Cerro del Judío, also known as Cerro de las Tres Cruces, or "Mazatepetl" (Cerro de los Venados) is a mountain located in

Magdalena Contreras La Magdalena Contreras () is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in the Mexico City. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 239,086 inhabitants and is the third-least populous of Mexico City's boroughs. It lies at an elevation of abov ...

municipality of

Mexico City 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 o ...

. At the top of this hill, at 2750 meters above sea level, an Otomí archaeological settlement, consisting of a

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

dating from 1200 is located here. This pyramid has a staircase that has a turtle with jaguar claws carved in stone. There is a ceremonial center there with other archaeological pieces dating from 1200 to 1380 A.D. The INAH began the recovery of this space, which was in charge of the archaeologist Francisco Rivas in the year 2000 and was named Lomas de Padierna National Park. Rivas points out that the builders are likely to be

tepanec The Tepanecs or Tepaneca are a Mesoamerican people who arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the late 12th or early 13th centuries.The dates vary by source, including 1152 CE in Anales de Tlatelolco, 1210 from Chimalpahin, and 1226 from Ixtlilxoch ...

s, a group that lived in the area at the time of the Triple Alliance, formed by Tlacopan, Texcoco and

Azcapotzalco Azcapotzalco ( nci, Āzcapōtzalco , , from ''wikt:azcapotzalli, āzcapōtzalli'' “anthill” + ''wikt:-co, -co'' “place”; literally, “In the place of the anthills”) is a Boroughs of Mexico City, borough (''demarcación territorial'') i ...

. As for the name, "Cerro del Judío" there are several versions, however, the oldest known name is that of "Mazatepetl", Cerro de los Venados. Every year in

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

the neighbors gather for the Christian holidays, since three crosses have been placed on the cusp. The sacrifice of Christ is celebrated and

Saint Barnabas Barnabas (; arc, ܒܪܢܒܐ; grc, Βαρνάβας), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Name ...

, the patron of the people, which has an area of 383.49 hectares.http://sinat.semarnat.gob.mx/dgiraDocs/documentos/df/estudios/2002/09DF2002T0001.pdf The Cerro de Mazatepetl is considered a protected Natural Area, as agreed between the Magdalena Contreras delegation and the Natural Resources Commission.

References

{{Reflist Landforms of Mexico City Judio Magdalena Contreras