The Centro Cultural de España (Cultural Center of Spain in Mexico) is located at 18 Guatemala Street in the

historic center of Mexico City The historic center of Mexico City (), also known as the Centro or Centro Histórico, is the central neighborhood in Mexico City, Mexico, focused on the Zócalo (or main plaza) and extending in all directions for a number of blocks, with its fart ...

. In the late 1990s, this old mansion just behind the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

was in ruins when the

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

government ceded it to the Spanish government. When restoration work was finished, the new Centro Cultural de España was inaugurated by the king of Spain with the President of Mexico in 2002. The land in this area used to belong to

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...

, who ceded it to one of his fellow

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

s. Over the years, it was modified as it passed it was used as law offices, workshops and various types of stores. In 1985, it was severely damaged by the

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

and was abandoned until the Spanish government acquired it in 1997. The site was chosen due to a commitment by the Spanish government to save an historical monument in this city. The Spanish undertook a careful restoration of the building. In 2012 the center was expanded to an include lot facing Donceles street and on this space a completely new 4000 sq m wing including a rooftop terrace. Javier Sánchez was the architect."Spain's Cultural Center", ''Architecture Daily''
/ref> This center promotes art exposition of various Mexican and Spanish artists, and include works by younger, more experimental artists as well as established ones. It also contains a small café upstairs and a gift shop downstairs.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Centro Cultural de Espana (Mexico City) Cultural centers in Mexico Arts in Mexico City Contemporary art galleries in Mexico Art museums and galleries in Mexico City Historic center of Mexico City Mexico–Spain relations Tourist attractions in Mexico City