Balderas is an underground
station on 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 ...
.
It is located in the
Cuauhtémoc
Cuauhtémoc (, ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the Aztec ruler (''tlatoani'') of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, making him the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle" ...
borough in the center 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 ...
.
It is a transfer station along
Lines 1 and
3.
Name and iconography
The station receives its name from the nearby Balderas street, which in turn was named in honor of
Lucas Balderas, a Mexican military officer that participated in the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
and was killed at the
Battle of Molino del Rey
The Battle of Molino del Rey (8 September 1847) was one of the bloodiest engagements of the Mexican–American War as part of the Battle for Mexico City. It was fought in September 1847 between Mexican forces under General Antonio León against ...
in 1847. It is said that his last words were "poor country of mine".
The station pictogram depicts the
colonial-era cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
preserved on the nearby Plaza de La Ciudadela.
The cannon is a reminder of the
Ten Tragic Days
The Ten Tragic Days ( es, La Decena Trágica) during the Mexican Revolution is the name now given to a multi-day coup d'etat in Mexico City by opponents of Francisco I. Madero, the democratically elected president of Mexico, between 9 - 19 Feb ...
, which was a period a little bit longer than 10 days in which a coup the democratically elected government of
Francisco I. Madero
Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and statesman, who became the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in a coup d'etat in February 1 ...
took place. This chapter would end with the murder of President Madero and Vice-President
José María Pino Suárez
José María Pino Suárez (; September 8, 1869 – February 22, 1913) was a Mexican statesman, lawyer, writer and newspaper proprietor who was a key figure of the Mexican Revolution and served as the 7th and last Vice President of Mexico fro ...
, as well as the rise to the presidency of
Victoriano Huerta
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 22 December 1854 – 13 January 1916) was a general in the Mexican Federal Army and 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero wit ...
.
General information
Nearby Metro Balderas are some interesting places, like La Ciudadela market, filled with Mexican handicrafts,
the
José Vasconcelos Central Library of Mexico City
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 vernacul ...
,
and facilities of broadcaster
Televisa
Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content.
In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...
. Next to the library lies a ''
tianguis
A is an open-air market or bazaar that is traditionally held on certain market days in a town or city neighborhood in Mexico and Central America. This bazaar tradition has its roots well into the pre-Hispanic period and continues in many cases e ...
'' (street market) full of books old and new, comics, collectibles, etc.
This station has an information desk and facilities for the
disabled
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...
.
It also displays a plaque unveiled on 19 September 2004, celebrating Mexican
rock musician
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...
Rockdrigo González
Rodrigo González, (25 December 1950 – 19 September 1985), better known as Rockdrigo or ''El profeta del nopal'' ("The Nopal Prophet"), was a Mexican singer-songwriter. He died at age 35 with his girlfriend, Francoise Bardinet, when the apart ...
, killed exactly 19 years earlier in the
1985 Mexico City earthquake
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of 19 September at 07:17:50 (CST) with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximal Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). The event caused serious damage to the Greater Mexico City area a ...
and composer of a song titled "
Metro Balderas
Balderas is an underground station on the Mexico City Metro. It is located in the Cuauhtémoc borough in the center of Mexico City. It is a transfer station along Lines 1 and 3.
Name and iconography
The station receives its name from the n ...
". In September 2011 a real-size bronze statue of Rockdrigo was also unveiled inside the station.
Although this station is totally underground,
cellular phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while ...
signals (
GSM
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...
and
TDMA for several providers) are able to reach the platform. The station also has charging stations for mobile devices.
History
Metro Balderas was opened on 4 September 1969, as part of the first stage of
Line 1, going from
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 over 686 hectares (1,695 acres). Centered on a rock formation called Chapultep ...
to
Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
.
The station became the
network's second transfer station, when the first stretch of
Line 3, from
Tlatelolco to
Hospital General, was opened in November 1970.
Incidents
On Friday, 18 September 2009 a shooting occurred on the platform. A man was tagging one of the station walls with a marker, therefore, he was confronted by a police officer. He reacted by taking out a gun and killing the officer and a construction worker who tried to disarm him, he also left five more wounded.
The man later claimed that he committed the killings "in the name of god" and was sentenced to 151 years in prison.
On 29 December 2018, a woman gave birth to a child inside the station, at the Line 1 platforms, helped by personnel of the
Mexican Red Cross
The Mexican Red Cross (Spanish: ''Cruz Roja Mexicana'') is a non-governmental humanitarian assistance organization affiliated with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to help those in dangerous situations, such as n ...
.
Nearby
*Biblioteca de México, public library.
*
Escuela Libre de Derecho
Escuela Libre de Derecho (ELD) is a law school in Mexico City founded in 1912.
Since its establishment in 1912, the Escuela has had as its only mission the teaching of law, breeding from the principles of academic freedom, outside of any form of ...
, law school.
*
Televisa
Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content.
In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...
Chapultepec headquarters.
*Parque Tolsá, park.
*Centro Escolar Revolución, elementary school.
Exits
Line 1
*North: Tolsá street and Balderas,
Centro
Centro may refer to:
Places Brazil
*Centro, Santa Maria, a neighborhood in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
* Centro, Porto Alegre, a neighborhood of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
*Centro (Duque de Caxias), a neighborhood of Duq ...
*South: Avenida Niños Héroes and Avenida Chapultepec,
Colonia Doctores
Colonia Doctores (''English: Doctors' Colony'') is an official neighborhood just southwest of the historic center of Mexico City. It is bordered by Avenida Cuauhtémoc to the west, across from Belen Street to the north, Eje Central to the east ...
Line 3
*East: Avenida Arcos de Belén,
Colonia Doctores
Colonia Doctores (''English: Doctors' Colony'') is an official neighborhood just southwest of the historic center of Mexico City. It is bordered by Avenida Cuauhtémoc to the west, across from Belen Street to the north, Eje Central to the east ...
*Southeast: Avenida Niños Héroes and Dr. Río de la Loza street,
Colonia Doctores
Colonia Doctores (''English: Doctors' Colony'') is an official neighborhood just southwest of the historic center of Mexico City. It is bordered by Avenida Cuauhtémoc to the west, across from Belen Street to the north, Eje Central to the east ...
Station layout
Ridership
Gallery
Image:Metro_Balderas_02.jpg, Entrance to the station in the corner of Avenida Chapultepec and Av. Niños Héroes
Image:Metro_Balderas_01.jpg, Entrance sign to the station
Image:Metro Balderas Line 3 Platforms.jpg, Line 3 platforms
Image:Commemorative plaque to Rodrigo Gonzalez.JPG, Commemorative plaque to Rockdrigo González
Rodrigo González, (25 December 1950 – 19 September 1985), better known as Rockdrigo or ''El profeta del nopal'' ("The Nopal Prophet"), was a Mexican singer-songwriter. He died at age 35 with his girlfriend, Francoise Bardinet, when the apart ...
Image:Estatua_a_Rodrigo_González_(músico_mexicano)_Aka_"Rockdrigo".jpg, Statue honoring Rockdrigo
References
External links
*
*
{{Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City
Balderas
Railway stations opened in 1969
1969 establishments in Mexico
Railway stations opened in 1970
1970 establishments in Mexico
Mexico City Metro stations in Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City
Mexico City Metro Line 3 stations
Accessible Mexico City Metro stations
Mexico City Metro stations located underground