Jardín Balbuena is a neighborhood in

Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920) was a Mexican wealthy land owner and politician who was Governor of Coahuila when the constitutionally elected president Francisco I. Madero was overthrown in a February ...

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 ...

, 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 famous 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 ...

and

Agustín Landa Verdugo Agustín Landa Verdugo (1923 – 3 October 2009) was a Mexican architect and urban planner, born in Mexico City. He studied architecture in the National University of Mexico (now UNAM). In 1945 he established a firm with his brother Enrique, ...

. 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-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

. 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. In the center of the road is a river encased in cement to control flooding. Metro Viaducto is named after this road. The en ...

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 Bernardo de Balbuena (c. 1561 in Valdepeñas, Spain – October 1627, in San Juan, Puerto Rico) was a Spanish poet. He was the first of a long series of Latin American poets who extolled the special beauties of the New World. Life Born in Val ...

, and was used by locals to feed their cattle. It was later bought by the Braniff family, who built two

hacienda An ''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 chocolat ...

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 Public figure, statesman, who became the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in Ten Tragic Da ...

became the first Mexican head of state to fly in a plane, when he flew in

George Miller Dyott George Miller Dyott (6 February 1883 – 2 August 1972) was an English pioneer aviator, cinematographer, and explorer of the Amazon. Dyott accompanied Arthur S. Vernay to India and helped produce a documentary on tiger hunting. Biography 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; es, Fuerza Aérea Mexicana) is the primary aerial warfare service branch of the Mexican Armed Forces. It is a component of the Mexican Army and depends on the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA). The objective of t ...

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

Bank of Mexico The Bank of Mexico ( es, Banco de México), 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 ac ...

and

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

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

project in Jardín Balbuena, named in honor of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

. 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 track cycling events for the 1968 Summer Olympics. it was also used by many cy ...

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

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

Transportation

Public transportation

The area is served by the

Mexico City Metro The Mexico City Metro ( es, Metro de la Ciudad de México) is a rapid transit system that serves the metropolitan area of Mexico City, including some municipalities in Mexico State. Operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC), it is ...

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

Notable people

Enrique Borja Enrique David Borja García (born 30 December 1945) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a forward. Borja is the sixth all-time leading scorer of the Mexico national team. Career He played club football for UNAM until his ...

, footballer *

Hugo Sánchez Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born 11 July 1958) is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager, who played as a forward. A prolific goalscorer known for his spectacular strikes and volleys, he is widely regarded as the greatest Mexican fo ...

, footballer and manager * Armando Vega Gil, musician

References

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