1968, the

Agustín Melgar Olympic Velodrome The Agustín Melgar Olympic Velodrome is a velodrome located in the Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City sports complex located in Mexico City, Mexico. History It hosted the Cycling at the 1968 Summer Olympics, track cycling events for the 1968 Summer ...

was inaugurated. The venue hosted the track cycling events of the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

Transportation

Public transportation

The area is served by 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 ...

Line 1 and Line 9. Metro stations * Moctezuma * Balbuena * Mixiuhca * Velódromo

Notable people

* Enrique Borja, footballer *

Hugo Sánchez Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born 11 July 1958) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, who played as a Forward (association football), forward. A prolific goalscorer known for ...

, footballer and manager * Armando Vega Gil, musician

References

{{Venustiano Carranza, Mexico City Venustiano Carranza, Mexico City