Mixcoac is an area of southern

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 ...

which used to be a separate town and municipality within the

Mexican Federal District 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 ...

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 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 ...

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

. It is bounded by

Avenida de los Insurgentes Avenida de los Insurgentes (), sometimes known simply as Insurgentes, is the longest avenue in Mexico City, with a length of on a north-south axis across the city. Insurgentes has its origins in what was during the early 20th century known as ...

to the east and the Periférico freeway to the west, south of Colonia Nápoles 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 Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

mixtli (cloud), coatl (serpent), co (in), and means "Place of the Cloud Serpent", alluding to the

Milky Way The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...

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

Lake Texcoco Lake Texcoco (; ) was a natural saline lake within the ''Anahuac'' or Valley of Mexico. Lake Texcoco is best known for an island situated on the western side of the lake where the Mexica built the city of Mēxihco Tenōchtitlan, which would la ...

, the lake that surrounded the island city of

Tenochtitlan , also known as Mexico-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, but the date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th annivers ...

, 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 Panamerican University (), commonly known as UP, is a private research, Roman Catholic university founded in Mexico City. It has four campuses: the main Mixcoac campus in the Benito Juarez borough of south-western Mexico City, founded in 1968; ...

. 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 Poverty in Mexico, working-class area of Mexico City in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo, D.F., Miguel Hidalgo. The ''colonia (Mexico), colonia'' Tacubaya and adjacent areas in other colonias are collectively referred to as Tacubaya. ...

San Ángel San Ángel is a ''Colonia (Mexico), colonia'' (neighborhood) located in the southwest of Mexico City in Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City, Álvaro Obregón borough. Historically it was a rural community called Tenanitla in the pre-Hispanic period. It ...

and

Coyoacán Coyoacán ( ; , Otomi: ) 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- ...

. 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 (; 19 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) was a Mexican general, inventor and politician who served as the 46th President of Mexico from 1920 to 1924. Obregón was re-elected to the presidency in 1928 but was assassinated b ...

* Old textile factory (''Antiguo Obraje de Mixcoac'') -

: previously a silk clothing factory and now part of the university * Centro Cultural Juan Rulfo: former city hall built under President

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

, 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 () 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 ...

, lines 7 and 12.

Education

The

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, a ...

and

Hart Crane Harold Hart Crane (July 21, 1899 – April 27, 1932) was an American poet. Inspired by the Romantics and his fellow Modernists, Crane wrote highly stylized poetry, often noted for its complexity. His collection '' White Buildings'' (1926), feat ...

, chemist

Luis E. Miramontes Luis Ernesto Miramontes Cárdenas (March 16, 1925 – September 13, 2004) was a Mexican chemist known as co-inventor and the first to synthesize an oral contraceptive, progestin norethisterone. Career summary Miramontes was born in Tepic, Nayar ...

co-inventor of the

progestin A progestogen, also referred to as a progestagen, gestagen, or gestogen, is a type of medication which produces effects similar to those of the natural female sex hormone progesterone in the body. A progestin is a '' synthetic'' progestogen. ...

norethisterone Norethisterone, also known as norethindrone and sold under the brand name Norlutin among others, is a progestin medication used in birth control pills, menopausal hormone therapy, and for the treatment of gynecological disorders. The medicatio ...

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. The introduction of the birth control pill ("the Pill") in 1960 revolutionized the options for contraception, ...

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 from 1833 to 1834, during the period of the First Mexican Republic, and again from 1846 ...

, director José Solé, and authors José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi, whose house is used for classrooms of the

and

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

, 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 José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi 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:El Muro de la Paz - Plaza Agustín Jáuregi - Mixcoac - Mexico 2024.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'', 2012-08-13Crónicas y relatos de México - Los tesoros de Mixcoac (30/01/2014)

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