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Tlatelolco ( nci-IPA, Tlatelōlco, tɬateˈloːɬko, or ', from ''tlalli'' - land; ''telolli'' - hill; ''co'' - place; ) is an area now within 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 eag ...
borough 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 ...
, centered on the Plaza de las Tres Culturas (Square of Three Cultures). Its archeological history extends to remains from the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as more recent colonial structures. The square is bounded by an excavated
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 Nahuat ...
archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
, the 16th century college church designed by
Fray Juan de Torquemada Juan de Torquemada (c. 1562 – 1624) was a Franciscan friar, active as missionary in colonial Mexico and considered the "leading Franciscan chronicler of his generation." Administrator, engineer, architect and ethnographer, he is most famo ...
and dedicated to
St James the Great James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin ' ...
(known as Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco), the remains of a former Franciscan convent to which was formerly attached the Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, and an office complex that was used by the Ministry of Foreign Relations and is now the property of the
National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
.


History of modern Tlatelolco

The Nonoalco-Tlatelolco housing project, built in the 1960s, is served by Metro Tlatelolco. The complex includes the pyramid-shaped
Banobras Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos, SNC (National Works and Public Services Bank) or Banobras is a state owned development bank in Mexico. Its core business is sub national (Municipal and State governments) and project finance. It wa ...
building, which houses a 47-bell
carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoni ...
. At 125 meters, this is the world's tallest carillon tower. A building with a facade of white marble was constructed by the government for and used by the
Secretariat of Foreign Affairs The Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs ( es, Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, ''SRE'', lit: Secretariat of External Relations) is the government department responsible for Mexico's foreign affairs. Mexico currently has 80 embassies, 3 ...
(SRE). It is now used by the
National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
. In 1967, the
Treaty of Tlatelolco The Treaty of Tlatelolco is the conventional name given to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is embodied in the OPANAL (french: Agence pour l'interdiction des armes nucléaires en Amérique ...
signed here, with the aim of establishing a
nuclear-weapon-free zone A nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) is defined by the United Nations as an agreement that a group of states has freely established by treaty or convention that bans the development, manufacturing, control, possession, testing, stationing or transpo ...
throughout
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 ...
and the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
. Since then, all the region's countries have signed and ratified the treaty. The late 1960s were a time of political unrest in Mexico and many western nations. On October 2, 1968, ten days before the start 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 ...
, the plaza was the scene of the
Tlatelolco massacre On October 2, 1968 in the Tlatelolco section of Mexico City, the Mexican Armed Forces opened fire on a group of unarmed civilians in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas who were protesting the upcoming 1968 Summer Olympics. The Mexican government an ...
. The exact number of dead and injured in that tragic afternoon is still unknown, but it is estimated that 15 thousand shells were fired and there were more than 300 dead and 700 injured by the Mexican
army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and
police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...
who were trying to suppress the protests, in addition, 5 thousand students were arrested. On September 19, 1985, many homes and business structures were destroyed or suffered damage due to 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 ...
. The "Nuevo León" building collapsed. Because of Mexicans working together to rescue people from the ruins, it became a symbol of their solidarity during the disaster . A small square marks this spot. Among the many who had family there, the opera singer
Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...
worked to help to rescue survivors.


External links


Tres Culturas
{{Authority control Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City Neighborhoods in Mexico City