Colonia Tránsito
Encyclopedia
Colonia Tránsito is a colonia
or neighborhood in the Cuauhtémoc borough
of Mexico City, just south of the city’s historic center
. It is a residential area although there has been recent redevelopment for more commercial uses. It contains two colonial era churches (one in ruins), a number of buildings containing public offices and it is the home of soft drink maker Pascual Boing
.
The area is home to a number of government offices such as the city department of health on Xocongo Street, the federal Secretaría de Desarrollo Urbano y Vivienda on San Antonio Abad, the administration of prisons. These buildings have attracted a number of protests. Schools in the colonia include Cedex Javier Barros Sierra technical school (public), Cetis Numero 3 technical school (public), El Castillo del Saber preschool (private), Emiliano Zapata preschool (public), Escuelas de Artesanias technical school (public), Instituto ICEL technical school (public), Instituto Mexico Contemporaneo primary school (private), Joaquin Garcia Icazbalceta middle school (public) and Manuel Gutierrez Najera preschool (private).
One major business is the Cooperative Pascual, which produces soft drinks under brand names such as Boing. The facilities occupy two city blocks where the company was founded and it employs 2,000 workers in Mexico City. These two blocks and the water wells on them, have been the center of a legal dispute since the 1980s.
One of the oldest establishments in the area is the Santa Cruz de Acatlán Church, as the original was built in 1637. It originally was a chapel called Santa Cruz de Acatlan de los Rastreros. When Mexico City was divided into thirteen parishes in 1772, this chapel became a parish. In the 19th century, the adjoining cemetery was secularized then eventually closed by the government, but the church itself was restored.
The corner of Clavijero and Fray Servando Teresa de Mier was a railroad station called San Rafael-Atlixco, but it no longer exists.
Areas of the colonia have been recently redeveloped for parking, road expansion and new housing as the area becomes less residential and more urbanized. This has caused the relocation of families, sometimes under protest.
Colonia (Mexico)
In general, colonias are neighborhoods in Mexican cities, which have no jurisdictional autonomy or representation. It is plausible that the name, which literally means colony, arose in the late 19th, early 20th centuries, when one of the first urban developments outside Mexico City's core was...
or neighborhood in the Cuauhtémoc borough
Cuauhtémoc, D.F.
Cuauhtémoc, named after the former Aztec leader, is one of the 16 boroughs of the Federal district of Mexico City. It consists of the oldest parts of the city, extending over what was the entire city in the 1920s. This area is the historic and culture center of the city, although it is not the...
of Mexico City, just south of the city’s historic center
Historic center of Mexico City
The historic center of Mexico City is also known as the "Centro" or "Centro Histórico." This neighborhood is focused on the Zócalo or main plaza in Mexico City and extends in all directions for a number of blocks with its farthest extent being west to the Alameda Central The Zocalo is the largest...
. It is a residential area although there has been recent redevelopment for more commercial uses. It contains two colonial era churches (one in ruins), a number of buildings containing public offices and it is the home of soft drink maker Pascual Boing
Pascual Boing
Pascual Boing is a Mexican fruit juice and soft drink company.Following a lengthy strike and bankruptcy in the 1980s, the company is now a worker-run co-operative. Pascual Boing is one of the few Mexican worker-owned companies that have national presence, making inroads into the United States and...
.
Description and landmarks
The borders of the colonia are marked by the following streets: Fray Servando Teresa de Mier to the north, Avenida del Taller to the south, Clavijero Street and Calzada de la Viga to the east and Calzada de San Antonio Abad to the west.The area is home to a number of government offices such as the city department of health on Xocongo Street, the federal Secretaría de Desarrollo Urbano y Vivienda on San Antonio Abad, the administration of prisons. These buildings have attracted a number of protests. Schools in the colonia include Cedex Javier Barros Sierra technical school (public), Cetis Numero 3 technical school (public), El Castillo del Saber preschool (private), Emiliano Zapata preschool (public), Escuelas de Artesanias technical school (public), Instituto ICEL technical school (public), Instituto Mexico Contemporaneo primary school (private), Joaquin Garcia Icazbalceta middle school (public) and Manuel Gutierrez Najera preschool (private).
One major business is the Cooperative Pascual, which produces soft drinks under brand names such as Boing. The facilities occupy two city blocks where the company was founded and it employs 2,000 workers in Mexico City. These two blocks and the water wells on them, have been the center of a legal dispute since the 1980s.
History
Before it was subdivided into family housing, most of the land here was part of the De la Paz colonia, which extended from Fray Servando Teresa de Mier to the Piedad River. The oldest colonial building of the area was the San Antonio Abad church and hospital, built in 1530 by Alonso Sanchez. Eventually, the complex was abandoned and fell into ruins although remnants that date from the 18th century can still be seen. However, the rest was redeveloped. The Calzada de San Antonio Abad was named after this complex.One of the oldest establishments in the area is the Santa Cruz de Acatlán Church, as the original was built in 1637. It originally was a chapel called Santa Cruz de Acatlan de los Rastreros. When Mexico City was divided into thirteen parishes in 1772, this chapel became a parish. In the 19th century, the adjoining cemetery was secularized then eventually closed by the government, but the church itself was restored.
The corner of Clavijero and Fray Servando Teresa de Mier was a railroad station called San Rafael-Atlixco, but it no longer exists.
Areas of the colonia have been recently redeveloped for parking, road expansion and new housing as the area becomes less residential and more urbanized. This has caused the relocation of families, sometimes under protest.