Mexico City

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Mexico City

 

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Cathedral on the Zocalo
(officially the Plaza of the Constitution)

 

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ruins of the Grand Temple of the Aztec empire
(to the right on the Zocalo)

 

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Templo Mayor de Mexico-Tenochtitlan
(a major new museum)

 

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inside the National Palace
(also on the Zocalo, further to the right)

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on the second level are the

Diego Rivera

murals

 

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the Aztecs use of corn

 

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Aztec capital

 

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the conquest

 

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the nation

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Folkloric show at the Palacio de Bellas Artes

 

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Chapultepec Castle

 

 

Chapultepec (Chapoltepēc "at the grasshopper hill" in the Nahuatl language; c.f. Mexican Spanish chapulin (grasshopper)) is a large hill on the outskirts of central Mexico City. It has been a special place for Mexicans throughout Mexican history, and it was on this hill that the Aztecs made a temporary home after arriving from northern Mexico in the 1200s.

Chapultepec Park, which consists of the hill and 1,600 acres of surrounding land, has many attractions, including Chapultepec Castle, where Maximilian I of Mexico and Empress Carlota of Mexico once lived. The castle's sumptuous interior now houses the National History Museum.

 

Castle courtyard

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Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

 

 

The name Basilica of Guadalupe (also Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in Spanish) may refer to one of the two churches built on top of Tepeyac hill, north of Mexico City. The site is nearby the place where it is said Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared in front of Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. This site is also known as La Villa de Guadalupe.

The new Basilica is arguably the most important religious building in Mexico. It houses the original tilma (or apron) of Juan Diego that shows the icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Thus it is an important pilgrimage site and is visited by several million people every year, especially around December 12, Our Lady of Guadalupe's Feast day.

 

 

the second cathedral

Officially known as the "Templo Expiatorio a Cristo Rey", the construction of the old basilica began in 1531 and was not finished until 1709. It is characterized by its doric interior and marble statues of Juan Diego and Fray Juan de Zumárraga. The church was granted basilica status by Pope Pius X in 1904.

The apron of Juan Diego was housed in this church from 1709 to 1974. In 1921 a bomb planted in a flower vase near the altar by a anticlerical activist exploded causing great damage to the interior of the building. The apron survived the incident largely undamaged.

The old basilica was sinking as a result of the weakness of the ground, as the city was built on a former lake. As a consequence a new, more spacious, basilica was built. The old one was closed for many years and repairs have recently finished. It is now again open to the public and perpetual adoration is held there.

 

new cathedral on the left

The modern basilica was built between 1974 and 1976 by the Mexican architect Pedro Ramírez Vásquez who was also the architect of the Estadio Azteca (Spanish for "Aztec Stadium"). It is a circular building constructed in such a way as to allow maximum visibility for the image to those inside. The structure is supported by 350 pilots that prevent the basilica from sinking with the rest of the ground.

The Basilica is considered as the second most important sanctuary of Catholicism (this based upon the number of pilgrims it hosts per year) just after the Vatican City.

The Basilica has sitting space for 10,000 people inside the premises. However, temporary seats are often placed in the atrium that allow up to 40,000 people to take part of the Mass and other ritual celebrations. There are nine chapels in the ground level each able to seat about 200 people.

Text from Wikipedia

 

interior of the new cathedral

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Zona Rosa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mexico City hotels

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