What Coyoacán looked like 100 years ago

Coyoacán is a place full of culture, history and fun, its streets and avenues have witnessed many important events and it is even the mayor's office that has protected the homes of important people such as Hernán Cortes, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Leon Trotski, Gabriel García Márquez, Salvador Novo, Dolores del Rio, among many more.

The origin of this emblematic place dates back to pre-Hispanic times, in fact, its name was assigned by the groups that settled in the town. According to the National Institute for Federalism and Municipal Development (INAFED), the name Coyoacán means “place where there are coyotes”, and comes from the “word derived from the Nahuatl word Coyohuacan”.

The same source details that the site is so important that it has been considered “one of the most important heritage areas of Mexico City and called the Cultural Heart of the Capital”. Its current aspect is the result of the process of various stages that have given it its own identity “in the geographical, demographic, urban architectural, social, economic and cultural aspects”.

The magazine Arqueología Mexicana of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) shares that the history of Coyoacán dates back to 1332, when groups from the Chalco region settled, which were submitted in 1410 by the ruler Tezozomoc, leader of the powerful Tepaneca Empire.

The so-called king of Azcapotzalco decided to grant the territory to his son Maxtla, however, years later the Mexicas subjected them to their rule, but theirs was also interrupted by the arrival of the Spaniards, who managed to take the demarcation and even celebrated with a small party.

This is known because the chronicler Bernal Díaz del Castillo tells it in his text of True History of the Conquest of New Spain: “After this big and populous city was won (...) Cortés had a banquet held in Coyoacán for the joys of winning it and for that he already had a lot of wine from a ship that had come from Castile.”

Since then it became a privileged area where different chapels began to be built to teach indigenous people to the Catholic religion, in fact, one of the oldest churches in the CDMX is located there and is the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, “La Conchita”.

It was Hernán Cortés who had the religious building built in 1521 on what was a pre-Hispanic ceremonial center. The INAH magazine states that soon after the region was named “the largest mayor's office of New Spain, one of the most fertile points, full of orchards, country houses, works, as well as churches and convents, among which the San Juan Bautista stand out”.

New changes came until the end of the 19th century when the president in turn, Porfirio Díaz, inaugurated the Del Carmen colony in 1890, which was formerly part of the San Pedro Hacienda. It is important to emphasize that today this is one of the most emblematic towns of the mayor's office, because apart from being full of anecdotes, it is also home to the center of Coyoacán.

Nowadays you can enjoy various activities such as the tram that takes tourists along a route through the most important streets of the center; there is also the handicraft market, cultural activities at the kiosk and a long list of restaurants, cafes, museums, bars and shops to spend a pleasant stay and review the pre-Hispanic and colonial past of the former delegation.

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