Iztapalapa
Encyclopedia
Iztapalapa is one of the Federal District of Mexico City
’s 16 boroughs, located on the east side of the entity. The borough is named after and centered on the formerly independent municipality of Iztapalapa, which is officially called Iztapalapa de Cuitláhuac for disambiguation purposes. The rest is made up of a number of other communities which are governed by the city of Iztapalapa.
The borough is the most populous and fastest growing of the city with over 90% of its territory urbanized. The borough transitioned from a rural area with some farms and canals as late as the 1970s, to an area with the only green areas in parks and almost all of its people employed in commerce, services and industry. This is the result of a large influx of people into the borough starting from the 1970s and which still continues. The area has a high level of socioeconomic marginalization, with a significant number of people lacking sufficient access to clean potable water. Crime is also a major problem, with much of it related to drug trafficking and poverty. However, the borough is home of one of Mexico City’s major cultural events, the annual Passion Play
in which 450 borough residents participate and about 2 million attend as spectators.
, Xochimilco
, Tláhuac
, Coyoacán
and Benito Juárez
. The State of Mexico borders the borough on the each side, and Iztapalapa has strong cultural and economic ties to this part of the state.
The borough was created in 1928, centered on and named after a formerly independent municipality within the Federal District, which already had governing authority over a number of surrounding communities. The modern borough is made up of 15 “barrios” or neighborhoods, considered to be part of city of Iztapalapa, and 18 other “pueblos” or communities outside of it. To distinguish the original city of Iztapalapa from the rest of the borough, it was officially named Iztapalapa de Cuitláhuac in 2006 in honor of the tenth Aztec emperor
. However, eight of the barrios are considered to be the historic center of the city of Iztapalapa, which are La Asunción, San Ignacio, Santa Barbara, San Lucas, San Pablo, San Miguel, San Pedro and San José. Records of the “eight barrios of Iztapalapa” go back at least until 1898. Borough authorities have sought “Barrios Mágicos Turísticos” (Magical Tourism Neighborhoods) status for these, for a program similar to the “Pueblos Mágicos” tourism program run by the federal government. The goal is to attract visitors to these neighborhoods as well as other landmarks of the borough such as the Cerro de la Estrella, Pueblo Culhuacán
, the Churubusco Gardens, La Magdalena Atlazolpa, Los Reyes, San Antonio Culhuacán, Mexicalzingo, the San Lorenzo Cemetery, San Andrés Tetepilco and San José Aculco.
The borough has an average elevation of 2240 masl
and extends over firm land and what was former lake bed of Lake Texcoco
. Some of the firm land is alluvial plain
but most of it are elevations such as the Cerro de la Estrella (2,460 masl), Peñón Viejo or Peñon del Marqués(2,400 masl), and the Sierra de Santa Catalina, which contains the Cerro Tecuatzi (2,640 masl), Cerro Tetecón (2,480 masl), and the Guadalupe Borrego (2,820 masl), Xaltepec(2,500 masl); and Yuhualixqui (2,420 masl) volcanoes. These are recent geological formations, with evidence of lava flow still existent and none extend over 1000 meters above the valley floor. Culturally, the most important of these elevations is the Cerro de la Estrella, which was the site of the New Fire ceremony
. Since the pre-Hispanic period, Lake Texcoco has been drained, leaving behind only two natural river called the Churubusco and La Piedad, which unite to form the Unido River, and a few canals. However, the rivers are encased in tubes as is one of the canals, and most of the Canal Nacional which forms part of the border of the borough has been filled into to create Calzada La Viga road. For this reason, there are no longer any naturally occurring surface water.
The climate
of the area is divided into four zones. One consists of a warm wet climate with temperatures above 18C in the coldest months. Another is a temperate wet climate with temperatures between -3 and 18C in the coldest months. One has a relatively dry climate with various temperatures, and the last consists of a cold climate with average temperature not exceeding 6.5C. Most of the area falls into the temperate category and all receive most of their rainfall in the summer and early fall.
Iztapalapa and most of the east side of the Federal District was historically rural and poor up until the mid-20th century. Large-scale urbanization and industrialization began in the 1950s, along with high rates of migration into the borough in the 1970s. Today, it has high population density, limited infrastructure and high levels of socio economic marginalization. Social problems include homelessness, unregulated street vending, illegal building and crimes associated with the sex trade. Many live in rundown housing with deficient municipal services. The exception to this are the areas that border the boroughs of Benito Juárez, Coyoacán and Iztacalco. As of 2010, about 30% of the borough’s buildings still have damage from the 1985 earthquake
. Most are located in the Peñon Viejo, Ermita Zaragoza, Santa Martha Acatitla, Santa Cruz Meyehualco, El Molino,San Lorenzo and La Hera areas, with about 150,000 damaged homes. Over 95% of the homes in the borough have electricity, running water and sewerage, and the borough provides sufficient educational services and other services such as sports facilities; however, the high population density means that the five or less percent equals a large number of people without sufficient services.
and sale of stolen auto parts and lack of water supply. Iztapalpa has the highest rates of rape
, violence against women
, and domestic violence
in Mexico City. Most crime is connected with small scale drug trafficking, which is becoming more frequent on the borough’s streets. Between 2008 and 2010, there were 470 murders in the borough, two out of ten for all of Mexico City, with one occurring every two days. It also has one of the highest rates of muggings and robberies of taxi drivers and public buses. Most of the crime problems are concentrated into a group of neighborhoods such as Santa Martha Acatitla Norte, Desarrollo Urbano Quetzalcoatl, Tenorios, La Polvorilla, Santa Cruz Meyehualco, San Miguel Teotongo, Xalpa, Lomas Estrella, Lonas de Zaragoza and Achualtepec. This area has over 100 known points were drugs are sold. Its proximity to municipalities such as Nezahualcoyotl
in the State of Mexico allows criminals to escape jurisdiction easily. However, the borough reports that crime rates diminished 5.41% from 2009 to 2010. Basic services, especially potable water
, is lacking in many of these same areas, which are close to the Sierra de Santa Catalina where there is no piped water service; rather it is delivered in trucks to home storage tanks. Sometimes the wait for these trucks can last hours, and there have been hijackings of water delivery trucks. About 96% of homes in the borough do have piped-in water, but about 500,000 residents have insufficient supplies, low pressure and in many places the water quality is visibly poor. Visibly dirty water is locally called “agua tamarindo” (tamarind
water) because of its brown color.
The two most important religious establishments have been Señor de la Cuevita Sanctuary and the former monastery of Culhuacán. The Señor de la Cuevita Sanctuary is located on Avenida Morelos and 16 de Septiembre in the city of Iztapalapa. It was built to house an image of Christ made of cornstalks which is called the “Señor de la Cuevita” (Lord of the Small Cave). According to legend, this image was taken from here to Etla, Oaxaca
, but it mysteriously disappeared from there to reappear in a small cave back in Iztapalapa. However, its importance stems from a miracle attributed to it. In 1833, the area was hit by a cholera
plague. People appealed to this image and when the plague dissipated, this image was given credit. Yearly rites of gratitude to this image eventually developed into the borough’s annual Passion Play
. Since 1853, this church has been the center of most indigenous dance held. This is because in that year the archbishop of Mexico forbade “pagan” dances and to avoid confrontation, the dances began to be held here in the main atrium
. In 1875, the church was painted by Anacleto Escutia.
The most important monastery founded in the area in the colonial period was in Culhuacán by the Augustinians
. This monastery was begun in 1552 and dedicated to John the Baptist
. The Augustinians founded a school to teach indigenous languages which operated for over 100 years. It was also a center of paper making, taking advantage of springs and canals for water. The original church of the monastery was demolished a long time ago, but parts of the original complex still remain. The original church was replaced in the late 19th century by the San Juan Evangelista parish church, built between 1880 and 1897. The rest of the complex has been secularized since the 19th century and declared a national monument in 1944. From 1960 to 1984, it was occupied by INAH, which renovated it. Today, this complex is home to the Museo del Exconvento de Culhuacán (Museum of the Former Monastery of Culhuacán), inaugurated in 1987. The grounds around it are referred to as the Parque Historico y Centro comunitario Culhuacán (Culhuacán Historic Park and Community Center). The park contains an artificial pond and areas planted with native trees such as ahuejotes. The monastery complex itself still contains a number of fresco
s on its walls, and its library is still an important cultural and research center. A number of the old monks’ cells now contain exhibits related to the institution.
The Cerro de la Estrella National Park was established in 1938 and is considered to be the most important natural area in the eastern part of the Valley of Mexico
. The park covers over 1093 hectares (2,700.9 acre) and was established for recreational and cultural purposes. The hill (cerro) was the site of the Aztec New Fire ceremony
, last performed in 1507. The park is also culturally important due to the annual Passion Play which is partially conducted on the summit of the cerro each year. The area is managed by the Secretaría de Agricultura y Recursos Hidráulicos, but it lost its original forest cover due to over-cutting of trees
. The ecosystem now on the site consists only of planted eucalyptus
and Pinus patula
trees, along with insects and rodents. There are also problems with illegal building and farming in areas.
The Museo Fuego Nuevo (New Fire Museum) was built by architect David Peña and inaugurated in 1998. The museum is dedicated to the history of the site, especially as related by the Fuego Nuevo Codex. There is evidence of the hill’s ritual use going back 4,000 years; however, the New Fire Ceremony was Aztec. Every 52 years ended one cycle and began another. The worry, however, was that the sun would not return and the ceremony was designed to ensure the sun’s return in the morning. Excavation of this site and others in the borough was begun in 1974 by INAH. This work has also uncovered fossilized human and mammoth remains in neighborhoods such as Santa María Aztahuacán and Santa Marta Acatitlán.
The Museo Cabeza de Juárez was constructed in 1976. This museum in Colonia Agua Prieta is an enormous multicolored monument of Benito Juárez
’s head that measures 13 metres (42.7 ft) in height and weighs six tons. It was decorated by David Alfaro Siqueiros
but he died before he could finish the work. His brother-in-law, Luis Arenal Bastar
completed it. The work is considered to be a fusion of painting, sculpting, engineering and architecture. Today, it contains a number of abstract murals, a permanent collection of lithographs and a large auditorium. The monument is a symbol of the eastern part of the city.
The Central de Abasto
(Groceries Center) is Mexico City’s main wholesale market for produce and other foodstuffs. It was constructed to be the meeting point for producers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers for the entire country. The site accommodates more than 250,000 people each day and provides foodstuffs for most of the people of Mexico City area. The facility extends over 328 hectares (810.5 acre) and is the most important commercial center for the city. It is the largest such market in Latin America. It was established in the 1970s, over what were the remaining chinampa
farming plots in the borough, effectively eliminating this tradition in this part of the city. The main building was inaugurated in 1982, built by Abraham Zabludovesky, as a slightly deformed hexagon measuring 2.25 metres (7.4 ft) across. It was built to take over from the La Merced Market
, which was no longer large enough to meet the city’s needs for the wholesale distribution of produce and other foodstuffs.
The borough is also home to Mexico City and Mexico’s largest fish market, called La Nueva Viga
, in Colonia San José Aculco on Prologación Eje 6 Sur. With 202 wholesalers and 165 retail outlets, it distributes about 60% of the country’s seafood production along with much of what is imported. The market begins business at 4:00 a.m., when delivery trucks bring in fresh fish from all over Mexico to the vendors. This daily delivery is about 500 tons and includes all kinds of seafood from shrimp to fish to shellfish to small sharks and manta ray
s. The main fish market is here due to Mexico City’s role as economic center since the pre Hispanic period.
The Centro Cultural Iztapalapa was inaugurated in 1999, located between the two largest apartment complexes of the borough, the Iztapalapa and the Unidad Vicente Guerrero. It contains a forum for 800 people, lobby with two wings for expositions and workshops. Classes are given in guitar, dance, candlemaking, ceramics, and sewing. There is also an area for major event which can hold 1,500 people.
The community museum of San Miguel Teotongo on the highway to Puebla contains finds related to the ancient inhabitants of the area. Most relate to the pre-Hispanic period and include utensils, ceremonial objects, ceramics, obsidian blades and arrowheads and jewelry.
The Museo de Hidrobiologia (Hydrobiology
Museum) mostly contains preserved example of the various species found in the different types of water found in Mexico. These include rivers, lakes, ponds, estuaries, beach areas as well as reefs offshore.
The current borough government building, or “palacio delegacional” were inaugurated in 1989. It contains a mural by Francisco Cárdenas done in 2003 called “Iztapalapa: Ayer, Hoy y Siempre” (Iztapalapa: Yesterday, Today and Always).
The borough contains two large penal institutions called the Centro de Ejecución de Sanciones Penales Varonil Oriente and the Centro de Readaptación Social Varonil Santa Martha Acatitla. The Centro de Ejecución de Sanciones Penales Varonil Oriente (Center for the Execution of Penal Sanctions for Men East), more commonly called the Reclusorio Oriente (East Prison) was inaugurated in 1987 for adult males. The building extends over a 10400 square metres (12,438.3 sq yd) surface in colonial San Lorenzo Tezonco. It contains five dormitories, intake center, workshops, sports facilities and classrooms. The Centro de Readaptación Social Varonil Santa Martha Acatitla (Center for Male Social Readaptation Santa Martha Acatitla) is for juvenile males which was inaugurated in 2003. It has a maximum population of 672 housed in four buildings with basketball court, dining hall, workshops, classrooms and computer room. A new building is under construction to bring the capacity up to 900 inmates.
For most of the borough's history, most transportation of people and freight was done on the waters of the lake and through canals. However, these began to dry up starting in the 19th century. They remained important up until the early 20th century, with even steamships passing through at one time. In the 1930s, many of the barrios of Iztapalapa were still marked by canals and still grew vegetables, fruits and flowers. Eventually, major traffic was confined mostly to the Canal Nacional. As the canals dried up, newer modes of transportation were introduced. In 1903, mule
-drawn trolleys were introduced into the municipality to link it Mexico City via Jamaica
. These trolleys would be used to bring Mexican president Francisco I. Madero
to celebrate his inauguration in 1912. Several train lines linked the area to other parts of Mexico by 1922. The first bus services between the center of Mexico City and the large market was begun in 1952.
Today, most transportation in the borough is on various roadways via public or private vehicle. Main avenues include Calzada Ermita-Iztapalapa, Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza, Calzada Benito Juárez, Calzada La Viga, Anillo Periférico
Norte, Circuito Interior, Avenida Tláhuac, Avenida Plutarco Elias Calles. The “Eje” road system in the area includes Eje 3 Sur, Eje 4 Sur, Eje 5 Sur, Eje 6 Sur, Eje7 Sur, Eje 8 Sur, Eje 2 Oriente, Eje 3 Oriente, Eje 4 Oriente and Eje 5 Oriente. The main highway leaving Mexico City towards Puebla cuts through the borough. Each day about 80,000 vehicles pass through, making it the second busiest highway section in Mexico City. Many of these are local and intercity buses which can block two out of the three lanes. Construction work has been done to widen the highway, but political disputes have kept new lanes from opening as of early 2011. Public transportation includes several trolleybus
lines, busses, taxis and bicitaxis
. Line 8 and Line A of the Metro also pass through the borough.
or Guadalajara
. Until the mid-20th century, the area was rural, but migration into the borough began in the 1970s as this is the only area with significant land that could be developed. From 1970 to 1980, it accounted for 54.3% of the city’s population increase. From 1980 to 1990, Iztapalapa gained 341,988, more than 1.6 times that of the rest of the city. Most of the migration came from families leaving the center of the city, but more importantly many migrants from other parts of Mexico into the city settled in the relatively cheap Iztapalapa. In the last decades, the population increase of the borough has accounted for 83% of the population growth of Mexico City. Today, the population of the borough accounts for over 20.5% of Federal District’s total. The population growth has slowed somewhat, but at its peak in the 1990s, it was over 100%. This population growth has spurred the location of most of the city’s housing projects of the last decades in this area. The borough’s population is still expected to increase at a rate of 0.77%. While migration into the borough is significant, there is very little migration out into other parts of Mexico or abroad.
Most of the borough’s residents are poor to middle class, with a very large percentage of youth. Just over 42% of the population is considered to be socioeconomically marginalized, meaning there are fully or partially excluded from social and/or municipal services of one type or another. While this is not the highest level of all the boroughs, since Iztapalapa has the highest population by a significant margin, most of the city’s marginalized are here with just under 9% of Mexico City’s total. The population between 0 and 19 years of age represents about 40% of the total. Next are those between 20 and 34, who account for about 29% of the total. A large percentage of the population of the borough is under 15 at 36.4%, with only 7.6% over 50.
s. Migration into the area eventually would change the ethnic composition to primarily mestizo and the Nahuatl
language would essentially disappear. As of 2005, only about two percent of the population speaks an indigenous language, with 94.8% bilingual in Spanish as well. This is about equal to the city average. However, the borough contains about 25% of the total ethnic indigenous of the city. Most of the indigenous languages found in the borough are those associated with the state of Oaxaca
, such as Zapotec
, Mixteca
and Chatina. Oaxacan languages account for 34.9% of the total. Uto-Aztecan languages
account for 23.32% which include Tarahumara
, Mayo
, Yaqui
, Cora
and Huichol
. Another significant percentage are those of the Oto-Pamean languages
which include Otomi
, Mazahua
and Matlatzinca
.The only language which has been spoken in Mexico not represented in Iztapalapa is Kickapoo
.
, although this has declined by 1.9% since the 1990s. Protestant
and Evangelical
sects have grown to about 6% of the population, with less than 2% professing no faith.
at Escuela Enrique Laubscher and in the San Lucas Church. However, during the government of Lázaro Cárdenas
, many in the borough refused to send their children to school, afraid that they would be indoctrinated against the Catholic faith. Today, the borough has sufficient educational infrastructure, with most schools belonging to the primary level. There are a number of institutions of higher education such as UAM
, and the Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza of UNAM
. There are 452 preschools, 612 primary schools, 191 middle schools, 21 vocational schools, 35 high schools, and two teachers’ colleges. Ninety-five percent of children between five and nine years of age attend school, with 96% of those between 10 and 14. Only 62% of those between 15 and 19 attend school and 27% of those between 20 and 24. About 4% of the population above the age of six is illiterate with 63% of this number being female. The highest rates of illiteracy are in the 65 and older age group.
The Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana was established in 1974 with three campuses in Azcapotzalco
, Xochimilco
and Iztapalapa. Iztapalapa was constructed first and covers an area of 177966 square metres (212,845.6 sq yd). Most of the institution’s research work is conducted at the Iztapalapa campus. Other institutions include the University Autónoma dela Ciudad de México, San Lorenzo Campus and the Instituto Tecnológico de Iztapalapa.
and the La Nueva Viga
markets. However, wholesale businesses have declined 2.8% while retail establishment have increased 8.1%. This has a positive effect on employment, but this activity adds less to the GDP. The largest sector of retail sales is in street markets called tianguis
, followed by public markets, street peddlers and lastly through the Central de Abasto.
A total of 32.5% is employed in industry, minerals and construction. Industry includes food processing, bottling, tobacco products, metals, machinery, surgical equipment, paper and printing and textiles. Only 0.3% is now employed in agriculture or livestock.
of Iztapalapa has its origin in an outbreak of cholera
in 1833, which left many dead and many children orphaned. A procession was performed to a image of Christ called the “Señor de la Cuevita” (Lord of the Little Cave) to end the epidemic. When it subsided, it was considered a miracle and various cults to this Christ figure appeared. Expressions of gratitude to this figure eventually consolidated into two annual events. The first is a Mass
in honor of this images, now known as the Fiesta de Solteras de Septiembre. The second is the annual Passion Play.
The Passion Play is considered to be part of “folk religion,” supported by clergy but not considered to be liturgy. The Passion Play has antecedents in the plays put on by evangelizers to teach the Catholic faith and to get the indigenous to renounce their former beliefs. However, the passion play incorporates areas which were special or sacred to the pre Hispanic world, including the gardens that once belonged to the emperor Cuitláhuac
and the hill on which the New Fire ceremony
was performed. The Passion Play started as a number of reenactment events held in a number of places in the borough during Lent
and Holy Week
, including a procession with the Señor de la Cuevita on the fifth Friday of Lent. However, by the early 20th century, one main passion play for the borough had come into existence. According to one local legend, Emiliano Zapata
lent his horses for the 1914 version of the play.
Since that time, this Passion Play has become a major event with the participation of 450 actors and attended by 2 million people over the course of the week and 2,000 police to provide security. This includes people from other parts of Mexico, from abroad and from the media. It is the most crowded and best known of its type in Mexico. The most crowded day is Good Friday
, but as many as 40,000 are expected on Palm Sunday
at the start of the event. The reenactments start on Palm Sunday and last until Easter Sunday with various Biblical scenes related to the life and death of Jesus played out. The most important episodes include the blessing of the palms on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday
in the Cuitláhuac Garden, and Good Friday, with the sentencing, the crown of thorns and the crucifixion. At the Señor de la Cuevita Sanctuary, the scene of the expulsion of the money changers from the temple is re enacted. The Palm Sunday procession proceeds then to the Casa de la Mayordomía in the San Miguel barrio followed by hundreds dressed as Nazarenes and thousands more spectators. After the death of Jesus is played out, the “body” is lowered and taken to the Cuitláhuac Plaza where it is “buried” and “guarded” by people playing Roman soldiers. In 2010, the Passion Play was submitted to UNESCO
to become a intangible cultural heritage
.
Most Iztapalapa residents seek roles but not all are selected. The most coveted role is that of Jesus, which is selected each year by the Comité Organizador de Iztapalapa. Next is the role of the Virgin Mary. These are reserved for single young people, who do not have children, addictions, tattoo
s and can demonstrate their Catholic faith. The role of Jesus requires physical conditioning to carry the cross, which weight about 198 pounds. For a year, the chosen Jesus exercises daily as well as prays to prepare physically and spiritually. The Passion and Death are played out at the Cerro de la Estrella, emulating Calvary
. The man playing Jesus must carry the cross 2.5 miles (4 km) from the center of Iztapalapa to the summit of the Cerro de las Estrellas to be crucified. The day after Easter Sunday the selection committee meets to choose the next Jesus and Mary.
While this Passion Play is the best known, events related to Holy Week take place in all parts and parishes of the borough including other re-enactments done by children as well as smaller events in Santiago Acahualtepec and Culhuacán which are more recent. Prisoners at the Reclusorio Oriente hold their own Passion Play with the involvement of about 80 people.
, which was celebrated every 52 years at the summit of the Cerro de la Estrella hill. This was a solemn ceremony when all fires were extinguished with a “new fire” ignited at night to provoke the return of the sun in the morning as well as the mark the beginning of a new 52-year cycle on the Aztec calendar. This “new fire” would then be distributed among the populace. The last ancient ceremony was held in 1507. While named for the ancient New Fire ceremony, the modern version is a cultural festival dedicated to the area’s culture past and present. The festival is divided into four “axis” called “Traditions of the Ancient Mexicans,” “The Footsteps of Zapata,” “Sounds of the Underworld” and New Fire and Mexican Contemporary Cinema.”
and means “in the waters of the banks,” referring to its position along the lakeshore, situated partly on dry land and partly over water.
Like the pre-Hispanic villages of Xochimilco and Tláhuac, Iztapalapa began as a village on the shores of the lake system and dedicated to farming on chinampa
s. The first settlements on this side of Lake Texcoco
were formed by refugees from the fall of Teotihuacan
at the base of the Cerro de Culhuacán hill. These people were led by a chief named Mixcoatl and would become known as the Culhuas. At that time, the area was a peninsula jutting onto the lake formed by the Sierra de Santa Catarina. The first city on this peninsula was Culhuacán on the south side next to the Cerro de la Estrella, which grew to contain various neighborhoods surrounded by chinampas, or artificial islands in the lake used to grow food. These and the exploitation of lake resources was the basis of the city’s economy.
Chinampa agriculture would be important in many areas of the Valley of Mexico, including the area of Iztapalapa. Chinampas here were made from reeds, tree branches and lake mud, growing corn, beans and wide variety of vegetables. These chinampas, now known as neighborhoods called Tezontitla, El Bordo, El Moral, Las Largas, Las Cuadradas, Tecorrales, Zapotla and others were separated by small canals and some of them had docks. They were also an ecosystem home to wide variety of land and aquatic flora and fauna, including storks, flowers, trees, reeds, quetzals, frogs, and fish. The chinampas remained in private hands until 1970, when they were expropriated to construct the Central de Abasto, which eliminated them.
Culhuacan was moved to a site called Tollantzingo in the 950s, and shortly after that migrants from Tula
came into the area to settle as well, bringing with them the worship of Quetzalcoatl
. Other pre-Hispanic settlements in the Iztapalapa area were established and grew as well, including Hitzilopochco (Churubusco), Mexicaltzingo and Iztapalapa. These would be the four main settlements of the area, with close relations that would last into the colonial era, when they were part of the Mexicaltzingo corregimiento. The village of Iztapalapa has its origins in the fall of Teotihuacan in the 8th century. Ancient Iztapalapa has alliances and disputes mostly with the other dominions with economies based on chinampas, such as Xochimilco, Chalco
and Mixquic. By the 11th century, the Toltec
descendants had become dominant with the area with Culhuacán becoming the capital of a dominion in 1114. The main rulers of this city included Nauhyotl, Cuauhtexpetlatzin, Huetzin, Nonoalcatle and Cuauhtonal who ruled between 1120 and 1251. In the middle of the 13th century, the Toltecs were displaced by the Chichimeca
s, who ruled it from 1250 to 1400 under various rulers.
One of the tribes that moved into the Valley of Mexico in the 14th century were the Mexica
, at a time when the city of Culhuacán was powerful. However, the area was divided into a number of dominions around the lake system of the valley, which vied among themselves for dominance. As late arrivals, the Mexica wandered among the various dominions and were granted permission to settle in Culhuacán territory. They lived together mostly peacefully. However, records indicate that the Mexicas were forced into servitude as punishment for raids by young warriors to carry off women from neighboring settlements. One legend states that problems between the two peoples began when the Mexica asked for and received a Culhua princess, Achitómetla, to become a goddess of war. The ceremony required the woman to be sacrified, angering Culhuacán. The Mexica were eventually forced off Culhua lands and forced to settle on an island on the west side of the lake, although the stronger city of Culhuacán maintained relations with them. This new settlement, called Tenochtitlan, would begin rising and dominating since its establishment in 1325. The Aztec Triple Alliance
would be formed in the early 1400s, as part of the process of uniting the Nahuatl-speaking peoples of the valley.
Part of this process included legitimizing the lineage Tenochtitlan’s rulers. These Mexica rulers used the time they spent in Culhuacán territory, and the links formed from it for this purpose. The ruling family could trace its ancestors back to Culhuacán ruler Nahuyotl. This and various marital ties from the past would make these new rulers descendents from the old. This was formalized with the government of Acamapichtli
, who was granted the title of “culhua tecuhtli” (Lord of the Culhuas) . The Alliance came to include thirty dominions, with Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan
, with Texcoco dominating the formerly powerful city of Culhuacán as well as Iztapalapa. As Tenochtitlan’s power grew, it eventually ruled the new empire alone.
As one of the first members of the Alliance, Iztapalapa was not conquered. It was indirectly ruled by Tenochtitlan as part of a confederation of four city-states (along with Mexicaltzingo, Huitzilopochco and Culhuacán) allied with the Mexica. Later, Itzcoatl
’s son, Huehua Cuitlahuatzin would be made ruler of Iztapalapa. Under this arrangement, Iztapalapa did not pay tribute to Tenochtitlan, they did have to supply labor for major projects as well as military service. Iztapalapa was important in pre Hispanic times militarily and religiously as the side of the Huixachtécatl, today called the Cerro de la Estrella. This was the site of the New Fire ceremony
, held once every 52 years, beginning anew cycle of years. The ceremony also required the destruction of all household goods to be replaced by new. Women and children would stay at home while the men participated in the distribution of the “new fire.” It was celebrated a total of nine times, with the last one in 1507 (2 acatl by the Aztec calendar). For this last celebration, Moctezuma
had a temple construction on the summit called the Ayauhcalli, later named “the church of the New Fire” by the Spanish.
By the time the Spanish arrived, Culhuacán was no longer an important city; rather it had been eclipsed by Iztapalapa as one of the Aztec royal town, chosen as such due to its defensive position. At that time, the area has about 10,000 inhabitants dedicated to chinampa agriculture and the raising of fish and birds. A causeway linking Iztapalapa and Tenochtitlan was one of the most important roads in the area. The construction of this causeway began in 1429 under Itzcoatl, using labor from peoples from the south of the valley such as the Xochimilcas. It consisted of artificial land built up from the shallow lake bottom, rising about a meter and a half over the lake’s surface and extending for about 8 kilometres (5 mi). It was wide enough for horses to cross in pairs. The causeway was divided by a fort called Xoloc, made of stone with towers, merlon
s and gates to control entrance and exit. This causeway also had a branch leading to Coyoacán. Its ruler was Cuitláhuac
, born in 1476 as younger brother of Moctezuma Ilhuicamina and son of Axayacatl
. Cuitláhuac received the Spanish in Iztapalapa before they went onto Tenochtitlan. They met in a garden which most Aztec lords had as a refuge and to demonstrate culture. In the center of the garden was a large palace made of sandstone and fine woods such as cedar.
In 1519, the Spanish took Moctezuma, Cacamatzin
(ruler of Texcoco), Cuitlahuac and other nobles as prisoners. Cortés was then forced to return to Veracruz
to face Spanish authorities, leaving Pedro de Alvarado
in charge. Alvarado had hundreds of Aztec nobles killed. After Cortés returned, he liberated Cuitláhuac in exchange for supplies, allowing the lord to organize an army against the Spanish. Cuitlahuac succeeded Moctezuma as Aztec emperor and forced the Spanish to flee during the Noche Triste. However, Cuitlahuac was ruler only somewhere between 40 and 80 days according to various records. He spent that time repairing the city of Tenochtitlan as the Spanish regrouped in Tlaxcala
. Cuitlahuac died of smallpox
in December of 1520, with Cuauhtémoc
succeeding him.
After the Spanish and their allies regrouped in Tlaxcala, Cortés decided to attack Iztapalapa before besieging the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, in part to secure supplies. The city of Iztapalapa had about 10,000 people with about two-thirds of its structures built over water. Eight thousand Aztecs defended the city on land and on water. Cortés and his indigenous allied burned, massacred and destroyed the city completely. But after the battle, when the Spanish let down their guard, Iztapalapa opened water channels to flood the city and drown the invaders. Most of the Spanish survived, but many of their Indian allies did not and were drowned. The Spanish lost all of their gunpowder.
After the Conquest, the pre-Hispanic temples of the area were destroyed, the Iztapalapa and surrounding cities were subjugated by Gonzalo de Sandoval
. The process was brutal, as the area was highly loyal to Tenochtitlan, with more than 5,000 people killed by both war and epidemics. By the first census of New Spain in 1552, Culhuacan was down to 817 inhabitants, and 260 in Mexicaltzingo.
Following the destruction of the temples, Augustinians
and Franciscans moved in to build churches and monasteries. The Augustinians began construction of the Culhuacán monastery in 1552, built in various stages. It was dedicated to John the Baptist
. They founded a school to teach indigenous languages which operated for 100 years. The Franciscans built a monastery in Huitzilopochco as well as small churches in San Marcos Mexicaltzingo and in Santa Marta and Nativitas Tepetlacingo. The churches of San Lucas Evangelista, San Marcos Mexicaltzingo, San Juan Evangelista and the chapels of Calvario and Santa Martha Acatitla were all built over foundations of pre-Hispanic temples which the Spanish had destroyed. These were built with much of the material from the destroyed temples. However, by the end of the 18th century, all of these would be in the hands of normal clergy.
Iztapalapa and several other nearby communities were initially under the direct control of Mexico City, but shortly after only Iztapalapa would remain so. Mexicaltzingo belonged to the Spanish Crown from early on. Iztapalapa became a tributary of Mexico City, required to provide food, manual labor and more. At the end of the 16th century, it too became property of the Spanish Crown. Other areas of the modern borough were made into encomienda
s. Culhuacan came under the control of Cristobal de Oñate
, which remained in the family until the system was abolished. Later in the colonial period, the area would become a corregimiento
headed by Mexicaltzingo and later an “alcaldia mayor” as it grew to include areas such as Los Reyes
and Santa Marta.
During the colonial period, Iztapalapa was very rural, notable only as one of the primary providers of produce and flowers to Mexico City and its lake and canal transportation. Culhuacán had eighteen villages surrounding it in the pre Hispanic era, butby the 18th century, only San Lorenzo Tezonco and Santiago Acahualtepec remained. In the middle of the 18th century, there were still only 80 families in Iztapalapa, with 31 of them being Spanish. By the end of the same century, that would become 130 indigenous families distributed into nine barrios and three villages. At the end of the colonial period Iztapalapa would also include three haciendas and two ranches. During much of this time, Iztapalapa was also a stopover for travelers between Mexico City and Puebla or Veracruz. There were two main canals through here that connected the area with Chalco and Xochimilco. One of these was the Canal de la Viga, which was an important means of transporting corn, beans, vegetables and more into the capital These canals had control and customs checkpoints which divided Mexico City from rural areas. The most important of these was the La Viga control point due to the merchandise that passed through.
After the Mexican War of Independence
, the Federal District of Mexico City was established as the new nation’s capital in 1824. The village of Iztapalapa became part of this district at the same time, but the borough had not yet been established. It would remain an autonomous settlement. In 1828, it was one of the municipalities outside of Mexico City proper. The rest of the 19th century would be concerned with disease and the status of the area’s water transportation. A cholera
epidemic in 1833 prompted the first passion play to be performed in this area, which has been performed since. In the middle of the 19th century, the town of Iztapalapa had 3,416 inhabitants. Drainage of the lakes in the Valley of Mexico
would have an effect on the size and arrangement of water transportation. According to records, the ancient “Calzada de los Indios” (Indian Causeway) that linked Iztapalapa and the Villa Guadalupe
was destroyed in 1835. Much of what is now the borough was lake or crisscrossed by various canals, which carried barge, canoe and even steamship traffic until the late 19th century. New canals were dug to connect Mexico City with Peñón Viejo, Chalco and San Isidro as well as the villages of Ayotla, Tlapicahua and Tlapacoya. By the end of this century, much of the lake and many of the small canals had dried. The main ones were the Mexicaltzingo canal and those near the Churubusco River. The Mexicalcingo canal was widened for steamships.
The canals would remain a part of the borough until the mid 20th century. Efforts to preserve the system began in 1920, when ejido
owners turned over land to construct new ones. In the 1930s, many of the barrios of Iztapalapa were still marked by canals and still grew vegetables, fruits and flowers. Major traffic was confined mostly to the Canal Nacional on the borough’s border. However, groundwater pumping started in the 1950s lowered water tables and began the process of destroying the rest of the canals, and most of the chinampa
s along with them.
Industrialization began in the area in the 1890s but agriculture remained the most important economic activity. Most of the population in the area still lived in poor huts. In 1916, the hacienda
s and ranches of Iztapalapa were broken up and divided into ejido
s; however the area remained extremely poor and there were disputes between Iztapalapa and neighboring Zapotitlán over ejido land. In 1920, the population was over 20,000 Iztapalapa would remain rural and poor until the 1950s, when its population and its urbanization began in earnest. In the 1940s, the urban sprawl of Mexico City had reached sections of the borough and furthering this was promoted by the federal government which favored industry over agriculture. In 1940, the chinampas suffered when the Canal de la Viga was drained, and only runoff from the Cerro de la Estrella was still available. Groundwater pumping dried swamps, allowing for more urbanization.
Iztapalapa had been semi-independent of Mexico City since the colonial era, but politically organized in various ways. It has been part of the Federal District since it was created, but this District was an unstable entity in the 19th century as Liberals, who favored a federalist government, fought with Conservatives, who favored a more centralized regime
. Thus much of the borough would either be part of the Federal District or the State/Department of Mexico, depending on who was in power during the first half of the 19th century. The Federal District, including Iztapalapa, would be permanently restored in 1848, and then enlarged to its current dimensions between 1853 and 1854. Since that time, the Federal District has been reorganized several times, usually separating the Mexico City and making the other areas of the District either districts or municipalities
. The current borough system was established in 1928. This created the current borough of Iztapalapa, centered on and named over the former municipality of Iztapalapa. This borough’s government was appointed by the Mexican federal government until 1970, when borough presidents began to be democratically elected.
From the 1950s to the present, the borough’s history has been dominated by its population growth and urbanization, along with the problems that come with it. Before 1970, the area still had various types of flora including forested hills, ponds and other surface water, grasslands and more. Chinampas and other farmland still existed as well. In the 1970s, waves of migrants from other parts of the country began to move into the borough. This prompted the building of a number of large apartment complexes including Unidad Vicente Guerrero, Unidad Ejército de Oriente, Unidad Santa Cruz Meyehualco, Conjunto Urbano Popular Ermita Zaragoza and Unidad Habitacional Ejército Constitucionalista. By 1980, all the of land that could be developed legally was, but the population continued to grow. In the 1990s, the borough had growth rates of over 100% according to INEGI. By 2000, the population of the borough accounted for over 20% of the total of the Federal District, the largest in population. Now almost all of the land in the borough has been urbanized, with only the highest elevations and a few family farm plots without buildings. The only green spaces are parks controlled by local or federal authorities, where various types of trees can still be found.
In 2006, there was a dispute in the election for borough president, between Rafael Acosta Angeles, better known as “Juanito” and Clara Brugada
. Juanito and supporters blocked the main entrance to the borough offices, but allowed employees access through other entrances. The protest was to have him declared the winner of borough president elections. In the end, Brugada retained the position.
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
’s 16 boroughs, located on the east side of the entity. The borough is named after and centered on the formerly independent municipality of Iztapalapa, which is officially called Iztapalapa de Cuitláhuac for disambiguation purposes. The rest is made up of a number of other communities which are governed by the city of Iztapalapa.
The borough is the most populous and fastest growing of the city with over 90% of its territory urbanized. The borough transitioned from a rural area with some farms and canals as late as the 1970s, to an area with the only green areas in parks and almost all of its people employed in commerce, services and industry. This is the result of a large influx of people into the borough starting from the 1970s and which still continues. The area has a high level of socioeconomic marginalization, with a significant number of people lacking sufficient access to clean potable water. Crime is also a major problem, with much of it related to drug trafficking and poverty. However, the borough is home of one of Mexico City’s major cultural events, the annual Passion Play
Passion play
A Passion play is a dramatic presentation depicting the Passion of Jesus Christ: his trial, suffering and death. It is a traditional part of Lent in several Christian denominations, particularly in Catholic tradition....
in which 450 borough residents participate and about 2 million attend as spectators.
The borough and city
Iztapalapa today is a borough of the Federal District of Mexico City, centered on what used to be an independent settlement with its origins in the pre-Hispanic period. It has a territory of 116.67km2 (11,506 hectares), and is located on the east side of the Federal District bordering the boroughs of IztacalcoIztacalco
Iztacalco is one of the 16 delegaciones into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. It is located in the center-east of the district and is the smallest of the city’s boroughs. The area’s history began in 1309 when the island of Iztacalco, in what was Lake Texcoco, was settled in 1309 by the...
, Xochimilco
Xochimilco
Xochimilco is one of the sixteen delegaciones or boroughs within Mexican Federal District. The borough is centered on the formerly independent city of Xochimilco, which was established on what was the southern shore of Lake Xochimilco in the pre-Hispanic period...
, Tláhuac
Tláhuac
Tláhuac is one of the 16 delegaciones into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. It is located on the east edge of the district and is largely rural in character. The main town, San Pedro Tláhuac, is situated alongside a lake, and is the site of a 16th century church. The borough had a 2010...
, Coyoacán
Coyoacán
Coyoacán refers to one of the sixteen boroughs of the Federal District of Mexico City as well as the former village which is now the borough’s “historic center.” The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means “place of coyotes,” when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispanic village on the southern shore...
and Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez, D.F.
Benito Juárez is one of the 16 delegaciones into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. It is a largely residential area, located to the south of historic center of Mexico City, although there are pressures for areas to convert to commercial use. It was named after Benito Juárez, president in...
. The State of Mexico borders the borough on the each side, and Iztapalapa has strong cultural and economic ties to this part of the state.
The borough was created in 1928, centered on and named after a formerly independent municipality within the Federal District, which already had governing authority over a number of surrounding communities. The modern borough is made up of 15 “barrios” or neighborhoods, considered to be part of city of Iztapalapa, and 18 other “pueblos” or communities outside of it. To distinguish the original city of Iztapalapa from the rest of the borough, it was officially named Iztapalapa de Cuitláhuac in 2006 in honor of the tenth Aztec emperor
Cuitláhuac
Cuitláhuac or Cuitláhuac was the 10th tlatoani of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan for 80 days during the year Two Flint ....
. However, eight of the barrios are considered to be the historic center of the city of Iztapalapa, which are La Asunción, San Ignacio, Santa Barbara, San Lucas, San Pablo, San Miguel, San Pedro and San José. Records of the “eight barrios of Iztapalapa” go back at least until 1898. Borough authorities have sought “Barrios Mágicos Turísticos” (Magical Tourism Neighborhoods) status for these, for a program similar to the “Pueblos Mágicos” tourism program run by the federal government. The goal is to attract visitors to these neighborhoods as well as other landmarks of the borough such as the Cerro de la Estrella, Pueblo Culhuacán
Pueblo Culhuacán
Pueblo Culhuacán is an officially designated neighborhood of the Iztapalapa borough of Mexico City, which used to be a major pre Hispanic city. Ancient Culhuacán was founded around 600 CE and the site has continuously occupied since...
, the Churubusco Gardens, La Magdalena Atlazolpa, Los Reyes, San Antonio Culhuacán, Mexicalzingo, the San Lorenzo Cemetery, San Andrés Tetepilco and San José Aculco.
Elevation and climate
Meters above sea level
Meters above sea Level is a standard metric measurement of the elevation of a location in reference to historic mean sea level; the determination of what actually constitutes mean sea level over time however, may be determined by other parameters, such as the effects of climate history and climate...
and extends over firm land and what was former lake bed of Lake Texcoco
Lake Texcoco
Lake Texcoco was a natural lake formation within the Valley of Mexico. The Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlan on an island in the lake. The Spaniards built Mexico City over Tenochtitlan...
. Some of the firm land is alluvial plain
Alluvial plain
An alluvial plain is a relatively flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms...
but most of it are elevations such as the Cerro de la Estrella (2,460 masl), Peñón Viejo or Peñon del Marqués(2,400 masl), and the Sierra de Santa Catalina, which contains the Cerro Tecuatzi (2,640 masl), Cerro Tetecón (2,480 masl), and the Guadalupe Borrego (2,820 masl), Xaltepec(2,500 masl); and Yuhualixqui (2,420 masl) volcanoes. These are recent geological formations, with evidence of lava flow still existent and none extend over 1000 meters above the valley floor. Culturally, the most important of these elevations is the Cerro de la Estrella, which was the site of the New Fire ceremony
New Fire ceremony
The New Fire ceremony was an Aztec ceremony performed once every 52 years — a full cycle of the Aztec calendar— in order to stave off the end of the world....
. Since the pre-Hispanic period, Lake Texcoco has been drained, leaving behind only two natural river called the Churubusco and La Piedad, which unite to form the Unido River, and a few canals. However, the rivers are encased in tubes as is one of the canals, and most of the Canal Nacional which forms part of the border of the borough has been filled into to create Calzada La Viga road. For this reason, there are no longer any naturally occurring surface water.
The climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
of the area is divided into four zones. One consists of a warm wet climate with temperatures above 18C in the coldest months. Another is a temperate wet climate with temperatures between -3 and 18C in the coldest months. One has a relatively dry climate with various temperatures, and the last consists of a cold climate with average temperature not exceeding 6.5C. Most of the area falls into the temperate category and all receive most of their rainfall in the summer and early fall.
Urbanization
Uncontrolled population growth in the area has nearly wiped out all forms of wildlife in the borough, although as late as the 1960s, there were still a number of waterfowl to be found. Animals found here now are pets or the few cases in which families still raise domestic fowl, rabbits and others for food. Almost all of the borough (90%) is urbanized, with only six percent designated as ecological reserve, concentrated in to two parks, the Cerro de la Estrella National Park and the Sierra de Santa Catarina, declared a reserve in 1994. However, both of these areas are under pressure by the continued urbanization and population growth of the area.Iztapalapa and most of the east side of the Federal District was historically rural and poor up until the mid-20th century. Large-scale urbanization and industrialization began in the 1950s, along with high rates of migration into the borough in the 1970s. Today, it has high population density, limited infrastructure and high levels of socio economic marginalization. Social problems include homelessness, unregulated street vending, illegal building and crimes associated with the sex trade. Many live in rundown housing with deficient municipal services. The exception to this are the areas that border the boroughs of Benito Juárez, Coyoacán and Iztacalco. As of 2010, about 30% of the borough’s buildings still have damage from the 1985 earthquake
1985 Mexico City earthquake
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake that struck Mexico City on the early morning of 19 September 1985 at around 7:19 AM , caused the deaths of at least 10,000 people and serious damage to the greater Mexico City Area. The complete seismic event...
. Most are located in the Peñon Viejo, Ermita Zaragoza, Santa Martha Acatitla, Santa Cruz Meyehualco, El Molino,San Lorenzo and La Hera areas, with about 150,000 damaged homes. Over 95% of the homes in the borough have electricity, running water and sewerage, and the borough provides sufficient educational services and other services such as sports facilities; however, the high population density means that the five or less percent equals a large number of people without sufficient services.
Crime
Primary problems facing the borough include crime, especially drug traffickingIllegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
and sale of stolen auto parts and lack of water supply. Iztapalpa has the highest rates of rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, violence against women
Violence against women
Violence against women is a technical term used to collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women...
, and domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
in Mexico City. Most crime is connected with small scale drug trafficking, which is becoming more frequent on the borough’s streets. Between 2008 and 2010, there were 470 murders in the borough, two out of ten for all of Mexico City, with one occurring every two days. It also has one of the highest rates of muggings and robberies of taxi drivers and public buses. Most of the crime problems are concentrated into a group of neighborhoods such as Santa Martha Acatitla Norte, Desarrollo Urbano Quetzalcoatl, Tenorios, La Polvorilla, Santa Cruz Meyehualco, San Miguel Teotongo, Xalpa, Lomas Estrella, Lonas de Zaragoza and Achualtepec. This area has over 100 known points were drugs are sold. Its proximity to municipalities such as Nezahualcoyotl
Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl
Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, or more commonly Ciudad Neza, is a city and municipality of Mexico State adjacent to the northeast corner of Mexico's Federal District: it is thus part of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area. It was named after Nezahualcoyotl, the Acolhua poet and king of nearby Texcoco, and...
in the State of Mexico allows criminals to escape jurisdiction easily. However, the borough reports that crime rates diminished 5.41% from 2009 to 2010. Basic services, especially potable water
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
, is lacking in many of these same areas, which are close to the Sierra de Santa Catalina where there is no piped water service; rather it is delivered in trucks to home storage tanks. Sometimes the wait for these trucks can last hours, and there have been hijackings of water delivery trucks. About 96% of homes in the borough do have piped-in water, but about 500,000 residents have insufficient supplies, low pressure and in many places the water quality is visibly poor. Visibly dirty water is locally called “agua tamarindo” (tamarind
Tamarind
Tamarind is a tree in the family Fabaceae. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic .-Origin:...
water) because of its brown color.
Landmarks
The borough is home to a number of historic churches, many of which were built in the colonial era. The Franciscans built monasteries and churches in communities such as Huitzilopohco, San Marcos Mexicaltzingo, Santa Marta, and Nativitas Tepetlacingo. Most of these churches, especially those of San Lucas Evangelista, San Marcos Mexicaltzingo, San Juan Evangelista and the chapels of Calvario and Santa Martha Acatitla were built over foundations of pre Hispanic temples, which had been destroyed in the Conquest. The main parish church building of the city of Iztapalapa dates from at least 1664. Its main entrance contains various indigenous symbols. Some churches, however, were built later, such as the Asunción de María parish church built in 1890, and the current San Juan Evangelista church built between 1880 and 1897.The two most important religious establishments have been Señor de la Cuevita Sanctuary and the former monastery of Culhuacán. The Señor de la Cuevita Sanctuary is located on Avenida Morelos and 16 de Septiembre in the city of Iztapalapa. It was built to house an image of Christ made of cornstalks which is called the “Señor de la Cuevita” (Lord of the Small Cave). According to legend, this image was taken from here to Etla, Oaxaca
Villa de Etla
Villa de Etla is a town and municipality located in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is located in the far northwestern part of the Central Valley of Oaxaca, about seventeen km from the capital. The town is centered on the church and former monastery of San Pedro y San Pablo, and as municipal seat...
, but it mysteriously disappeared from there to reappear in a small cave back in Iztapalapa. However, its importance stems from a miracle attributed to it. In 1833, the area was hit by a cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
plague. People appealed to this image and when the plague dissipated, this image was given credit. Yearly rites of gratitude to this image eventually developed into the borough’s annual Passion Play
Passion play
A Passion play is a dramatic presentation depicting the Passion of Jesus Christ: his trial, suffering and death. It is a traditional part of Lent in several Christian denominations, particularly in Catholic tradition....
. Since 1853, this church has been the center of most indigenous dance held. This is because in that year the archbishop of Mexico forbade “pagan” dances and to avoid confrontation, the dances began to be held here in the main atrium
Atrium (architecture)
In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...
. In 1875, the church was painted by Anacleto Escutia.
The most important monastery founded in the area in the colonial period was in Culhuacán by the Augustinians
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
. This monastery was begun in 1552 and dedicated to John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
. The Augustinians founded a school to teach indigenous languages which operated for over 100 years. It was also a center of paper making, taking advantage of springs and canals for water. The original church of the monastery was demolished a long time ago, but parts of the original complex still remain. The original church was replaced in the late 19th century by the San Juan Evangelista parish church, built between 1880 and 1897. The rest of the complex has been secularized since the 19th century and declared a national monument in 1944. From 1960 to 1984, it was occupied by INAH, which renovated it. Today, this complex is home to the Museo del Exconvento de Culhuacán (Museum of the Former Monastery of Culhuacán), inaugurated in 1987. The grounds around it are referred to as the Parque Historico y Centro comunitario Culhuacán (Culhuacán Historic Park and Community Center). The park contains an artificial pond and areas planted with native trees such as ahuejotes. The monastery complex itself still contains a number of fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
s on its walls, and its library is still an important cultural and research center. A number of the old monks’ cells now contain exhibits related to the institution.
Valley of Mexico
The Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations, including...
. The park covers over 1093 hectares (2,700.9 acre) and was established for recreational and cultural purposes. The hill (cerro) was the site of the Aztec New Fire ceremony
New Fire ceremony
The New Fire ceremony was an Aztec ceremony performed once every 52 years — a full cycle of the Aztec calendar— in order to stave off the end of the world....
, last performed in 1507. The park is also culturally important due to the annual Passion Play which is partially conducted on the summit of the cerro each year. The area is managed by the Secretaría de Agricultura y Recursos Hidráulicos, but it lost its original forest cover due to over-cutting of trees
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
. The ecosystem now on the site consists only of planted eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
and Pinus patula
Pinus patula
Patula pine, pino patula, pinus patula is a tree native to the highlands of Mexico. It grows from 24° to 18° North latitude and 1800 to 2700 m above sea level. 30 m tall...
trees, along with insects and rodents. There are also problems with illegal building and farming in areas.
The Museo Fuego Nuevo (New Fire Museum) was built by architect David Peña and inaugurated in 1998. The museum is dedicated to the history of the site, especially as related by the Fuego Nuevo Codex. There is evidence of the hill’s ritual use going back 4,000 years; however, the New Fire Ceremony was Aztec. Every 52 years ended one cycle and began another. The worry, however, was that the sun would not return and the ceremony was designed to ensure the sun’s return in the morning. Excavation of this site and others in the borough was begun in 1974 by INAH. This work has also uncovered fossilized human and mammoth remains in neighborhoods such as Santa María Aztahuacán and Santa Marta Acatitlán.
The Museo Cabeza de Juárez was constructed in 1976. This museum in Colonia Agua Prieta is an enormous multicolored monument of Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
’s head that measures 13 metres (42.7 ft) in height and weighs six tons. It was decorated by David Alfaro Siqueiros
David Alfaro Siqueiros
José David Alfaro Siqueiros was a social realist painter, known for his large murals in fresco that helped establish the Mexican Mural Renaissance, together with works by Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, and also a member of the Mexican Communist Party who participated in an...
but he died before he could finish the work. His brother-in-law, Luis Arenal Bastar
Luis Arenal Bastar
Luis Arenal Bastar was a Mexican painter, engraver and sculptor.- Biography :Luis Arenal had two siblings, a brother named Leopoldo, and a sister named Angélica, the later wife of David Alfaro Siqueiros....
completed it. The work is considered to be a fusion of painting, sculpting, engineering and architecture. Today, it contains a number of abstract murals, a permanent collection of lithographs and a large auditorium. The monument is a symbol of the eastern part of the city.
The Central de Abasto
Central de Abasto, Mexico City
The Central de Abasto is Mexico City’s main wholesale market for produce and other foodstuffs run similarly to traditional public markets. It was constructed to be the meeting point for producers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers for the entire country...
(Groceries Center) is Mexico City’s main wholesale market for produce and other foodstuffs. It was constructed to be the meeting point for producers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers for the entire country. The site accommodates more than 250,000 people each day and provides foodstuffs for most of the people of Mexico City area. The facility extends over 328 hectares (810.5 acre) and is the most important commercial center for the city. It is the largest such market in Latin America. It was established in the 1970s, over what were the remaining chinampa
Chinampa
Chinampa is a method of ancient Mesoamerican agriculture which used small, rectangle-shaped areas of fertile arable land to grow crops on the shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico.-Description:...
farming plots in the borough, effectively eliminating this tradition in this part of the city. The main building was inaugurated in 1982, built by Abraham Zabludovesky, as a slightly deformed hexagon measuring 2.25 metres (7.4 ft) across. It was built to take over from the La Merced Market
La Merced Market, Mexico City
The La Merced Market is a traditional public market located in the eastern edge of the historic center of Mexico City and is the largest retail traditional food market in the entire city. The area, also called La Merced, has been synonymous with commercial activity since the early colonial period...
, which was no longer large enough to meet the city’s needs for the wholesale distribution of produce and other foodstuffs.
The borough is also home to Mexico City and Mexico’s largest fish market, called La Nueva Viga
La Nueva Viga Market
La Nueva Viga Market is the largest seafood market in Mexico and the second largest after the Tsukiji fish market in Japan. It is located in Mexico City far inland from the coast, because of historical patterns of commerce in the country. The market handles 1,500 tons of seafood daily, representing...
, in Colonia San José Aculco on Prologación Eje 6 Sur. With 202 wholesalers and 165 retail outlets, it distributes about 60% of the country’s seafood production along with much of what is imported. The market begins business at 4:00 a.m., when delivery trucks bring in fresh fish from all over Mexico to the vendors. This daily delivery is about 500 tons and includes all kinds of seafood from shrimp to fish to shellfish to small sharks and manta ray
Manta ray
The manta ray is the largest species of the rays. The largest known specimen was more than across, with a weight of about . It ranges throughout waters of the world, typically around coral reefs...
s. The main fish market is here due to Mexico City’s role as economic center since the pre Hispanic period.
The Centro Cultural Iztapalapa was inaugurated in 1999, located between the two largest apartment complexes of the borough, the Iztapalapa and the Unidad Vicente Guerrero. It contains a forum for 800 people, lobby with two wings for expositions and workshops. Classes are given in guitar, dance, candlemaking, ceramics, and sewing. There is also an area for major event which can hold 1,500 people.
The community museum of San Miguel Teotongo on the highway to Puebla contains finds related to the ancient inhabitants of the area. Most relate to the pre-Hispanic period and include utensils, ceremonial objects, ceramics, obsidian blades and arrowheads and jewelry.
The Museo de Hidrobiologia (Hydrobiology
Hydrobiology
Hydrobiology is the science of life and life processes in water. Much of modern hydrobiology can be viewed as a sub-discipline of ecology but the sphere of hydrobiology includes taxonomy, economic biology, industrial biology, morphology, physiology etc. The one distinguishing aspect is that all...
Museum) mostly contains preserved example of the various species found in the different types of water found in Mexico. These include rivers, lakes, ponds, estuaries, beach areas as well as reefs offshore.
The current borough government building, or “palacio delegacional” were inaugurated in 1989. It contains a mural by Francisco Cárdenas done in 2003 called “Iztapalapa: Ayer, Hoy y Siempre” (Iztapalapa: Yesterday, Today and Always).
The borough contains two large penal institutions called the Centro de Ejecución de Sanciones Penales Varonil Oriente and the Centro de Readaptación Social Varonil Santa Martha Acatitla. The Centro de Ejecución de Sanciones Penales Varonil Oriente (Center for the Execution of Penal Sanctions for Men East), more commonly called the Reclusorio Oriente (East Prison) was inaugurated in 1987 for adult males. The building extends over a 10400 square metres (12,438.3 sq yd) surface in colonial San Lorenzo Tezonco. It contains five dormitories, intake center, workshops, sports facilities and classrooms. The Centro de Readaptación Social Varonil Santa Martha Acatitla (Center for Male Social Readaptation Santa Martha Acatitla) is for juvenile males which was inaugurated in 2003. It has a maximum population of 672 housed in four buildings with basketball court, dining hall, workshops, classrooms and computer room. A new building is under construction to bring the capacity up to 900 inmates.
Transportation
Mule
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
-drawn trolleys were introduced into the municipality to link it Mexico City via Jamaica
Metro Jamaica
Metro Jamaica is a station on the Mexico City Metro. It is located in Venustiano Carranza borough, in Mexico City and serves the serves the Sevilla neighbourhood. The station logo depicts an ear of corn. Its name refers to the nearby wholesale market of Jamaica, that sells flowers especially.This...
. These trolleys would be used to bring Mexican president Francisco I. Madero
Francisco I. Madero
Francisco Ignacio Madero González was a politician, writer and revolutionary who served as President of Mexico from 1911 to 1913. As a respectable upper-class politician, he supplied a center around which opposition to the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz could coalesce...
to celebrate his inauguration in 1912. Several train lines linked the area to other parts of Mexico by 1922. The first bus services between the center of Mexico City and the large market was begun in 1952.
Today, most transportation in the borough is on various roadways via public or private vehicle. Main avenues include Calzada Ermita-Iztapalapa, Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza, Calzada Benito Juárez, Calzada La Viga, Anillo Periférico
Anillo Periférico
The Anillo Periférico is the name given to the outer beltway of Mexico City. The beltway gained major media attention when the Mexico City mayor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, started a project to turn a southern section of the ring into a two-story highway...
Norte, Circuito Interior, Avenida Tláhuac, Avenida Plutarco Elias Calles. The “Eje” road system in the area includes Eje 3 Sur, Eje 4 Sur, Eje 5 Sur, Eje 6 Sur, Eje7 Sur, Eje 8 Sur, Eje 2 Oriente, Eje 3 Oriente, Eje 4 Oriente and Eje 5 Oriente. The main highway leaving Mexico City towards Puebla cuts through the borough. Each day about 80,000 vehicles pass through, making it the second busiest highway section in Mexico City. Many of these are local and intercity buses which can block two out of the three lanes. Construction work has been done to widen the highway, but political disputes have kept new lanes from opening as of early 2011. Public transportation includes several trolleybus
Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos
Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos del Distrito Federal is a public transport agency responsible for the operation of all trolleybus and light rail services in Mexico City. As its name implies, its routes use only electrically powered vehicles...
lines, busses, taxis and bicitaxis
Cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport; it is also known by a variety of other names such as velotaxi, pedicab, bikecab, cyclo, becak, trisikad, or trishaw or, simply, rickshaw which also refers to auto rickshaws, and the, now uncommon, rickshaws pulled by a person on foot...
. Line 8 and Line A of the Metro also pass through the borough.
Demographics
With a population of 1,815,768 as of the 2010 census, Iztapalapa is the most populous and fastest growing borough in Mexico City. It is also the most populous locality (localidad) in Mexico, larger than Ecatepec de MorelosEcatepec de Morelos
Ecatepec City, once officially San Cristóbal Ecatepec de Morelos, is a city in the State of México and the seat of Ecatepec de Morelos Municipality; however, both the city and the municipality are often known simply as "Ecatepec". The name "Ecatepec" is derived from Nahuatl, and means "windy hill"....
or Guadalajara
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
. Until the mid-20th century, the area was rural, but migration into the borough began in the 1970s as this is the only area with significant land that could be developed. From 1970 to 1980, it accounted for 54.3% of the city’s population increase. From 1980 to 1990, Iztapalapa gained 341,988, more than 1.6 times that of the rest of the city. Most of the migration came from families leaving the center of the city, but more importantly many migrants from other parts of Mexico into the city settled in the relatively cheap Iztapalapa. In the last decades, the population increase of the borough has accounted for 83% of the population growth of Mexico City. Today, the population of the borough accounts for over 20.5% of Federal District’s total. The population growth has slowed somewhat, but at its peak in the 1990s, it was over 100%. This population growth has spurred the location of most of the city’s housing projects of the last decades in this area. The borough’s population is still expected to increase at a rate of 0.77%. While migration into the borough is significant, there is very little migration out into other parts of Mexico or abroad.
Most of the borough’s residents are poor to middle class, with a very large percentage of youth. Just over 42% of the population is considered to be socioeconomically marginalized, meaning there are fully or partially excluded from social and/or municipal services of one type or another. While this is not the highest level of all the boroughs, since Iztapalapa has the highest population by a significant margin, most of the city’s marginalized are here with just under 9% of Mexico City’s total. The population between 0 and 19 years of age represents about 40% of the total. Next are those between 20 and 34, who account for about 29% of the total. A large percentage of the population of the borough is under 15 at 36.4%, with only 7.6% over 50.
Languages
During the colonial period into the 19th century, Iztapalapa was mostly indigenous, with small population of European descent and mestizoMestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
s. Migration into the area eventually would change the ethnic composition to primarily mestizo and the Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
language would essentially disappear. As of 2005, only about two percent of the population speaks an indigenous language, with 94.8% bilingual in Spanish as well. This is about equal to the city average. However, the borough contains about 25% of the total ethnic indigenous of the city. Most of the indigenous languages found in the borough are those associated with the state of Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
, such as Zapotec
Zapotec language
The Zapotec language are a group of closely related indigenous Mesoamerican languages spoken by the Zapotec people from the southwestern-central highlands of Mexico. Present-day native speakers are estimated to number over half a million, with the majority inhabiting the state of Oaxaca....
, Mixteca
Mixtecan languages
The Mixtec language, actually multiple languages, belong to Otomanguean language family of Mexico, and are closely related to the Trique and Cuicatec languages. They are spoken by over half a million people. Identifying how many Mixtec languages there are in this complex dialect continuum poses...
and Chatina. Oaxacan languages account for 34.9% of the total. Uto-Aztecan languages
Uto-Aztecan languages
Uto-Aztecan or Uto-Aztekan is a Native American language family consisting of over 30 languages. Uto-Aztecan languages are found from the Great Basin of the Western United States , through western, central and southern Mexico Uto-Aztecan or Uto-Aztekan is a Native American language family...
account for 23.32% which include Tarahumara
Tarahumara language
The Tarahumara language is a Mexican indigenous language of the Uto-Aztecan language family spoken by around 70,000 Tarahumara people in the state of Chihuahua, according to an estimate by the government of Mexico.-Genetic affiliation:Tarahumara belongs to the Taracahitic group of the Uto-Aztecan...
, Mayo
Mayo language
Mayo is an Uto-Aztecan language. It is spoken by about 40,000 people, the Mexican Mayo or Yoreme Indians, who live in the South of the Mexican state of Sonora and in the North of the neighboring state of Sinaloa...
, Yaqui
Yaqui language
Yaqui , locally known as Yoeme or Yoem Noki, is a Native American language of the Uto-Aztecan family. It is spoken by about 15,000 people, mostly of the border Yaqui people, in the region around the Mexican state of Sonora, and Arizona in the United States.-Phonology:The remarks below use the...
, Cora
Cora language
The Cora language is an indigenous language of Mexico of the Uto-Aztecan language family. It is spoken by the ethnic group that is widely known as the Cora but who refer to themselves as Naáyarite. The Cora inhabit the northern sierra of the Mexican state Nayarit which is named after its indigenous...
and Huichol
Huichol language
The Huichol language is an indigenous language of Mexico which belongs to the Uto-Aztecan language family. It is spoken by the ethnic group widely known as the Huichol , whose mountainous territory extends over portions of the Mexican states of Jalisco, Nayarit, and Durango, mostly in Jalisco...
. Another significant percentage are those of the Oto-Pamean languages
Oto-Pamean languages
The Oto-Pamean languages are a branch of the Oto-Manguean languages of central Mexico that includes are half a dozen languages, or more accurately dialect clusters:*Otomian: Otomi, Mazahua*Matlatzinca*Pamean*Chichimeca...
which include Otomi
Otomi language
Otomi is an Oto-Manguean language and one of the indigenous languages of Mexico, spoken by approximately 240,000 indigenous Otomi people in the central altiplano region of Mexico. The language is spoken in many different dialects, some of which are not mutually intelligible, therefore it is in...
, Mazahua
Mazahua language
The Mazahua language is an indigenous language of Mexico, spoken in the country's central states by the ethnic group widely known as the Mazahua but who refer to themselves as Hñatho. Mazahua is a Mesoamerican language and shows many of the traits which define the Mesoamerican Linguistic Area...
and Matlatzinca
Matlatzinca language
The Matlatzinca language, also called Tlahuica or Ocuiltec, is an indigenous language of Mexico spoken by the Matlatzinca people in the southern part of the State of Mexico. It is an Oto-Manguean language of the Oto-Pamean subgroup...
.The only language which has been spoken in Mexico not represented in Iztapalapa is Kickapoo
Fox language
Fox is an Algonquian language, spoken by around 1000 Fox, Sauk, and Kickapoo in various locations in the Midwestern United States and in northern Mexico...
.
Religion
The overwhelming majority of the population is CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, although this has declined by 1.9% since the 1990s. Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
and Evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
sects have grown to about 6% of the population, with less than 2% professing no faith.
Education
The first public primary school classes in Iztapalapa were established in 1914 under the government of Venustiano CarranzaVenustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza de la Garza, was one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution. He ultimately became President of Mexico following the overthrow of the dictatorial Huerta regime in the summer of 1914 and during his administration the current constitution of Mexico was drafted...
at Escuela Enrique Laubscher and in the San Lucas Church. However, during the government of Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas del Río was President of Mexico from 1934 to 1940.-Early life:Lázaro Cárdenas was born on May 21, 1895 in a lower-middle class family in the village of Jiquilpan, Michoacán. He supported his family from age 16 after the death of his father...
, many in the borough refused to send their children to school, afraid that they would be indoctrinated against the Catholic faith. Today, the borough has sufficient educational infrastructure, with most schools belonging to the primary level. There are a number of institutions of higher education such as UAM
Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana
The Metropolitan Autonomous University is a public university located in Mexico City, Mexico...
, and the Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza of UNAM
Unam
UNAM or UNaM may refer to:* National University of Misiones, a National University in Posadas, Argentina*National Autonomous University of Mexico , the large public autonomous university based in Mexico City...
. There are 452 preschools, 612 primary schools, 191 middle schools, 21 vocational schools, 35 high schools, and two teachers’ colleges. Ninety-five percent of children between five and nine years of age attend school, with 96% of those between 10 and 14. Only 62% of those between 15 and 19 attend school and 27% of those between 20 and 24. About 4% of the population above the age of six is illiterate with 63% of this number being female. The highest rates of illiteracy are in the 65 and older age group.
The Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana was established in 1974 with three campuses in Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco is one of the 16 delegaciones into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. Azcapotzalco is in the northwestern part of Mexico City...
, Xochimilco
Xochimilco
Xochimilco is one of the sixteen delegaciones or boroughs within Mexican Federal District. The borough is centered on the formerly independent city of Xochimilco, which was established on what was the southern shore of Lake Xochimilco in the pre-Hispanic period...
and Iztapalapa. Iztapalapa was constructed first and covers an area of 177966 square metres (212,845.6 sq yd). Most of the institution’s research work is conducted at the Iztapalapa campus. Other institutions include the University Autónoma dela Ciudad de México, San Lorenzo Campus and the Instituto Tecnológico de Iztapalapa.
Economy
The two most important economic activities in the borough are manufacturing and commerce. Sixty-three percent of all business establishments are dedicated to commerce, which employ 42% of the people and accounts for 45% of the borough’s GDP. Commerce and services together employ 63.3% of the population. Twenty-four percent of this commerce is wholesale, much of which is tied to the Central de AbastoCentral de Abasto, Mexico City
The Central de Abasto is Mexico City’s main wholesale market for produce and other foodstuffs run similarly to traditional public markets. It was constructed to be the meeting point for producers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers for the entire country...
and the La Nueva Viga
La Nueva Viga Market
La Nueva Viga Market is the largest seafood market in Mexico and the second largest after the Tsukiji fish market in Japan. It is located in Mexico City far inland from the coast, because of historical patterns of commerce in the country. The market handles 1,500 tons of seafood daily, representing...
markets. However, wholesale businesses have declined 2.8% while retail establishment have increased 8.1%. This has a positive effect on employment, but this activity adds less to the GDP. The largest sector of retail sales is in street markets called tianguis
Tianguis
A tianguis 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 essentially unchanged into the present day....
, followed by public markets, street peddlers and lastly through the Central de Abasto.
A total of 32.5% is employed in industry, minerals and construction. Industry includes food processing, bottling, tobacco products, metals, machinery, surgical equipment, paper and printing and textiles. Only 0.3% is now employed in agriculture or livestock.
Passion Play
The Passion PlayPassion play
A Passion play is a dramatic presentation depicting the Passion of Jesus Christ: his trial, suffering and death. It is a traditional part of Lent in several Christian denominations, particularly in Catholic tradition....
of Iztapalapa has its origin in an outbreak of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
in 1833, which left many dead and many children orphaned. A procession was performed to a image of Christ called the “Señor de la Cuevita” (Lord of the Little Cave) to end the epidemic. When it subsided, it was considered a miracle and various cults to this Christ figure appeared. Expressions of gratitude to this figure eventually consolidated into two annual events. The first is a Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
in honor of this images, now known as the Fiesta de Solteras de Septiembre. The second is the annual Passion Play.
The Passion Play is considered to be part of “folk religion,” supported by clergy but not considered to be liturgy. The Passion Play has antecedents in the plays put on by evangelizers to teach the Catholic faith and to get the indigenous to renounce their former beliefs. However, the passion play incorporates areas which were special or sacred to the pre Hispanic world, including the gardens that once belonged to the emperor Cuitláhuac
Cuitláhuac
Cuitláhuac or Cuitláhuac was the 10th tlatoani of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan for 80 days during the year Two Flint ....
and the hill on which the New Fire ceremony
New Fire ceremony
The New Fire ceremony was an Aztec ceremony performed once every 52 years — a full cycle of the Aztec calendar— in order to stave off the end of the world....
was performed. The Passion Play started as a number of reenactment events held in a number of places in the borough during Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
and Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
, including a procession with the Señor de la Cuevita on the fifth Friday of Lent. However, by the early 20th century, one main passion play for the borough had come into existence. According to one local legend, Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata Salazar was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910, and which was initially directed against the president Porfirio Díaz. He formed and commanded an important revolutionary force, the Liberation Army of the South, during the Mexican Revolution...
lent his horses for the 1914 version of the play.
Since that time, this Passion Play has become a major event with the participation of 450 actors and attended by 2 million people over the course of the week and 2,000 police to provide security. This includes people from other parts of Mexico, from abroad and from the media. It is the most crowded and best known of its type in Mexico. The most crowded day is Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
, but as many as 40,000 are expected on Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. ....
at the start of the event. The reenactments start on Palm Sunday and last until Easter Sunday with various Biblical scenes related to the life and death of Jesus played out. The most important episodes include the blessing of the palms on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great & Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles as described in the Canonical gospels...
in the Cuitláhuac Garden, and Good Friday, with the sentencing, the crown of thorns and the crucifixion. At the Señor de la Cuevita Sanctuary, the scene of the expulsion of the money changers from the temple is re enacted. The Palm Sunday procession proceeds then to the Casa de la Mayordomía in the San Miguel barrio followed by hundreds dressed as Nazarenes and thousands more spectators. After the death of Jesus is played out, the “body” is lowered and taken to the Cuitláhuac Plaza where it is “buried” and “guarded” by people playing Roman soldiers. In 2010, the Passion Play was submitted to UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
to become a intangible cultural heritage
Intangible cultural heritage
The concept of intangible cultural heritage emerged in the 1990s, as a counterpart to the World Heritage that focuses mainly on tangible aspects of culture...
.
Most Iztapalapa residents seek roles but not all are selected. The most coveted role is that of Jesus, which is selected each year by the Comité Organizador de Iztapalapa. Next is the role of the Virgin Mary. These are reserved for single young people, who do not have children, addictions, tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
s and can demonstrate their Catholic faith. The role of Jesus requires physical conditioning to carry the cross, which weight about 198 pounds. For a year, the chosen Jesus exercises daily as well as prays to prepare physically and spiritually. The Passion and Death are played out at the Cerro de la Estrella, emulating Calvary
Calvary
Calvary or Golgotha was the site, outside of ancient Jerusalem’s early first century walls, at which the crucifixion of Jesus is said to have occurred. Calvary and Golgotha are the English names for the site used in Western Christianity...
. The man playing Jesus must carry the cross 2.5 miles (4 km) from the center of Iztapalapa to the summit of the Cerro de las Estrellas to be crucified. The day after Easter Sunday the selection committee meets to choose the next Jesus and Mary.
While this Passion Play is the best known, events related to Holy Week take place in all parts and parishes of the borough including other re-enactments done by children as well as smaller events in Santiago Acahualtepec and Culhuacán which are more recent. Prisoners at the Reclusorio Oriente hold their own Passion Play with the involvement of about 80 people.
Nuevo Fuego Festival
The Festival del Fuego Nuevo (New Fire Festival) is an annual event held in November/December with events such as music, dance, theatre, cinema and art exhibitions. This event is named after the Aztec New Fire ceremonyNew Fire ceremony
The New Fire ceremony was an Aztec ceremony performed once every 52 years — a full cycle of the Aztec calendar— in order to stave off the end of the world....
, which was celebrated every 52 years at the summit of the Cerro de la Estrella hill. This was a solemn ceremony when all fires were extinguished with a “new fire” ignited at night to provoke the return of the sun in the morning as well as the mark the beginning of a new 52-year cycle on the Aztec calendar. This “new fire” would then be distributed among the populace. The last ancient ceremony was held in 1507. While named for the ancient New Fire ceremony, the modern version is a cultural festival dedicated to the area’s culture past and present. The festival is divided into four “axis” called “Traditions of the Ancient Mexicans,” “The Footsteps of Zapata,” “Sounds of the Underworld” and New Fire and Mexican Contemporary Cinema.”
Other events
To celebrate the Christmas season, the borough sponsors various activities such as Christmas plays, processions “posadas” as well as cultural events such as dance recitals.History
The borough is named after a city which was founded here in the pre-Hispanic period. “Iztapalapa” comes from NahuatlNahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
and means “in the waters of the banks,” referring to its position along the lakeshore, situated partly on dry land and partly over water.
Like the pre-Hispanic villages of Xochimilco and Tláhuac, Iztapalapa began as a village on the shores of the lake system and dedicated to farming on chinampa
Chinampa
Chinampa is a method of ancient Mesoamerican agriculture which used small, rectangle-shaped areas of fertile arable land to grow crops on the shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico.-Description:...
s. The first settlements on this side of Lake Texcoco
Lake Texcoco
Lake Texcoco was a natural lake formation within the Valley of Mexico. The Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlan on an island in the lake. The Spaniards built Mexico City over Tenochtitlan...
were formed by refugees from the fall of Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas...
at the base of the Cerro de Culhuacán hill. These people were led by a chief named Mixcoatl and would become known as the Culhuas. At that time, the area was a peninsula jutting onto the lake formed by the Sierra de Santa Catarina. The first city on this peninsula was Culhuacán on the south side next to the Cerro de la Estrella, which grew to contain various neighborhoods surrounded by chinampas, or artificial islands in the lake used to grow food. These and the exploitation of lake resources was the basis of the city’s economy.
Chinampa agriculture would be important in many areas of the Valley of Mexico, including the area of Iztapalapa. Chinampas here were made from reeds, tree branches and lake mud, growing corn, beans and wide variety of vegetables. These chinampas, now known as neighborhoods called Tezontitla, El Bordo, El Moral, Las Largas, Las Cuadradas, Tecorrales, Zapotla and others were separated by small canals and some of them had docks. They were also an ecosystem home to wide variety of land and aquatic flora and fauna, including storks, flowers, trees, reeds, quetzals, frogs, and fish. The chinampas remained in private hands until 1970, when they were expropriated to construct the Central de Abasto, which eliminated them.
Culhuacan was moved to a site called Tollantzingo in the 950s, and shortly after that migrants from Tula
Tula, Hidalgo
Tula, formally, Tula de Allende, is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 305.8 km² , and as of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 93,296, with 28,432 in the town...
came into the area to settle as well, bringing with them the worship of Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
. Other pre-Hispanic settlements in the Iztapalapa area were established and grew as well, including Hitzilopochco (Churubusco), Mexicaltzingo and Iztapalapa. These would be the four main settlements of the area, with close relations that would last into the colonial era, when they were part of the Mexicaltzingo corregimiento. The village of Iztapalapa has its origins in the fall of Teotihuacan in the 8th century. Ancient Iztapalapa has alliances and disputes mostly with the other dominions with economies based on chinampas, such as Xochimilco, Chalco
Chalco
Aluminum Corporation of China Limited, also known as Chalco , is a multinational aluminum company headquartered in Beijing, People's Republic of China...
and Mixquic. By the 11th century, the Toltec
Toltec
The Toltec culture is an archaeological Mesoamerican culture that dominated a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo in the early post-classic period of Mesoamerican chronology...
descendants had become dominant with the area with Culhuacán becoming the capital of a dominion in 1114. The main rulers of this city included Nauhyotl, Cuauhtexpetlatzin, Huetzin, Nonoalcatle and Cuauhtonal who ruled between 1120 and 1251. In the middle of the 13th century, the Toltecs were displaced by the Chichimeca
Chichimeca
Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian"...
s, who ruled it from 1250 to 1400 under various rulers.
One of the tribes that moved into the Valley of Mexico in the 14th century were the Mexica
Mexica
The Mexica were a pre-Columbian people of central Mexico.Mexica may also refer to:*Mexica , a board game designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling*Mexica , a 2005 novel by Norman Spinrad...
, at a time when the city of Culhuacán was powerful. However, the area was divided into a number of dominions around the lake system of the valley, which vied among themselves for dominance. As late arrivals, the Mexica wandered among the various dominions and were granted permission to settle in Culhuacán territory. They lived together mostly peacefully. However, records indicate that the Mexicas were forced into servitude as punishment for raids by young warriors to carry off women from neighboring settlements. One legend states that problems between the two peoples began when the Mexica asked for and received a Culhua princess, Achitómetla, to become a goddess of war. The ceremony required the woman to be sacrified, angering Culhuacán. The Mexica were eventually forced off Culhua lands and forced to settle on an island on the west side of the lake, although the stronger city of Culhuacán maintained relations with them. This new settlement, called Tenochtitlan, would begin rising and dominating since its establishment in 1325. The Aztec Triple Alliance
Aztec Triple Alliance
The Aztec Triple Alliance, or Aztec Empire began as an alliance of three Nahua city-states or "altepeme": Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan...
would be formed in the early 1400s, as part of the process of uniting the Nahuatl-speaking peoples of the valley.
Part of this process included legitimizing the lineage Tenochtitlan’s rulers. These Mexica rulers used the time they spent in Culhuacán territory, and the links formed from it for this purpose. The ruling family could trace its ancestors back to Culhuacán ruler Nahuyotl. This and various marital ties from the past would make these new rulers descendents from the old. This was formalized with the government of Acamapichtli
Acamapichtli
Acamapichtli was the first tlatoani, or ruler, of the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan, and founder of the Aztec imperial dynasty. He became ruler in 1375 and reigned for 19 years.- Family and early life :...
, who was granted the title of “culhua tecuhtli” (Lord of the Culhuas) . The Alliance came to include thirty dominions, with Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan
Tlacopan
Tlacopan , also called Tacuba, was a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican city-state situated on the western shore of Lake Texcoco.Founded by Tlacomatzin, Tlacopan was a Tepanec kingdom subordinate to nearby Azcapotzalco...
, with Texcoco dominating the formerly powerful city of Culhuacán as well as Iztapalapa. As Tenochtitlan’s power grew, it eventually ruled the new empire alone.
As one of the first members of the Alliance, Iztapalapa was not conquered. It was indirectly ruled by Tenochtitlan as part of a confederation of four city-states (along with Mexicaltzingo, Huitzilopochco and Culhuacán) allied with the Mexica. Later, Itzcoatl
Itzcóatl
Itzcoatl was the fourth emperor of the Aztecs, ruling from 1427 to 1440, the period when the Mexica threw off the domination of the Tepanecs and laid the foundations for the eventual Aztec Empire.- Biography :...
’s son, Huehua Cuitlahuatzin would be made ruler of Iztapalapa. Under this arrangement, Iztapalapa did not pay tribute to Tenochtitlan, they did have to supply labor for major projects as well as military service. Iztapalapa was important in pre Hispanic times militarily and religiously as the side of the Huixachtécatl, today called the Cerro de la Estrella. This was the site of the New Fire ceremony
New Fire ceremony
The New Fire ceremony was an Aztec ceremony performed once every 52 years — a full cycle of the Aztec calendar— in order to stave off the end of the world....
, held once every 52 years, beginning anew cycle of years. The ceremony also required the destruction of all household goods to be replaced by new. Women and children would stay at home while the men participated in the distribution of the “new fire.” It was celebrated a total of nine times, with the last one in 1507 (2 acatl by the Aztec calendar). For this last celebration, Moctezuma
Moctezuma II
Moctezuma , also known by a number of variant spellings including Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecuhzoma and referred to in full by early Nahuatl texts as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, was the ninth tlatoani or ruler of Tenochtitlan, reigning from 1502 to 1520...
had a temple construction on the summit called the Ayauhcalli, later named “the church of the New Fire” by the Spanish.
By the time the Spanish arrived, Culhuacán was no longer an important city; rather it had been eclipsed by Iztapalapa as one of the Aztec royal town, chosen as such due to its defensive position. At that time, the area has about 10,000 inhabitants dedicated to chinampa agriculture and the raising of fish and birds. A causeway linking Iztapalapa and Tenochtitlan was one of the most important roads in the area. The construction of this causeway began in 1429 under Itzcoatl, using labor from peoples from the south of the valley such as the Xochimilcas. It consisted of artificial land built up from the shallow lake bottom, rising about a meter and a half over the lake’s surface and extending for about 8 kilometres (5 mi). It was wide enough for horses to cross in pairs. The causeway was divided by a fort called Xoloc, made of stone with towers, merlon
Merlon
In architecture, a merlon forms the solid part of an embattled parapet, sometimes pierced by embrasures. The space between two merlons is usually called a crenel, although those later designed and used for cannons were called embrasures.-Etymology:...
s and gates to control entrance and exit. This causeway also had a branch leading to Coyoacán. Its ruler was Cuitláhuac
Cuitláhuac
Cuitláhuac or Cuitláhuac was the 10th tlatoani of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan for 80 days during the year Two Flint ....
, born in 1476 as younger brother of Moctezuma Ilhuicamina and son of Axayacatl
Axayacatl
Axayacatl was the sixth Aztec Emperor, a ruler of the Postclassic Mesoamerican Aztec Empire and city of Tenochtitlan, who reigned from 1469 to 1481.He is chiefly remembered for subjugating Tlatelolco, Tenochtitlan's sister city, in 1473....
. Cuitláhuac received the Spanish in Iztapalapa before they went onto Tenochtitlan. They met in a garden which most Aztec lords had as a refuge and to demonstrate culture. In the center of the garden was a large palace made of sandstone and fine woods such as cedar.
In 1519, the Spanish took Moctezuma, Cacamatzin
Cacamatzin
Cacamatzin was the king of Texcoco, the second most important city of the Aztec Empire.Cacamatzin was a son of the previous king Nezahualpilli by one of his mistresses. Traditionally, the Texcocan kings were elected by the nobility from the most able of the royal family...
(ruler of Texcoco), Cuitlahuac and other nobles as prisoners. Cortés was then forced to return to Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
to face Spanish authorities, leaving Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico, and in the conquest of Mexico led by Hernan Cortes...
in charge. Alvarado had hundreds of Aztec nobles killed. After Cortés returned, he liberated Cuitláhuac in exchange for supplies, allowing the lord to organize an army against the Spanish. Cuitlahuac succeeded Moctezuma as Aztec emperor and forced the Spanish to flee during the Noche Triste. However, Cuitlahuac was ruler only somewhere between 40 and 80 days according to various records. He spent that time repairing the city of Tenochtitlan as the Spanish regrouped in Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala (Nahua state)
Tlaxcala was a pre-Columbian city state of central Mexico.Tlaxcala was a confederation of four altepetl — Ocotelolco, Quiahuiztlan, Tepeticpac and Tizatlan — which each took turns providing a ruler for Tlaxcala as a whole.-History:Tlaxcala was never conquered by the Aztec empire, but was...
. Cuitlahuac died of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
in December of 1520, with Cuauhtémoc
Cuauhtémoc
Cuauhtémoc was the Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521...
succeeding him.
After the Spanish and their allies regrouped in Tlaxcala, Cortés decided to attack Iztapalapa before besieging the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, in part to secure supplies. The city of Iztapalapa had about 10,000 people with about two-thirds of its structures built over water. Eight thousand Aztecs defended the city on land and on water. Cortés and his indigenous allied burned, massacred and destroyed the city completely. But after the battle, when the Spanish let down their guard, Iztapalapa opened water channels to flood the city and drown the invaders. Most of the Spanish survived, but many of their Indian allies did not and were drowned. The Spanish lost all of their gunpowder.
After the Conquest, the pre-Hispanic temples of the area were destroyed, the Iztapalapa and surrounding cities were subjugated by Gonzalo de Sandoval
Gonzalo de Sandoval
Gonzalo de Sandoval was a Spanish conquistador in New Spain and briefly co-governor of the colony while Hernan Cortés was away from the capital .-Arrival in New Spain:Sandoval was the youngest of the lieutenants of Cortés. They arrived together in New Spain in 1519...
. The process was brutal, as the area was highly loyal to Tenochtitlan, with more than 5,000 people killed by both war and epidemics. By the first census of New Spain in 1552, Culhuacan was down to 817 inhabitants, and 260 in Mexicaltzingo.
Following the destruction of the temples, Augustinians
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
and Franciscans moved in to build churches and monasteries. The Augustinians began construction of the Culhuacán monastery in 1552, built in various stages. It was dedicated to John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
. They founded a school to teach indigenous languages which operated for 100 years. The Franciscans built a monastery in Huitzilopochco as well as small churches in San Marcos Mexicaltzingo and in Santa Marta and Nativitas Tepetlacingo. The churches of San Lucas Evangelista, San Marcos Mexicaltzingo, San Juan Evangelista and the chapels of Calvario and Santa Martha Acatitla were all built over foundations of pre-Hispanic temples which the Spanish had destroyed. These were built with much of the material from the destroyed temples. However, by the end of the 18th century, all of these would be in the hands of normal clergy.
Iztapalapa and several other nearby communities were initially under the direct control of Mexico City, but shortly after only Iztapalapa would remain so. Mexicaltzingo belonged to the Spanish Crown from early on. Iztapalapa became a tributary of Mexico City, required to provide food, manual labor and more. At the end of the 16th century, it too became property of the Spanish Crown. Other areas of the modern borough were made into encomienda
Encomienda
The encomienda was a system that was employed mainly by the Spanish crown during the colonization of the Americas to regulate Native American labor....
s. Culhuacan came under the control of Cristobal de Oñate
Cristóbal de Oñate
Cristóbal de Oñate was a Spanish Basque explorer, conquistador and colonial official in New Spain. He is considered the founder of the contemporary city of Guadalajara in 1531, as well as other places in Nueva Galicia .-Background:Oñate was born in 1552 in Vitoria or Oñate, in the Basque country...
, which remained in the family until the system was abolished. Later in the colonial period, the area would become a corregimiento
Corregimiento
Corregimiento is a term used in Colombia to define a subdivision of Colombian departments. According to the Colombian Constitution of 1991 and Decree 2274 of October 4, 1991, Corregimiento is an internal part of a Department or province, which includes a population core...
headed by Mexicaltzingo and later an “alcaldia mayor” as it grew to include areas such as Los Reyes
Los Reyes Acaquilpan
Los Reyes Acaquilpan is a city and governing head of the municipality of La Paz in Mexico State, Mexico. It is located on the dividing line between Mexico State and the eastern edge of the Federal District. It can therefore be considered part of the Greater Mexico City area...
and Santa Marta.
During the colonial period, Iztapalapa was very rural, notable only as one of the primary providers of produce and flowers to Mexico City and its lake and canal transportation. Culhuacán had eighteen villages surrounding it in the pre Hispanic era, butby the 18th century, only San Lorenzo Tezonco and Santiago Acahualtepec remained. In the middle of the 18th century, there were still only 80 families in Iztapalapa, with 31 of them being Spanish. By the end of the same century, that would become 130 indigenous families distributed into nine barrios and three villages. At the end of the colonial period Iztapalapa would also include three haciendas and two ranches. During much of this time, Iztapalapa was also a stopover for travelers between Mexico City and Puebla or Veracruz. There were two main canals through here that connected the area with Chalco and Xochimilco. One of these was the Canal de la Viga, which was an important means of transporting corn, beans, vegetables and more into the capital These canals had control and customs checkpoints which divided Mexico City from rural areas. The most important of these was the La Viga control point due to the merchandise that passed through.
After the Mexican War of Independence
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The movement, which became known as the Mexican War of Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought...
, the Federal District of Mexico City was established as the new nation’s capital in 1824. The village of Iztapalapa became part of this district at the same time, but the borough had not yet been established. It would remain an autonomous settlement. In 1828, it was one of the municipalities outside of Mexico City proper. The rest of the 19th century would be concerned with disease and the status of the area’s water transportation. A cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic in 1833 prompted the first passion play to be performed in this area, which has been performed since. In the middle of the 19th century, the town of Iztapalapa had 3,416 inhabitants. Drainage of the lakes in the Valley of Mexico
Valley of Mexico
The Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations, including...
would have an effect on the size and arrangement of water transportation. According to records, the ancient “Calzada de los Indios” (Indian Causeway) that linked Iztapalapa and the Villa Guadalupe
Villa Guadalupe
Villa Guadalupe is a former town near what is now Mexico City which in 1531 was the site of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the most renowned Marian apparition in the Americas. She can be venerated in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine, located in the villa .Villa de Guadalupe is located in...
was destroyed in 1835. Much of what is now the borough was lake or crisscrossed by various canals, which carried barge, canoe and even steamship traffic until the late 19th century. New canals were dug to connect Mexico City with Peñón Viejo, Chalco and San Isidro as well as the villages of Ayotla, Tlapicahua and Tlapacoya. By the end of this century, much of the lake and many of the small canals had dried. The main ones were the Mexicaltzingo canal and those near the Churubusco River. The Mexicalcingo canal was widened for steamships.
The canals would remain a part of the borough until the mid 20th century. Efforts to preserve the system began in 1920, when ejido
Ejido
The ejido system is a process whereby the government promotes the use of communal land shared by the people of the community. This use of community land was a common practice during the time of Aztec rule in Mexico...
owners turned over land to construct new ones. In the 1930s, many of the barrios of Iztapalapa were still marked by canals and still grew vegetables, fruits and flowers. Major traffic was confined mostly to the Canal Nacional on the borough’s border. However, groundwater pumping started in the 1950s lowered water tables and began the process of destroying the rest of the canals, and most of the chinampa
Chinampa
Chinampa is a method of ancient Mesoamerican agriculture which used small, rectangle-shaped areas of fertile arable land to grow crops on the shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico.-Description:...
s along with them.
Industrialization began in the area in the 1890s but agriculture remained the most important economic activity. Most of the population in the area still lived in poor huts. In 1916, the hacienda
Hacienda
Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Many haciendas combined these productive activities...
s and ranches of Iztapalapa were broken up and divided into ejido
Ejido
The ejido system is a process whereby the government promotes the use of communal land shared by the people of the community. This use of community land was a common practice during the time of Aztec rule in Mexico...
s; however the area remained extremely poor and there were disputes between Iztapalapa and neighboring Zapotitlán over ejido land. In 1920, the population was over 20,000 Iztapalapa would remain rural and poor until the 1950s, when its population and its urbanization began in earnest. In the 1940s, the urban sprawl of Mexico City had reached sections of the borough and furthering this was promoted by the federal government which favored industry over agriculture. In 1940, the chinampas suffered when the Canal de la Viga was drained, and only runoff from the Cerro de la Estrella was still available. Groundwater pumping dried swamps, allowing for more urbanization.
Iztapalapa had been semi-independent of Mexico City since the colonial era, but politically organized in various ways. It has been part of the Federal District since it was created, but this District was an unstable entity in the 19th century as Liberals, who favored a federalist government, fought with Conservatives, who favored a more centralized regime
Reform War
The Reform War in Mexico is one of the episodes of the long struggle between Liberal and Conservative forces that dominated the country’s history in the 19th century. The Liberals wanted a federalist government, limiting traditional Catholic Church and military influence in the country...
. Thus much of the borough would either be part of the Federal District or the State/Department of Mexico, depending on who was in power during the first half of the 19th century. The Federal District, including Iztapalapa, would be permanently restored in 1848, and then enlarged to its current dimensions between 1853 and 1854. Since that time, the Federal District has been reorganized several times, usually separating the Mexico City and making the other areas of the District either districts or municipalities
Municipalities of Mexico
Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico, making the average municipality population 45,616...
. The current borough system was established in 1928. This created the current borough of Iztapalapa, centered on and named over the former municipality of Iztapalapa. This borough’s government was appointed by the Mexican federal government until 1970, when borough presidents began to be democratically elected.
From the 1950s to the present, the borough’s history has been dominated by its population growth and urbanization, along with the problems that come with it. Before 1970, the area still had various types of flora including forested hills, ponds and other surface water, grasslands and more. Chinampas and other farmland still existed as well. In the 1970s, waves of migrants from other parts of the country began to move into the borough. This prompted the building of a number of large apartment complexes including Unidad Vicente Guerrero, Unidad Ejército de Oriente, Unidad Santa Cruz Meyehualco, Conjunto Urbano Popular Ermita Zaragoza and Unidad Habitacional Ejército Constitucionalista. By 1980, all the of land that could be developed legally was, but the population continued to grow. In the 1990s, the borough had growth rates of over 100% according to INEGI. By 2000, the population of the borough accounted for over 20% of the total of the Federal District, the largest in population. Now almost all of the land in the borough has been urbanized, with only the highest elevations and a few family farm plots without buildings. The only green spaces are parks controlled by local or federal authorities, where various types of trees can still be found.
In 2006, there was a dispute in the election for borough president, between Rafael Acosta Angeles, better known as “Juanito” and Clara Brugada
Clara Brugada
Clara Marina Brugada Molina , is a Mexican politician, member of the Party of the Democratic Revolution. She is currently serving as Chief of the Office of the Iztapalapa borough in Mexico City.-References:...
. Juanito and supporters blocked the main entrance to the borough offices, but allowed employees access through other entrances. The protest was to have him declared the winner of borough president elections. In the end, Brugada retained the position.