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| City Guide - Mexico City - City Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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City Overview The megalopolis of Mexico City is an exhilarating and often frustrating city, founded by the Spaniards in 1525, who built upon the remains of the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán. The Aztecs had arrived at the location in around 1345 and established their stone-built city on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. Legend has it that the site was chosen because the Aztecs saw an eagle perched on a cactus and eating a snake there - a sign, they believed, that they should end their wanderings and build a city. The Spaniards arrived in 1519, led by Cortés and his army of only a few hundred men. Superior weaponry, the shock effect of horses (the Indians had never encountered such animals) and the support of the Aztecs' enemies meant that victory was assured. Moctezuma, the Aztec king believed Cortés to be the feathered serpent-god, Quetzalcóatl, and welcomed the Spaniards, as centuries previously, Quetzalcóatl had been driven out of Tula and had vowed to return to reclaim his throne. The Spanish conquistadores overthrew the Aztec Empire with ease. Little was left of the original city of Tenochtitlán. Bernal Díaz wrote 'all that I saw then is overthrown and destroyed; nothing is left standing'. The modern city that has grown out of the original island-city is founded on the beds of several lakes and does not enjoy perhaps the most practical location. Many of the earlier buildings began to sink into the soft lakebed and the regular earthquake activity takes its toll. Situated in the Valle de México, a valley of some 2000 sq kilometres (772 sq miles), Mexico City lies at the very heart of the country of which it is capital, both physically and metaphorically. Mexicans refer to their capital as simply 'México' or more specifically 'el DF' (pronounced day- effay). The DF is the 'Distrito Federal' (Federal District) in which all the city centre falls. The city stands alone as the most important economic, cultural, intellectual and political centre in Mexico. The recent elections have ended 70 years of one-party rule under the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party). As home to the entire federal government, Mexico City is now at the forefront of this change. From a colonial economy based largely on mining, especially silver, the economy has diversified to include strong agriculture, petroleum and industry sectors. Mexico currently has one of the strongest economies in all Latin America. Real incomes are starting to rise again, although currently Mexicans have less purchasing power than in 1994. It is arguably the largest city in the world - around 20 million inhabitants live among the constant hustle and bustle, although no-one really knows the true figure. It is the growing population, two-thirds under 30 years, that presents the government with the biggest problem. The demand for new jobs is enormous and over half the country's social welfare spending goes to the capital. The inhabitants are engaged in frenetic hustling for a living - the lottery-ticket sellers warble results, street hawkers peddle wares and shoe-shines offer their services, while office workers huddle in doorways eating freshly prepared tacos and impromtu street performances blend with roaming mariachi bands - to provide an ever-present cacophony. The pavements and alleyways burst with Mexico City's daily life - all in the middle of the colonial charm of the historic centre, with its ornate façades and grand buildings. Less than a mile away, in the heart of the city's financial district, modern skyscrapers dominate the skyline, wide boulevards offer open-air eating and the mood is more sedate. Mexico City is ringed by snow-capped mountains and volcanoes, but confined by these physical boundaries, the pollution, churned out by industry and exacerbated by the traffic, cannot escape. The climate is mild but the best months to visit are October to April as winter slightly dispels the pollution. But this thick yellow cloud hanging in the bowl of the mountains barely causes a shadow over the world's largest city - its energy and life continue unabated. |
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