Chapultepec Park
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Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in
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 ...
, is one of the largest city parks in Mexico, measuring in total just over 686 hectares (1,695 acres). Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of the park's main functions is as an ecological space in
Greater Mexico City Greater Mexico City refers to the conurbation around Mexico City, officially called Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico ( es, Zona metropolitana del Valle de México). It encompasses Mexico City itself and 60 adjacent municipalities of the S ...
. It is considered the first and most important of Mexico City's "lungs". The area encompassing modern-day Chapultepec has been inhabited and considered a landmark since the
pre-Columbian era In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...
, when it became a retreat for
Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
rulers. In the colonial period,
Chapultepec Castle Chapultepec Castle ( es, Castillo de Chapultepec) is located on top of Chapultepec Hill in Mexico City's Chapultepec park. The name ''Chapultepec'' is the Nahuatl word ''chapoltepēc'' which means "on the hill of the grasshopper". The castle has ...
was built here, eventually becoming the official residence of Mexican heads of state. It would remain so until 1940, when it was moved to another part of the park called Los Pinos. Bosque de Chapultepec is divided into four sections, with the first section being the oldest and most visited. This section contains most of the park's attractions, including the castle, the Chapultepec Zoo, the Museum of Anthropology, and the Rufino Tamayo Museum, among others. It receives an estimated 15 million visitors per year. This prompted the need for major rehabilitation efforts that began in 2005 and ended in 2010. The government has authorized the construction of business, offices, and big parking lots for cars.


History

According to studies, there has been human presence in the area since at least the pre-Classic period. The first identified culture archaeologists have evidence for is the Toltecs. The Toltecs named the area "grasshopper hill", which would later become
Nahuatl 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 Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...
"Chapoltepēc" ("at the grasshopper hill"). Remains of a Toltec altar have been found on the hill's summit. In the Classic Period, the area was occupied by people of the Teotihuacan culture. When the Mexicans, or Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico, it was inhabited by a people called the
Tepaneca 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 of
Azcapotzalco Azcapotzalco ( nci, Āzcapōtzalco , , from '' āzcapōtzalli'' “anthill” + '' -co'' “place”; literally, “In the place of the anthills”) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. Azcapotzalco is in the northwestern ...
. When the Aztecs took over the Valley of Mexico, they considered the hill as both a sacred and strategic site. They began to use the area as a repository for the ashes of their rulers, and the area's springs became an important source of fresh water for the capital of Tenochtitlan. Eventually, the area became a retreat strictly limited to the ruling and religious elite. In the 1420s, ruler Nezahualcoyotl was the first to build a palace in the area.
Moctezuma II Moctezuma Xocoyotzin ( – 29 June 1520; oteːkˈsoːmaḁ ʃoːkoˈjoːt͡sĩn̥), nci-IPA, Motēuczōmah Xōcoyōtzin, moteːkʷˈsoːma ʃoːkoˈjoːtsin variant spellings include Motewksomah, Motecuhzomatzin, Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecu ...
built reservoirs to raise exotic fish and to store water. He also had trees and plants from various parts of the Aztec Empire planted here. In 1465,
Moctezuma I Moctezuma I (–1469), also known as Moteuczomatzin Ilhuicamina (), Huehuemoteuczoma or Montezuma I ( nci, Motēuczōma Ilhuicamīna , nci, Huēhuemotēuczōma ), was the second Aztec emperor and fifth king of Tenochtitlan. During his reign, t ...
ordered his portrait carved into a rock at the foot of the hill and constructed the Tlaxpana aqueduct, which measured three km. During the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, one of the last battles between the Spanish and ruler Cuauhtémoc occurred at Chapultepec Hill in 1521. Shortly thereafter, the
Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
built a small hermitage over the indigenous altar on Chapultepec Hill.
Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
appropriated Chapultepec and granted the northern portion to Captain Juan Jaramillo, who would become the husband of
La Malinche Marina or Malintzin ( 1500 – 1529), more popularly known as La Malinche , a Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, became known for contributing to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (1519–1521), by acting as an interpreter, ad ...
. However, in 1530,
Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...
decreed the area as the property of the Mexico City and open to it to the public. The Spanish continued to use the Aztec aqueduct, but in 1771, another one was deemed necessary for the growing population of Mexico City. The Chapultepec aqueduct led water from the springs of the forest to an area in what was the south of the city, called Salto del Agua. It flowed over 904 arches and 3,908 meters. In 1785, the Franciscan hermitage was demolished to make way for the Chapultepec Castle, converting the hill and the forest around it into a summer retreat for colonial viceroys. The area was walled off from the general public and was the scene of elegant parties. After Mexico achieved independence in 1821, the Castle became the official residence of the head of state. A number of these, especially Emperor Maximilian I and his wife, embellished and expanded the castle as well as the forest area around it. The Hill was also the site of the
Battle of Chapultepec The Battle of Chapultepec was a battle between American forces and Mexican forces holding the strategically located Chapultepec Castle just outside Mexico City, fought 13 September 1847 during the Mexican–American War. The building, sitting ...
in 1847, between Mexican and U.S. troops led by General
Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...
. A band of cadets was at the Castle when it was attacked, and near the end of the battle, six of them decided to jump to their deaths from the castle on the hill to the rocks below. These six are referred to as the "Niños Héroes" and are honored by a monument near where their bodies fell. The castle remained the official residence of Mexican presidents until 1940, when this function was moved to the Los Pinos residence, and the Castle was converted into a museum. Since then, the park has been expanded twice, adding the second section in 1964 and the third section ten years later. Since then, the focus has been on the maintenance of the area. By 1998, the paths of the park, especially in the first section, were saturated with over 3,000 peddlers with few regulations or norms. In 2005, the first section of the park was closed for renovations, effectively evicting all vendors from the area. When it reopened months later, permits for selling were strictly limited, and police began to crack down on vendors in the park. However, some vendors continue to operate illegally and exchange information on the police's steps with radio communication equipment. At the entrances to the park, where the vendor restrictions are not in place, some vendors sometimes block the entrances and cover signs so that visitors are forced to pass through their stands. Maintenance issues have closed parts of the park from time to time. In 1985, the park was closed to exterminate rats and other pests. In 2005, the park was filled with trees in poor condition, had scum in the lakes, and had trash piles in several locations, including fountains. From that year until 2010, the park was closed section by section for restoration and rehabilitation projects. The first section was closed for eight months in 2005, for work that included dredging lakes, pruning and removing trees, picking up tons of debris, and expelling hundreds of vendors. Shortly thereafter, projects on the second and third sections of the park began, mostly to control or eliminate rats, feral dogs and cats, pigeons, and other introduced species. In 2005, migratory birds began to make a comeback at the park with the eradication and relocation of introduced species such as geese and ducks, which were aggressive to other species. The park hosts more than 100 species of this kind of bird, with some reproducing here for the first time in decades. Other native mammals returned in 2005, including the
Virginia opossum The Virginia opossum (''Didelphis virginiana''), also known as the North American opossum, is the only opossum living north of Mexico, its range extending south into Central America. It is the northernmost marsupial in the world. In the United S ...
and the
cacomistle The cacomistle (; ''Bassariscus sumichrasti'') is a nocturnal, arboreal and omnivorous member of the carnivoran family Procyonidae. Its preferred habitats are wet, tropical, evergreen woodlands and mountain forests, though seasonally it will ve ...
. In 2010, projects included renovating jogging tracks, and planting more than 800 trees, including acacia café, pino azul, pino peñonero, holm oak, pino moctezuma, pino prieto and grevilia, as well as the removal of dead or severely infected trees. These rehabilitation efforts of the 2000s were funded by a combination of government and private funds from groups like Probosque.


Characteristics

Chapultepec Park is the second largest city park in
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...
, after the
Santiago Metropolitan Park The Santiago Metropolitan Park is an urban park located within the city of Santiago, capital of Chile. Consisting of the San Cristóbal, Chacarillas and Los Gemelos hills, and the areas of Tupahue, Lo Saldés, Pirámide and Bosque Santiago, the ...
in
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
, measuring in total just over 686 hectares (1700 acres). It is classed as one of the world's largest and most visited urban parks, along with
Bois de Boulogne The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by t ...
in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, the Imperial Gardens in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
, and
Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The name "Chapultepec" means "at the grasshopper hill" in
Nahuatl 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 Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...
and refers to a large rock formation that is the center of the park's first section. Originally, this area was a forest outside of
Tenochtitlan , ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-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. The date 13 March 1325 was ...
, once considered sacred in pre-Columbian times, but today it is entirely within the city (mostly in the borough of
Miguel Hidalgo Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753  – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican Wa ...
), surrounded by some of its primary business and commercial districts. The park is divided into three sections, the first and oldest surrounded by fencing and closed at night, with the other two left open. It contains nine museums, amusement parks, winding paths, commemorative sculptures, lakes and fountains.
Paseo de la Reforma Paseo de la Reforma (translated as "Promenade of the Reform") is a wide avenue that runs diagonally across the heart of Mexico City. It was designed at the behest of Emperor Maximilian by Ferdinand von Rosenzweig during the era of the Secon ...
passes most of the park and cuts through a portion on the north side. One of the park's main functions is to be an ecological space for
Greater Mexico City Greater Mexico City refers to the conurbation around Mexico City, officially called Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico ( es, Zona metropolitana del Valle de México). It encompasses Mexico City itself and 60 adjacent municipalities of the S ...
. It is considered the first and most important of Mexico City's "lungs", with trees that replenished oxygen to the
Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico ( es, Valle de México) is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with present-day Mexico City and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico w ...
. It is a large unpaved area that allows for aquifer recharge, ameliorates the "heat-island" effect, and attracts rain. It is a refuge for migratory birds from Canada, the U.S. and other regions of Mexico, including the Cooper hawk, the
Harris's hawk The Harris's hawk (''Parabuteo unicinctus''), formerly known as the bay-winged hawk, dusky hawk, and sometimes a wolf hawk, and known in Latin America as peuco, is a medium-large bird of prey that breeds from the southwestern United States south ...
, wild ducks, and Vireos, Warblers and Kingfishers. Anywhere from 20 to 60 species of birds can be found here during one morning birding, including some native non-migratory species such as the Berylline Hummingbird, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Rufous-backed Robin, Black-backed Oriole, Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer and breeding colonies of Great Egret and Black-crowned Night Heron There are also more than a dozen species of reptiles and amphibians, and a number of species of various types that are in danger of extinction, including the
axolotl The axolotl (; from nci, āxōlōtl ), ''Ambystoma mexicanum'', is a paedomorphic salamander closely related to the tiger salamander. Axolotls are unusual among amphibians in that they reach adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. I ...
, Goodeidae, alandrias. The park is home to a large number of Montezuma cypress, locally called "ahuehuete" trees, with some hundreds of years old. Many of them were planted by the
Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
s. There are also 165 other species, mostly in the third section. It is estimated by city authorities that
MXN The Mexican peso (Currency symbol, symbol: $; ISO 4217, code: MXN) is the currency of Mexico. Modern peso and dollar currencies have a common origin in the 16th–19th century Spanish dollar, most continuing to use dollar sign, its sign, "$". ...
$100 million are needed annually to maintain the ecology of the park. For Mexico City residents, the park is valued as a cultural and historic area as well as green space. The area has vestiges showing human presence as far back as the
Toltec The Toltec culture () was a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology, reaching prominence from 950 to 1150 CE. T ...
s with a number ruins from the pre-Columbian through to the colonial period. Archeological studies have unearthed and identified tombs associated with
Teotihuacan Teotihuacan ( Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is known today as ...
, a Toltec altar on the summit of Chapultepec Hill, remains of a colonial era aqueduct, paths associated with
Nezahualcoyotl Nezahualcoyotl may refer to: * Nezahualcoyotl (tlatoani), the ruler of Texcoco * Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, a city in the State of Mexico * Nezahualcóyotl metro station, in Mexico City * The Nezahualcóyotl Award, a literary prize in Mexico * Neza ...
, and an area where Aztec priests ingested
peyote The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains Psychoactive cactus, psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. ''Peyote'' is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar Pupa#Cocoo ...
as part of religious rites. One notable site is the Baths of Moctezuma, which was a systems of tanks, reservoirs, canals and waterfalls constructed by the Aztecs. The
Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH, ''National Institute of Anthropology and History'') is a Mexican federal government bureau established in 1939 to guarantee the research, preservation, protection, and promotion of th ...
has the park, as well as the
Castle of Chapultepec Chapultepec Castle ( es, Castillo de Chapultepec) is located on top of Chapultepec Hill in Mexico City's Chapultepec park. The name ''Chapultepec'' is the Nahuatl word ''chapoltepēc'' which means "on the hill of the grasshopper". The castle has s ...
on the hill, listed as Mexican heritage sites. They submitted the area for consideration as a
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
in 2001. The park received an estimated 15 million visitors each year, and daily visits exceed 250,000. Sunday is the most popular day to visit because the museums are free, and visitors may spend the entire day in one or more sections viewing the attractions, picnicking, or grilling. Despite its local popularity, however, foreign visitors usually only see the small fraction of the park near the museums. The park is easy to get to via public transportation.
Chapultepec metro station Chapultepec is a station on the Mexico City Metro. It is located in the Cuauhtémoc borough in the center of Mexico City. In 2019, the station had an average ridership of 57,873 passengers per day, making it the 14th busiest station in the netw ...
provides easy access to the park from Mexico City Metro Metro Line 1 and Mexico City Metrobús Line 7, while Constituyentes metro station and Auditorio metro station provide access from
Mexico City Metro Line 7 Mexico City Metro Line 7 is one of the twelve rapid transit, metro lines operating in Mexico City, Mexico. Opened in 1984, it was the seventh line to be built. Its distinctive color is orange. With a length of and 14 stations, Line 7 runs throug ...
. There is also access have stations at park entrances to the east and south respectively. Several bus lines along Paseo de la Reforma.


First section

The oldest and most visited portion of the park is called the "first section". It is the most developed area, and it has a wrought iron fence and gates that extend around its perimeter. These fences mostly separate it from the streets that form its boundaries: Avenida Constituyentes ( es), Paseo de la Reforma, Calzada Chivatito, and the
Anillo Periférico The Anillo Periférico (Spanish for ''peripheral ring'') is the outer beltway of Mexico City. The ''Periferico'' was originally planned by architect Carlos Contreras as early as 1925, together with other major roads such as the Viaducto Mig ...
. The interior measures 274.03 hectares (677.1 acres), with 182 hectares (450 acres) of this being undeveloped green space. It contains most of the best known of the park's attractions, such as the Lago Menor (Small Lake), the Nezahuacoyotl Fountain, the Fuente de las Ranas, the Quixote Fountain, the Templanza Fountain, the Altar a la Patria, the
Obelisco a los Niños Héroes The Obelisco a los Niños Héroes is a monument installed in Chapultepec, Mexico City. The cenotaph was created in 1881 by architect Ramón Rodríguez Arangoity, one of the cadets captured in the Battle of Chapultepec. The marble cenotaph was a ty ...
, the Monumento a las Águilas Caídas (Monument to Fallen Eagles), The Ahuehuete, and the Baths of Moctezuma. The best-known museums in the park are in this section, including Museo Nacional de Historia-Chapultepec Castle, the Casa del Lago, the
National Auditorium National Auditorium ( es, Auditorio Nacional) is an entertainment center at Paseo de la Reforma #50, Chapultepec in Mexico City. The National Auditorium is considered among the world's best venues by specialized media. It was designed by Mexic ...
, the Centro Cultural del Bosque ( es), the National Museum of Anthropology, the Rufino Tamayo Museum, and the Museo de Arte Moderno (Modern Art Museum). It also contains the Chapultepec Zoo, the Jardín de la Tercera Edad, and the Audiorama. These are connected by various paved paths, many of which have names such as the Avenue of the Poets, which is lined with bronze busts of famous literary figures. The pathway also has trees that are hundreds of years old. This section of the park also contains the geological formation that gave the park/forest its name: Chapultepec Hill. It is a formation of volcanic rock and
andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predo ...
, which is common in the Valley of Mexico and contains small caves and sand deposits. "Chapultepec" in Nahuatl means "grasshopper hill" but it is not clear whether the "Chapul" (grasshopper) part refers to the shape of the hill, or the abundance of grasshoppers in the surrounding woods. This hill was considered special during the pre-Hispanic period from the Toltecs in the 12th century to the Aztecs up to the time of the Conquest by the Spanish. Remains of a Toltec altar have been found at the top of the hill, a number of burials and its use was reserved only for Aztec emperors and other elite. After the Conquest, a small chapel dedicated to the
Archangel Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
was built on the hill by Claudio de Arciniega in the middle of the 16th century. In the 18th century, the Spanish built the Chapultepec Castle, which initially was a summer retreat for
viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
s. After the
Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
, the Castle remained for the elite, becoming the official residence of Mexico's heads of state, including the Emperor Maximilian, who had the Paseo de la Reforma built to connect this area with the historic center of the city. During this time, the Castle and the gardens around it were enlarged and embellished a number of times, giving the Castle a floorspace of . The most outstanding of the patios and garden is the Alcázar. In 1940, the president's residence was moved to the nearby Los Pinos complex, and the castle was converted into the
National Museum of History The National Museum of History (NMH; ) is located in the Nanhai Academy in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. After the Republic of China government moved to Taiwan, the National Museum of History was the first museum to be established in Taiwa ...
, under the auspices of the federal government, along with the rest of the hill. The museum contains twelve rooms which are open to the public, many of which as they were when the Emperor Maximilian lived there. It also contains a collection of furniture from the colonial period to the 19th century, utensils, suits, coins, manuscripts, sculptures in clay ivory and silver, and many other art works. A number of items belonged to figures such as
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Don (honorific), Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753  – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader ...
,
José María Morelos y Pavón José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...
,
Agustín de Iturbide Agustín de Iturbide (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), full name Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu and also known as Agustín of Mexico, was a Mexican army general and politician. During the Mexican War of Independence, he built a ...
,
Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Liberalism in Mexico, Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec peoples, Zapo ...
,
Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; August 8, 1879 – April 10, 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the ins ...
, and others. In addition, there are murals by
José Clemente Orozco José Clemente Orozco (November 23, 1883 – September 7, 1949) was a Mexican caricaturist and painter, who specialized in political murals that established the Mexican Mural Renaissance together with murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Sique ...
,
David Alfaro Siqueiros David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros; December 29, 1896 – January 6, 1974) was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with ...
and
Juan O'Gorman Juan O'Gorman (July 6, 1905 – January 17, 1982) was a Mexican painter and architect. Early life and family Juan O'Gorman was born on 6 July 1905 in Coyoacán, then a village to the south of Mexico City and now a borough of the Federal Distri ...
. At the foot of the hill, there is a large monument to the Niños Héroes (also called the Altar a la Patria), who reportedly threw themselves to their death at the Castle rather than surrendering to invading US troops in 1847. This monument consist of six marble columns surrounding a mausoleum with the remains of the six cadets, and a figure of a woman who represents Mexico. The Chapultepec Zoo is the most visited attraction of the park, especially on Sundays. It is estimated that half of all park visitors come to the zoo. The zoo was established by Alfonso L. Herrera, a biologist, and opened in 1924. Herrera's intention was to reestablish the zoo tradition of the old Aztec emperors and improve upon it. He began with species native to Mexico and then added others from the rest of the world. He modeled the zoo after the
Bioparco di Roma Bioparco di Roma is a zoological garden located on part of the original Villa Borghese estate in Rome, Italy. There are 1,114 animals of 222 species maintained. History The zoo was conceived in 1908 to hold exotic animal species for exhibition. U ...
in Rome, Italy. Between 1950 and 1960, the zoo expanded and added new species. In 1975, the zoo obtained two
panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white animal coat, coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is ...
s from China. Since then, at least eight panda cubs have been born at the zoo, making it the first institution outside of China to breed the species. From 1992 to 1994, the zoo was completely remodeled, categorizing exhibits by habitat rather than type of species. Some of the most important Mexican species at the facility include a rabbit native to only a few volcanoes in Mexico, the
volcano rabbit The volcano rabbit (''Romerolagus diazi''), also known as teporingo or zacatuche, is a small rabbit that resides in the mountains of Mexico.Hoth, J., A. Velázquez F. Romero, L. León, M. Aranda and D. Bell, 1987. The Volcano Rabbit- a Shrinking ...
, the
Mexican wolf The Mexican wolf (''Canis lupus baileyi''), also known as the lobo,; nah, Cuetlāchcoyōtl is a subspecies of gray wolf native to southeastern Arizona and southern New Mexico in the United States, and northern Mexico; it also previously range ...
,
ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southwes ...
,
jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
and
axolotl The axolotl (; from nci, āxōlōtl ), ''Ambystoma mexicanum'', is a paedomorphic salamander closely related to the tiger salamander. Axolotls are unusual among amphibians in that they reach adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. I ...
. Today, it has 16,000 animals of 270 species, separated into four sections according to habitat: tropical forest, temperate forest, desert, and grassland. About one third of the animals are native to Mexico. Most of the museums in the first section are located along Paseo de la Reforma. Of all of the museums in the park, the most famous is the National Museum of Anthropology, considered one of the most famous archeological museums in the world. The museum has a number of antecedents beginning from the colonial period, but the current institution was created in the 1960s with the building and grounds designed by architect
Pedro Ramírez Vázquez Pedro Ramírez Vázquez (April 16, 1919 – April 16, 2013)
Retrieved 2013-04-16.
was a
Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...
, Toltec, and
Olmec The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that t ...
. The permanent collection is quite large, and many visitors spend several hours seeing it. There are also temporary exhibits displayed year-round. The Rufino Tamayo Museum is in the first section on Paseo de la Reforma. The permanent collection mostly focuses on the namesake, but there are also works by other Mexican and foreign artists that Tamayo donated. During his lifetime, Tamayo collected one of the most important collections of 20th-century art, which included art works from
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
,
Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
, Miró,
Fernando Botero Fernando Botero Angulo (born 19 April 1932) is a Colombian figurative artist and sculptor, born in Medellín. His signature style, also known as "Boterismo", depicts people and figures in large, exaggerated volume, which can represent political ...
, Magritte, and about 100 others. The Museo de Arte Moderno (Museum of Modern Art) is located on Paseo de la Reforma and Calle Gandhi, and it hosts various temporary exhibits. The museum's complex was constructed using modern architecture techniques, which consisted of two circular buildings surrounding a sculpture garden. It contains one of the leading collections of modern art of the 20th century of Mexico. Artists include
Dr. Atl Gerardo Murillo Cornado, also known by his signature "Dr. Atl", (October 3, 1875 – August 15, 1964) was a Mexican painter and writer. He was actively involved in the Mexican Revolution in the Constitutionalist faction led by Venustiano Carra ...
,
Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...
, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and
Remedios Varo María de los Remedios Alicia Rodriga Varo y Uranga (16 December 1908 – 8 October 1963) was a Spanish-born Mexican surrealist artist working in Spain, France, and Mexico. Early life Remedios Varo Uranga was born in Anglès, is a small town ...
. The Casa de Cultura Quinta Colorada was originally a former accommodation for the forest rangers of the area in the early 20th century. The house was made using European style architecture techniques. It hosts various cultural activities for visitors and has a small planetarium. At the foot of the Chapultepec Hill is an extension of the Museum of History called the Museo del Caracol (Snail Museum). This museum narrates the
history of Mexico The written history of Mexico spans more than three millennia. First populated more than 13,000 years ago, central and southern Mexico (termed Mesoamerica) saw the rise and fall of complex indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous civilizations ...
in the winding form of a snail, the shape of the building from which its name comes. The
Luis Barragán House and Studio Luis Barragán House and Studio, also known as Casa Luis Barragán, is the former residence of architect Luis Barragán in Miguel Hidalgo district, Mexico City. It is owned by the Fundación de Arquitectura Tapatía and the Government of the Sta ...
is the former home of architect
Luis Barragán Luis Ramiro Barragán Morfín (March 9, 1902 – November 22, 1988) was a Mexican architect and engineer. His work has influenced contemporary architects visually and conceptually. Barragán's buildings are frequently visited by international ...
. The house was kept nearly intact since 1948, including the workshop. It also exhibits artworks from the 19th and 20th century. One of the most popular features in the first section is an artificial lake called the Lago Menor (Smaller Lake). It is one of two lakes in the park; the larger one, Lago Mayor, is in the second section. Lagor Menor, however, attracts more visitors than the other. Visitors can rent paddleboats and small rowboats at the lake. The Lago Menor was created in the late 19th century, when the first section (then the entire park) was redesigned. At the same time Lago Menor was created, the Casa del Lago was constructed. It is shallow with an average depth of a little over one meter. The Casa del Lago, also called the Restaurante del Lago, is now a restaurant that serves continental food and some Mexican dishes. In addition to the lake, there are a number of large fountains. The Quixote Fountain is surrounded by four benches covered in tile with images of
Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
. To the side of this plaza, there are two columns. On the right there is a figure of Quixote with the face of
Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...
and on the other side, there is a depiction of
Sancho Panza Sancho Panza () is a fictional character in the novel ''Don Quixote'' written by Spanish author Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1605. Sancho acts as squire to Don Quixote and provides comments throughout the novel, known as ''sanchismos'', ...
with the face of
Diego Rivera Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...
. Both statues were made of bronze by José María Fernández Urbina. The Fuente de las Ranas (Fountain of the Frogs) was created in the 1920s, by Miguel Alessio Robles in
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
, Spain. The Nezahualcoyotl Fountain was inaugurated in 1956. It measures and surrounds a statue of the Aztec ruler nine meters tall in black stone. Throughout the first section, there are different kinds of trees; the most common one is the Montezuma cypress, locally called "ahuehuetes". A number of these are hundreds of years old, although there are far fewer due to a past disease epidemic. One dead specimen is called the Ahuehuete of Moctezuma, commonly referred to as
El Sargento El Sargento is a Mexican cypress tree in Mexico City's park Chapultepec Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest city parks in Mexico, measuring in total just ove ...
(The Sargeant) or as the Centinela (Sentinel). The last two names were given by cadets of the Heroic Military Academy during the 19th century. The 500-year-old tree remains as a monument to the area's history, measuring high, forty in circumference. Another tree of the species, still living, is El Tlatoani, which is more than 700 years old and is the oldest tree in the park. In addition to these trees, there are sequoias, cedars, palms,
poplars ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...
, pines,
ginkgo ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants. The scientific name is also used as the English name. The order to which it belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, 270 million years ago, and is now the only living genus within ...
s, and more. Los Pinos has been the official residence of the presidents of Mexico since 1941. Though the presidential residence is inside the park, there is no public access to it. The residence is made up of white stucco structures; this architecture can be seen from Molino del Rey, a former millhouse and site of a battle of the Mexican–American War in 1847. Los Pinos is on one edge of the park. The National Auditorium is one of Mexico City's principal arenas. It primarily hosts musical ensembles and dance troupes. Singers from Mexico and abroad perform there yearlong. The park hosts a number of cultural events during the year. One of them is the performance of ''
Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...
'', which is conducted on a stage in Lago Menor. This performance has been given since 1978 in warmer months. Night tours by train that go around the park are popular around Christmas time, when many of the attractions are lit for the season. The
Ballet Folklórico de México Ballet Folklórico de México is a Mexican folkloric ensemble in Mexico City. For six decades it has presented dances in costumes that reflect the traditional culture of Mexico. The ensemble has appeared under the name ''Ballet Folklórico de Mé ...
also holds performances on occasion at Chapultepec Castle.


Second section

The second section of the park was created in 1964 by expanding over former farmlands. This section is separated by Anillo Periférico road and measures 160.02 hectares. It is not as developed as the first section, but it is also dedicated to recreational activities. Lago Mayor overlaps with the second section; this part of the lake contains the Monumental Fountain, the largest one in Latin America. It is surrounded by several restaurants and cafés. Nearby are the Compositores, Xochipilli and Las Serpientes fountains. The area contains jogging trails, places for yoga and karate, and other exercise facilities on the tree areas. Around 1,000 people each day go to this section to exercise. The jogging trails were doubled from 2 km to 4 km in the late 2000s. One part of this section was dominated by the Feria de Chapultepec amusement park, located near the Lago Mayor, just off the Anillo Periférico. The park had a capacity of 15,000 people and was visited by about two million each year. It includes several roller coasters, including the
Quimera The Quimera International Festival of Art and Culture ( es, Festival Internacional Quimera or ) is an international art and cultural event that takes place in several locations of Metepec, Toluca, Mexico named after the chimera Chimera, Chimaer ...
. The park closed in 2019 after a fatal incident on Quimera. The park will be replaced by Atzlan Parque Urbana, a more verdant park with a larger focus on live entertainment and themed to Mexico City's neighborhood. It will feature a few rides and is expected to open in the next few years. This section contains museums such as
Papalote Museo del Niño The museum Papalote Museo del Niño is located in Mexico City Bosques de Chapultepec. The museum is focused in learning, communication and working together through interactive expositions of science, technology and art for children. Building This ...
and the Museo de Historia Natural ( es). El Papalote Museo del Niño is an interactive children's museum which invites children to touch and manipulate the exhibits. The Cárcamo de Dolores hydraulic structure, found in this section, was built between 1942 and 1952 to capture water sent to the Valley of Mexico from the
Lerma River The Lerma River ( es, Río Lerma) is Mexico's second longest river. It is a river in west-central Mexico that begins in Mexican Plateau at an altitude over above sea level, and ends where it empties into Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest lake, near ...
basin in the
Toluca Valley The Toluca Valley is a valley in central Mexico, just west of the Valley of Mexico (Mexico City), the old name was Matlatzinco. The valley runs north–south for about , surrounded by mountains, the most imposing of which is the Nevado de Toluca Vo ...
. The major parts open to the public consist of a pavilion, covered with an orange half cupola and a fountain with an image of Tlaloc. Originally, the water was stored underground and pumped to the surface when needed. The main building has serpent heads on the four corners and there is a mural painted by Diego Rivera called ''El agua: origen de la vida''. In 2010, the second section of the park underwent rehabilitation, funded in part by a private charity group called Probosque de Chapultepec. Most of the work was done on the jogging track, the Tlaloc Fountain, the Cárcamo de Dolores building, the ''El agua: origen de la vida'' mural, and the construction of an
agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order of t ...
. These works together form the Museo Jardín del Agua (Water Garden Museum). In addition, a large number of dead trees were removed and about 800 new ones planted.


Third section

The third section of the park is located on the west side of the second and was inaugurated in 1974. It has a surface area of 242.9 hectares. It is the least developed and least visited; it is filled with trees and wildlife. Although some recreational activities such as archery and horseback riding are practiced there, the importance of this area is primarily as an ecological preserve for various species of flora and fauna, such as snakes and lizards. In 1992, it was decreed as a Protected Natural Area. In 2010, there were reports of feral dogs attacking visitors in the third section. Approximately 150 feral dogs were living in the small canyon areas of this section that year.


Fourth section

The fourth section is the westernmost zone and it was inaugurated in 2021. It has a surface of 74 hectares. It was donated by the
SEDENA The Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA); es, Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional is the government department responsible for managing Mexico's Army and Air Forces. Its head is the Secretary of National Defense who, like the co-equa ...
.


See also

*
Chapultepec Peace Accords The Chapultepec Peace Accords were a set of Peace treaty, peace agreements signed on January 16, 1992, the day in which the Salvadoran Civil War ended. The treaty established peace between the El Salvador, Salvadoran government and the Farabund ...


References


Further reading

*Moerer, Andrea Kristine. "Changing Chapultepec: construction, consumption, and cultural politics in a Mexico City Forest, 1934-1944." PhD Dissertation, University of Minnesota (2013).


External links

*
Website with current event schedules and historical articles & images about Chapultepec

Satellite picture of Chapultepec Park by Google Maps

Satellite picture of Chapultepec Castle by Google Maps

Satellite picture of Los Pinos by Google Maps


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