By Russell Kelley
Queridos Amigos,
Today is Cinco de Mayo, the Mexican holiday commemorating the Mexican army’s victory over the French forces of Napoléon III at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Although the Franco Mexican War continued for another five years before the French were finally driven out of Mexico, the victory at Puebla became a symbol of Mexican resistance to foreign domination1.
We visited Mexico City at the end of April. We had five clear days – Thursday through Monday – and our in-house travel agent ensured we made the most of them by cleverly arranging a flight that departed Palm Beach International Airport at 7 am on Thursday morning, and a return flight that arrived at PBI at 12:27 am on Tuesday morning. That way, we had a half-day to see the sights on both Thursday and Monday, if you disregard the effects of sleep deprivation.
Mexico City is a sprawling city of 21 million (the fifth most populous city in the world) covering 577 square miles in the Valle (Valley) de México at an altitude of 7,350 feet, surrounded by volcanic mountains. The valley was once covered by a series of shallow lakes that have gradually been drained over the past 500 years. The construction of Mexico City on this unstable lake bed makes it more susceptible to damage caused by earthquakes, as occurred in the 1985 earthquake that killed 10,000 people and leveled 412 buildings.
What became Mexico City was built by the Spanish after Hernán Cortés’s conquest of the Mexica in 1519-21, on the site of the Mexica capital city of Tenochtitlán, which was founded in 1325. It became the capital of New Spain and in 1585 was officially known as “Ciudad de México” (Mexico City, sometimes abbreviated as CDMX). Modern Mexico City is divided into 16 “delegaciónes”
(boroughs), which in turn are subdivided into “barrios” (neighborhoods). Mexico City is the capital of Mexico (officially the United Mexican States), the tenth most populous country in the world with a population of 132 million.
Mexico’s history can be divided into three parts: Pre-Columbian (before the arrival of Columbus in the New World in 1492), Colonial (after the Spanish conquest in 1521), and Post-Colonial (since Mexico’s independence from Spanish rule in 1821).
Map of Pre-Columbian states of Mexico just before the Spanish conquest
Pre-Columbian Mexico
While many city-states, kingdoms, and empires competed with one another for power and prestige, Mexico can be said to have had seven major civilizations that dominated different parts of Mexico – or more accurately, Mesoamerica, the historical region that comprised the lands of central and southern Mexico and much of Central America – their influence ebbing and flowing, or sometimes abruptly ending due to military defeat, over different, sometimes overlapping periods2: The Olmec (considered the “mother culture” of Mesoamerica because of its great influence on the region, whose civilization dates from 1500 BC to 400 BC, around Veracruz on the Gulf coast), Mixtec (from 1500 BC until conquered by the Spanish in 1523, in the south near Oaxaca, on the Pacific coast), Zapotec (from 700 BC until conquered by the Spanish in 1521 AD, based in the Valley of Oaxaca), the Maya (from 200 AD to 800 AD, founders of Chichén Itzá in the Yucatán Peninsula and Tikal in Guatemala) – and the three civilizations closest to Mexico City: Teotihuacán (100 AD to 650 AD, whose eponymous capital was 20 miles north of Mexico City), the Toltec (850 AD to 1150 AD, whose capital was in Tula, 50 miles north of Mexico City), and the Mexica (formerly known as the Aztecs, founders of Tenochtitlán in 1325, who were conquered by the Spanish in 1519). The Teotihuacán and the Mexica left impressive ruins in and around Mexico city that are discussed below.
Colonial Period
The Colonial Period spans 300 years from the Spanish conquest of the Aztec (now known as Mexica) Empire (1519-21) to the collapse of Spanish rule in the Mexican War of Independence (1810-21).
Hernán Cortés, a Spanish conquistador, led the expedition that conquered the Aztec/Mexica Empire ruled by Moctezuma II, whose capital was in Tenochtitlán, between 1519 and 1521. While the Spanish rapidly conquered the Zapotec and Mixtec regions of south Mesoamerica, the Spanish campaign against the Maya in the Yucatán continued from 1551 to 1697. The conquered territory first became the Kingdom of New Spain in 1521, ruled by the Spanish king, and then the Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1525, ruled by a Viceroy appointed by the Spanish king. Cortés established the capital of New Spain on the site of Tenochtitlán, which was later named Mexico City.
Central Mexico, with Mexico City as its hub, became the base of expeditions of exploration and conquest. Gold and silver mined in the New World made Spain a dominant power in Europe. The Spanish crown ultimately claimed – even though it did not effectively control – all of modern Mexico and Central America except Panama, and most of the United States west of the Mississippi River, plus Florida. The Spanish West Indies, which were settled prior to the conquest of the Aztec Empire, also came under New Spain’s jurisdiction. (A second Viceroyalty was established in Peru in 1542, following the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.)
Post-Colonial Period
French Emperor Napoléon Ierinvaded Spain in 1808 and placed his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne after forcing the abdication of the Spanish king Charles IV. In Spain and many of its overseas possessions, people resisted by setting up juntas made up of local dignitaries ruling in the name of the deposed monarch. This first example of local rule set in motion the independence movement that swept through the New World, inspired in part by the ideas of the Enlightenment and the American and French Revolutions.
The Mexican War of Independence started on September 10, 1810 (now celebrated as Independence Day) when Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla issued the Grito de Dolores (the Cry of Dolores, a city in Mexico), a call to arms in reaction to the French invasion of Spain. It only ended with the drafting of the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire in Mexico City on September 28, 1821.
When Mexico achieved independence, the southern part of New Spain, known as the Captaincy General of Guatemala and composed of Chiapas, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, became independent as well, as a result of the Treaty of Córdoba. The new Mexican Empire annexed these lands in 1822, only to recognize their independence as the Federal Republic of Central America in 1823; only Chiapas chose to remain part of Mexico. The remaining members of the Federal Republic of Central America soon became independent countries.
Within 20 years Mexico also lost the northern part of its territory. When the province of Texas (Tejas) rebelled against Mexico in 1835, the President of Mexico, Antonio López de Santa Anna, believing that the United States had instigated the insurrection with the goal of annexation, personally led the Mexican army to suppress the rebellion. While his army won the Battle of the Alamo after a 13-day siege, it was defeated at the Battle of San Jacinto. The victorious Texans proclaimed the Republic of Texas in 1836. The annexation of Texas by the United States as the 28th state in 1845 led directly to the Mexican-American War (1846-48). Following Mexico’s defeat, the “Spanish Borderlands” of northern Mexico were ceded to the United States and became all or part of ten states.
The red line shows the northern and eastern boundary of Mexico in 18212 when it won its independence from Spain. Between 1836 and 1848, Mexico lost the land that now makes up all or part of 10 present-day U.S. states (in green).
After independence, Mexico first briefly became the First Mexican Empire (1822-23); then the First Mexican Republic of the United Mexican States, with a constitution partly modeled on the constitution of the United States which devolved power to the provinces (1824-35); then the conservative Centralist Republic of Mexico (1835-46), under a new constitution known as the Siete Leyes (Seven Laws) that replaced the previous federal system with a centralized one reminiscent of the political system during the colonial era; then the Second Mexican Republic (1846-63) after the restoration of the Constitution of 1824, followed by the liberal Constitution of 1857; then the Second Mexican Empire when the French Emperor Napoléon III, with support from the conservative Mexican elite, effectively installed Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg as Emperor of Mexico (1864-67); then a dictatorship under General Porfirio Díaz (1876-1910); finally leading to the decade of the Mexican Revolution (1910-20), which culminated in a new constitution, followed by a period of revolutionary consolidation (1920-40).
The Partido Nacional Revolucionario (National Revolutionary Party, PNR) was founded in 1929, and renamed the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party, PRI) in 1946. The PRI, which is generally considered to be a social democratic party, held uninterrupted power in Mexico and controlled the presidency from 1929 to 2000 (71 years) and from 2012 to 2018 (6 years).
Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known as AMLO), a populist politician and founder in 2011 of the center-left party Moreno, short for Moviemento de Regeneración Nacional (National Regeneration Movement), served as president from 2018 to 2024. He was succeeded by Claudia Sheinbaum, also of Moreno, who was elected in a landslide.
Trip to Mexico City (CDMX) April 24-28, 2025
We flew into Benito Juárez Mexico City International Airport (MEX), and disembarked at the new Terminal 2 for AeroMexico and Delta flights. The airport is located 20 miles from the city center.
We stayed at 42-story Presidente Intercontinental Hotel in the posh Polanco neighborhood, across from Chapultepec Park and its many museums, and within easy walking distance of a plethora of restaurants, including the celebrated Quintanil and Pujol.
We organized our trip into four parts:
- Pre-Colombian Mexico
We started by visiting the Museo Nacional de Antropología (National Museum of Anthropology) in Chapultepec Park: https://mna.inah.gob.mx/
(N.B. Most of Mexico City’s 170 museums are closed on Mondays.)
The permanent archaeological exhibitions on the ground floor of the monumental buildings constructed in 1964 cover all pre-Columbian civilizations located in today’s Mexico as well as in former Mexican territory in what is today the southwestern United States. They are classified as Settlement of the Americas, Preclassic Central Highlands, Teotihuacán, The Toltecs and the Epiclassic, Mexicas, Oaxaca Cultures, Mayas, West Mexico Cultures, Northern Mexico Culture. The permanent ethnological exhibitions on the second floor show the culture of Native American populations of Mexico since the Spanish colonization.
View of the Avenue of the Dead from the Pyramid of the Moon. The Pyramid of the Sun is on the left.
The next day we visited Teotihuacán, which is 20 miles out town. It only took one hour in an Uber to get there from the city center in the morning, but two hours to get back in the afternoon. We hired an English-speaking guide who offered his services inside the gate for 600 pesos/$30 per hour and are glad we did since he added so much to our understanding of the impressive site, which was built by the Teotihuacán people mainly between 100 BC and 250 AD. The city began to decline in the 7th century, and was deserted by 900. At its height, it is estimated that 150,000 people occupied a city covering 8 square miles, making it the largest community in the Western Hemisphere at the time. The Teotihuacán were replaced as the dominant people by the Toltec, and then by the Mexica (formerly known as the Aztecs), who dominated Mesoamerica from the 14th century until the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century from their capital in the Valley of Mexico, which they called Tenochtitlán (see below). The highlights of Teotihuacán were the Pirámide de la Luna (the Pyramid of the Moon, the first pyramid), the Pirámide del Sol (Pyramid of the Sun, the highest pyramid at 738 feet), and the Ciudadela (Citadel), all connected by the 1.25-mile-long Calzada de los Muertos (Avenue of the Dead). Plan on 2-3 hours to visit the site with a guide.
The next day we visited the Zona Arquilógica y Museo del Templo Mayor – the archaeological site and museum of the Great Temple behind and to the right of the Metropolitan Cathedral on the north side of the Zócalo, the main square in the Historic Center of Mexico City. The temple pyramid was built in the middle of the Mexica city of Tenochtitlán. The first temple pyramid was built in 1325. It was then enlarged seven times as the importance of the city grew, reaching a height of 148 feet. It was mostly demolished by the Spanish after they conquered the Mexica in 1521 and its stones were used to build colonial churches and houses in what became Mexico City. Its ruins were only discovered in 1978.
- Colonial Mexico
We visited the Museo Nacional de Historia de México (National Museum of the History of Mexico) located in the impressive Castillo (Castle) de Chapultepec, which was constructed mostly in the 19th century on a rocky outcropping in the Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Park): https://mnh.inah.gob.mx/home-en
In the 15 History Rooms on the ground floor, amid paintings of historic scenes and figures and other objects, there are panels that explain the history of Mexico since the Spanish conquest: https://mnh.inah.gob.mx/history-rooms
All the panels are in Spanish only, but the handy Google Translate app allows you to scan the panels with the camera on your smart phone and get an instantaneous English translation: https://support.google.com/translate/answer/6142483?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS&oc o=1
(It works on menus, too.)
Zócalo, with the Catedral Metropolitana on the upper left, with the Templo Mayor behind it with the two turquoise square canvases protecting the excavations, and the Palacio Nacional on the upper right
Armed with our knowledge about the history of Mexico since the Spanish conquest, we took an Uber to the Zócalo (a/k/a the Plaza de la Constituciòn, originally called the Plaza Mayor), which is the epicenter of the Historic Center of Mexico City. Each side is 262 yards long.
On the north side of the square is the Catedral Metropolitana. It was the first cathedral in the Americas built by the Spanish on what was the center of the Mexica (formerly known as Aztec) city of Tenochtitlàn, largely from materials scavenged from the demolished Templo Mayor next door. The cathedral was built in sections between 1573 and 1813 around the original church that was constructed soon after the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlàn. As a result of its long construction time, its design reflects a variety of styles: Gothic, Baroque, Churrigueresque (an “Ultra Baroque” Spanish style), and Neoclassical.
On the east side of the square is the Palacio Nacional, which was originally the Viceroy’s palace and seat of the Spanish government. It is now the seat of the federal executive in Mexico, and since 2018 the official residence of the President of Mexico. Between 1929 and 1935 the Mexican artist Diego Rivera painted “The History of Mexico”, a mural in the stairwell of the National Palace depicting Mexico’s history from ancient times to the present.
On the west side is the old Portal de Mercaderes, buildings with a shopping arcade on the ground floor (where the iconic hatmaker Tardàn has a shop at number 7 Plaza de la Constituciòn) and offices in the upper floors.
On the south side are two Mexico City administrative buildings.
- Republican Mexico
From the Zòcalo, we walked for 15 minutes down the Avenida Francisco Madera to the Palacio de Bellas Artes, a center for the performing arts. Construction of the Belle Époque exterior began in 1904, but was interrupted by the Revolution of 1910. Construction only resumed in the 1932. The Art Déco interior was completed in 1934. It is decorated with, among other things, murals by famous Mexican artists including Diego Rivera.
- Los Barrios (Neighborhoods)
Mexico City is so large and its traffic is so bad that it can be overwhelming. But walking around the neighborhoods that are hidden behind wide boulevards such as the Paseo de la Reforma is like visiting a village, each with its own distinctive character, far from the madding crowd. The barrios are also another reflection of the evolution of the city.
Many of the most exclusive neighborhoods are near the Paseo de la Reforma, the wide avenue that was built in the 19th century and runs nine miles diagonally from the Historic Center southwest to the Bosque de Chapultepec). Emperor Maximilian I initiated the construction of the Paseo, which was modeled on the great boulevards of Europe, such as the Champs-Élysées in Paris or the Ringstraße in Vienna, which had both only recently been constructed. The project was originally named Paseo de la Emperatriz (Promenade of the Empress) in honor of Maximilian’s consort Empress Carlota. After the fall of the Empire, the Restored Republic renamed the Paseo in honor of La Reforma, the set of reform laws enacted during the Second Federal Republic of Mexico during the 1850s. It is one of the city’s main thoroughfare and today is lined with high rise office buildings and hotels and is punctuated by roundabouts with monuments in their center. It leads to the enormous Bosque de Chapultepec (1,600 acres) south of historic center, with its many museums.
We walked around the following neighborhoods (there are plenty of others), starting with the ones closest to the city center.
[The Zona Rosa, south of the Paseo de la Reforma, was the place to go when we first visited Mexico City nearly 50 years ago, but we gather that its fortunes have waned and we didn’t make it there this trip.]
View of Polanco skyline
Polanco is a chic neighborhood on the north side of Chapultepec Park. It was developed in the mid-20th century and is adjacent to the Bosque de Chapultepec and its many museums. It is known primarily for its high-end shops and restaurants and big international hotels.
Condesa is south of Chapultepec Park, around the leafy Parque México, which was laid out in 1927 on the site of a former horse racing track. The elliptical, tree-lined Avenida Amsterdam, with its shady median, circumnavigates the park. It is lined with wonderful Art Déco houses interspersed with modern buildings that were constructed after the 1985 earthquake destroyed many of the original buildings. Condesa has a decidedly Bohemian vibe. Most of the denizens we crossed were yuppies either jogging or walking their dogs.
Roma is just north of Condesa, and is reported to be similarly hip. The much-awarded 2018 film “Roma”, written and directed by the Mexican Alfonso Cuarón, follows the life of a live-in indigenous housekeeper of an upper-middle-class family living in the Roma neighborhood.
Coyoacán was originally a village outside Mexico City, six miles south of Condesa and Roma and seven miles south of the Centro Històrico. Coyoacán was incorporated into Mexico City in 1857, but it still has the look and feel of an authentic Mexican village, with quiet, tree-lined streets. Its historic center (also known as Colonia Del Carmen) is built around the Plaza Hidalgo and the Jardín Centenario (with its oft-photographed fountain of two snarling coyotes). Coyoacán is famous for the Parroquia de San Juan Bautista church and convent, the home of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (Casa Azul), which is now a museum, and the oldest chapel in Mexico City (Capilla de la Conchita). It was our favorite neighborhood. Watch the 2002 film “Frida” starring Salma Hayek about the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Much of it purports to take place in the Casa Azul and Coyacán, as well as in other parts of Mexico City between the two World Wars.
Final Thoughts
Pros:
The Mexicans we interacted with were without exception incredibly friendly and relaxed, very different from the frenetic types that inhabit most capital cities in the northern hemisphere.
Of course, we missed a lot of what makes Mexico City special. We never made it to the art museums or galleries, or to the major markets like the Mercado de la Merced in the Historic Center. We did, however, wander through the small market in Coyoacán, which was both colorful and manageable. (Tip: Better to buy your souvenirs in the markets than in the duty free stores in the airport.)
Mexico City is famous for its fine dining. We had some excellent meals, but never made it to the famous Mexico City “temples of gastronomy” (to use the French term).
There were no subway stops near the hotel where we were staying (in Polanco), but Mexico City’s Metro is no doubt the fastest and cheapest (a single ticket costs 6 pesos = 25 cents) way to get around the city. We almost only took Ubers, which were very convenient and inexpensive. We took the odd taxi, as well, but the Ubers were generally better cars with better drivers.
We only exchanged $100 (US$1 = around 20 pesos) and only used the pesos for odd purchases. We paid for almost everything by credit card (Visa, not Amex). When paying by credit card you are given the option to add a tip (propina) before paying (15% is a “correct” tip for waiters).
Safety was a concern when we last visited Mexico City 25 years ago, but not anymore. Policía Turística literally swarm popular tourist destinations such as the Zòcalo and the public parks. Nevertheless, it is always a good idea to be on your guard.
Similarly, Mexico City is known for its bad pollution. While there was definitely a haze on the horizon when looking out over the city from our hotel room on the 26th floor, we never had any problem with pollution at ground level.
There is definitely a two-tier economy at work in Mexico City. Some things were incredibly cheap (taxis, handicrafts), others were expensive (international hotels, fancy restaurants).
Cons:
Urban sprawl and horrendous traffic makes getting around an ordeal.
By-products are aggressive drivers and jay walkers.
Both roads and sidewalks are often in poor condition, so watch where you drive/step. In short:
Mexico City is a destination with a fascinating history and rich culture within easy reach of the USA and well worth the trip.
It is amazing how much you can pack into five days, but I still prefer mid-day departures…
1 Cinco de Mayo should not be confused with Mexican Independence Day, which falls on September 16 and celebrates the end of Spanish rule in 1810.
2 Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation until 3500 BC); the Archaic (before 2600 BC), the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BC – 250 AD), the Classic (250–900 AD), and the Postclassic (900–1521 AD); as well as the post European contact Colonial Period (1521–1821), and Postcolonial, or the period after independence from Spain (1821–present).
