Plaza Río de Janeiro (originally Plaza Roma) is a public park in
Roma, Mexico City
Colonia Roma, also called La Roma or simply, Roma, is a district located in the Cuauhtémoc, D.F., Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City just west of the Historic center of Mexico City, city's historic center. The area comprises two ''colonia (Mexi ...
. It is east of
Fuente de Cibeles and north of
Plaza Luis Cabrera
Plaza Luis Cabrera is a public space in Colonia Roma, Mexico City. It is a cafe-ringed plaza with trees and a fountain which memorializes Luis Cabrera Lobato.
Plaza Luis Cabrera is located on Orizaba Street at Zacatecas Street. To its north is ...
. The central feature of Plaza Río de Janeiro is a fountain with a replica of
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...
’s
David
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
.
This plaza is surrounded by old mansions and modern residential buildings.
The first name of the square was Parque Roma; later it was changed to Parque
Orizaba
Orizaba (, Otomi: ) is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located 20 km west of its sister city Córdoba, and is adjacent to Río Blanco and Ixtaczoquitlán, on Federal Highways 180 and 190. The city had a ...
, due to the North-South street that intersects the park.
In 1922 it was renamed Plaza Río de Janeiro at the initiative of
José Vasconcelos
José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexicans, Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial pers ...
, then
Secretary of Public Education
In Mexico, the Secretariat of Public Education (Spanish language, in Spanish ''Secretaría de Educación Pública'', ''SEP'') is a federal government authority with Cabinet (government), cabinet representation and the responsibility for overseein ...
, possibly because Mexico was invited to attend the celebration of the centenary of
Brazil's independence that year.
References
Colonia Roma
Parks in Mexico City
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