Culture Mexico_City

1 culture

1.1 tourism
1.2 art
1.3 museums
1.4 music, theater , entertainment
1.5 cuisine
1.6 sports
1.7 education
1.8 media
1.9 shopping

1.9.1 traditional markets
1.9.2 street vendors
1.9.3 downtown shopping
1.9.4 supermarkets , neighborhood stores


1.10 parks , recreation
1.11 nicknames

culture
tourism

mexico city destination many foreign tourists. wikipedia s sister project wikivoyage has useful information on tourism in mexico city. historic center of mexico city (centro histórico) , floating gardens of xochimilco in southern borough have been declared world heritage sites unesco. famous landmarks in historic center include plaza de la constitución (zócalo), main central square epoch-contrasting spanish-era metropolitan cathedral , national palace, ancient aztec temple ruins templo mayor ( major temple ) , modern structures, within few steps of 1 another. (the templo mayor discovered in 1978 while workers digging place underground electric cables).

the recognizable icon of mexico city golden angel of independence on wide, elegant avenue paseo de la reforma, modeled order of emperor maximilian of mexico after champs-Élysées in paris. avenue designed on americas oldest known major roadway in 19th century connect national palace (seat of government) castle of chapultepec, imperial residence. today, avenue important financial district in mexican stock exchange , several corporate headquarters located. important avenue avenida de los insurgentes, extends 28.8 km (17.9 mi) , 1 of longest single avenues in world.

chapultepec park houses chapultepec castle, museum on hill overlooks park , numerous museums, monuments , national zoo , national museum of anthropology (which houses aztec calendar stone). piece of architecture fine arts palace, white marble theatre/museum weight such has gradually been sinking soft ground below. construction began during presidency of porfirio díaz , ended in 1934, after being interrupted mexican revolution in 1920s. plaza of 3 cultures in tlatelolco neighbourhood, , shrine , basilicas of our lady of guadalupe important sites. there double-decker bus, known turibus , circles of these sites, , has timed audio describing sites in multiple languages passed.

in addition, city has 160 museums—the world s greatest single metropolitan concentration —over 100 art galleries, , 30 concert halls, of maintain constant cultural activity during whole year. has either third or fourth-highest number of theatres in world after new york, london , perhaps toronto. many areas (e.g. palacio nacional , national institute of cardiology) have murals painted diego rivera. , wife frida kahlo lived in coyoacán, several of homes, studios, , art collections open public. house leon trotsky granted asylum , murdered in 1940 in coyoacán.

in addition, there several restored haciendas restaurants, such san Ángel inn, hacienda de tlalpan , hacienda de los morales.

art


mural in palacio de bellas artes david alfaro siqueiros

having been capital of vast pre-hispanic empire, , capital of richest viceroyalty within spanish empire (ruling on vast territory in americas , spanish west indies), and, finally, capital of united mexican states, mexico city has rich history of artistic expression. since mesoamerican pre-classical period inhabitants of settlements around lake texcoco produced many works of art , complex craftsmanship, of today displayed @ world-renowned national museum of anthropology , templo mayor museum. while many pieces of pottery , stone-engraving have survived, great majority of amerindian iconography destroyed during conquest of mexico.

much of colonial art stemmed codices (aztec illustrated books), aiming recover , preserve aztec , other amerindian iconography , history. then, artistic expressions in mexico religious in theme. metropolitan cathedral still displays works juan de rojas, juan correa , oil painting authorship has been attributed murillo. secular works of art of period include equestrian sculpture of charles iv of spain, locally known el caballito ( little horse ). piece, in bronze, work of manuel tolsá , has been placed @ plaza tolsá, in front of palacio de mineria (mining palace). directly in front of building beautiful museo nacional de arte (munal) (the national museum of art).

receptions hall @ museo nacional de arte

during 19th century, important producer of art academia de san carlos (san carlos art academy), founded during colonial times, , later became escuela nacional de artes plásticas (the national school of arts) including painting, sculpture , graphic design, 1 of unam s art schools. many of works produced students , faculty of time displayed in museo nacional de san carlos (national museum of san carlos). 1 of students, josé maría velasco, considered 1 of greatest mexican landscape painters of 19th century. porfirio díaz s regime sponsored arts, followed french school. popular arts in form of cartoons , illustrations flourished, e.g. of josé guadalupe posada , manuel manilla. permanent collection of san carlos museum includes paintings european masters such rembrandt, velázquez, murillo, , rubens.

after mexican revolution, avant-garde artistic movement originated in mexico city: muralism. many of works of muralists josé clemente orozco, david alfaro siqueiros , diego rivera displayed in numerous buildings in city, notably @ national palace , palacio de bellas artes. frida kahlo, wife of rivera, strong nationalist expression, 1 of renowned of mexican painters. house has become museum displays many of works.

the former home of rivera muse dolores olmedo houses namesake museum. facility in xochimilco borough in southern mexico city , includes several buildings surrounded sprawling manicured lawns. houses large collection of rivera , kahlo paintings , drawings, living xoloizcuintles (mexican hairless dog). regularly hosts small important temporary exhibits of classical , modern art (e.g. venetian masters , contemporary new york artists).

during 20th century, many artists immigrated mexico city different regions of mexico, such leopoldo méndez, engraver veracruz, supported creation of socialist taller de la gráfica popular (popular graphics workshop), designed blue-collar workers find venue express art. other painters came abroad, such catalan painter remedios varo , other spanish , jewish exiles. in second half of 20th century artistic movement began drift apart revolutionary theme. josé luis cuevas opted modernist style in contrast muralist movement associated social politics.

museums

museo frida kahlo



museo soumaya

mexico city has numerous museums dedicated art, including mexican colonial, modern , contemporary art, , international art. museo tamayo opened in mid-1980s house collection of international contemporary art donated famed mexican (born in state of oaxaca) painter rufino tamayo. collection includes pieces picasso, klee, kandinsky, warhol , many others, though of collection stored while visiting exhibits shown. museo de arte moderno (museum of modern art) repository of mexican artists 20th century, including rivera, orozco, siqueiros, kahlo, gerzso, carrington, tamayo, among others, , regularly hosts temporary exhibits of international modern art. in southern mexico city, museo carrillo gil (carrillo gil museum) showcases avant-garde artists, university museum/contemporary art (museo universitario arte contemporáneo – or muac), designed famed mexican architect teodoro gonzález de león, inaugurated in late 2008.

the museo soumaya, named after wife of mexican magnate carlos slim, has largest private collection of original rodin sculptures outside paris. has large collection of dalí sculptures, , began showing pieces in masters collection including el greco, velázquez, picasso , canaletto. museum inaugurated new futuristic-design facility in 2011 north of polanco, while maintaining smaller facility in plaza de loreto in southern mexico city. colección júmex contemporary art museum located on sprawling grounds of jumex juice company in northern industrial suburb of ecatepec. said have largest private contemporary art collection in latin america , hosts pieces permanent collection traveling exhibits leading contemporary artists. new museo júmex in nuevo polanco slated open in november 2013. museo de san ildefonso, housed in antiguo colegio de san ildefonso in mexico city s historic downtown district 17th-century colonnaded palace housing art museum regularly hosts world-class exhibits of mexican , international art. recent exhibits have included on david lachapelle, antony gormley , ron mueck. national museum of art (museo nacional de arte) located in former palace in historic center. houses large collection of pieces major mexican artists of last 400 years , hosts visiting exhibits.

reconstruction of entrance hochob temple in national museum of anthropology

jack kerouac, noted american author, spent extended periods of time in city, , wrote masterpiece volume of poetry mexico city blues here. american author, william s. burroughs, lived in colonia roma neighborhood of city time. here accidentally shot wife.

most of mexico city s more 150 museums can visited tuesday sunday 10 am 5 pm, although of them have extended schedules, such museum of anthropology , history, open 7 pm. in addition this, entrance museums free on sunday. in cases modest fee may charged.

another major addition city s museum scene museum of remembrance , tolerance (museo de la memoria y tolerancia), inaugurated in 2011. brainchild of 2 young mexican women holocaust museum, idea morphed unique museum dedicated showcasing major historical events of discrimination , genocide. permanent exhibits include on holocaust , other large-scale atrocities. houses temporary exhibits; 1 on tibet inaugurated dalai lama in september 2011.

music, theater , entertainment

the city theatre



mexico city arena

mexico city home number of orchestras offering season programs. these include mexico city philharmonic, performs @ sala ollin yoliztli; national symphony orchestra, home base palacio de bellas artes (palace of fine arts), masterpiece of art nouveau , art decó styles; philharmonic orchestra of national autonomous university of mexico (ofunam), , minería symphony orchestra, both of perform @ sala nezahualcóyotl, first wrap-around concert hall of world s western hemisphere when inaugurated in 1976. there many smaller ensembles enrich city s musical scene, including carlos chávez youth symphony, cuarteto latinoamericano, new world orchestra (orquesta del nuevo mundo), national polytechnical symphony , bellas artes chamber orchestra (orquesta de cámara de bellas artes).

the city leading center of popular culture , music. there multitude of venues hosting spanish , foreign-language performers. these include 10,000-seat national auditorium regularly schedules spanish , english-language pop , rock artists, many of world s leading performing arts ensembles, auditorium broadcasts grand opera performances new york s metropolitan opera on giant, high definition screens. in 2007 national auditorium selected world s best venue multiple genre media.

other popular sites pop-artist performances include 3,000-seat teatro metropolitan, 15,000-seat palacio de los deportes, , larger 50,000-seat foro sol stadium, popular international artists perform on regular basis. cirque du soleil has held several seasons @ carpa santa fe, in santa fe district in western part of city. there numerous venues smaller musical ensembles , solo performers. these include hard rock live, bataclán, foro scotiabank, lunario, circo volador , voilá acoustique. recent additions include 20,000-seat arena ciudad de méxico, 3,000-seat pepsi center world trade center, , 2,500-seat auditorio blackberry.

the centro nacional de las artes (national center arts has several venues music, theatre, dance. unam s main campus, in southern part of city, home centro cultural universitario (the university culture center) (ccu). ccu houses national library, interactive universum, museo de las ciencias, sala nezahualcóyotl concert hall, several theatres , cinemas, , new university museum of contemporary art (muac). branch of national university s ccu cultural center inaugurated in 2007 in facilities of former ministry of foreign affairs, known tlatelolco, in north-central mexico city.

the josé vasconcelos library, national library, located on grounds of former buenavista railroad station in northern part of city.

the papalote children s museum, houses world s largest dome screen, located in wooded park of chapultepec, near museo tecnológico, , la feria amusement park. theme park 6 flags méxico (the largest amusement park in latin america) located in ajusco neighborhood, in tlalpan borough, southern mexico city. during winter, main square of zócalo transformed gigantic ice skating rink, said largest in world behind of moscow s red square.

the cineteca nacional (the mexican film library), near coyoacán suburb, shows variety of films, , stages many film festivals, including annual international showcase, , many smaller ones ranging scandinavian , uruguayan cinema, jewish , lgbt-themed films. cinépolis , cinemex, 2 biggest film business chains, have several film festivals throughout year, both national , international movies. mexico city tops world in number of imax theatres, providing residents , visitors access films ranging documentaries popular blockbusters on these large, dramatic screens.

cuisine

mexico city offers variety of cuisines. restaurants specializing in regional cuisines of mexico s 31 states available in city. available array of international cuisines, including canadian, french, italian, croatian, spanish (including many regional variations), jewish, lebanese, chinese (again regional variations), indian, japanese, korean, thai, vietnamese; , of course fellow latin american cuisines such argentine, brazilian, , peruvian. haute, fusion, kosher, vegetarian , vegan cuisines available, restaurants solely based on concepts of local food , slow food.

mexico city known having of freshest fish , seafood in mexico s interior. la nueva viga market second largest seafood market in world after tsukiji fish market in japan.

the city has several branches of renowned international restaurants , chefs. these include paris au pied de cochon , brasserie lipp, philippe (by philippe chow); nobu, morimoto; pámpano, owned mexican-raised opera legend plácido domingo. there branches of exclusive japanese restaurant suntory, rome s famed alfredo, new york steakhouses morton s , palm, , monte carlo s beefbar. 3 of famous lima-based haute peruvian restaurants, la mar, segundo muelle , astrid y gastón have locations in mexico city.

for 2014 list of world s 50 best restaurants named british magazine restaurant, mexico city ranked mexican avant-garde restaurant pujol (owned mexican chef enrique olvera) @ 20th best. notable basque-mexican fusion restaurant biko (run , co-owned bruno oteiza , mikel alonso), placed outside list @ 59th, in previous years has ranked within top 50.

mexico s award-winning wines offered @ many restaurants, , city offers unique experiences tasting regional spirits, broad selections of tequila , mezcal.

at other end of scale working class pulque bars known pulquerías, challenge tourists locate , experience.

sports


azteca stadium, 12th largest stadium in world

association football country s popular , televised franchised sport. important venues in mexico city include azteca stadium, home mexico national football team , giants américa, can seat 91,653 fans, making biggest stadium in latin america. olympic stadium in ciudad universitaria home football club giants universidad nacional, seating capacity of on 52,000. estadio azul, seats 33,042 fans, near world trade center mexico city in nochebuena neighborhood, , home giants cruz azul. 3 teams based in mexico city , play in first division; part, guadalajara-based giants club deportivo guadalajara, of mexico s traditional big 4 (though recent years have tended erode teams leading status @ least in standings). country hosted fifa world cup in 1970 , 1986, , azteca stadium first stadium in world cup history host final twice.

mexico city first latin american city host olympic games, having held summer olympics in 1968, winning bids against buenos aires, lyon , detroit. city hosted 1955 , 1975 pan american games, last after santiago , são paulo withdrew. icf flatwater racing world championships hosted here in 1974 , 1994. lucha libre mexican style of wrestling, , 1 of more popular sports throughout country. main venues in city arena méxico , arena coliseo.

estadio olímpico universitario, considered important building in modern america, american architect frank lloyd wright

the autódromo hermanos rodríguez main venue motorsport, , hosts formula 1 mexican grand prix since return sport in 2015, event being held in past 1962 1970, , again 1986 1992. 1980 1981 , again 2002 2007, circuit hosted champ car world series gran premio de méxico. beginning in 2005, nascar nationwide series ran telcel-motorola méxico 200. 2005 marked first running of mexico city 250 grand-am rolex sports car series. both races removed series schedules 2009.

baseball sport played professionally in city. mexico city home of mexico city red devils of mexican league, considered triple-a league major league baseball. devils play home games @ fray nano stadium, temporary venue until new ballpark completed. mexico city has 10 little leagues young baseball players.

in 2005, mexico city became first city host nfl regular season game outside of united states, @ azteca stadium. crowd of 103,467 people attending game largest ever regular season game in nfl history until 2009. city has hosted several nba pre-season games , has hosted international basketball s fiba americas championship, along north-of-the-border major league baseball exhibition games @ foro sol.

other sports facilities in mexico city palacio de los deportes indoor arena, francisco márquez olympic swimming pool, hipódromo de las américas, agustin melgar olympic velodrome, , venues equestrianism , horse racing, ice hockey, rugby, american-style football, baseball, , basketball.

bullfighting takes place every sunday during bullfighting season @ 50,000-seat plaza méxico, world s largest bullring.

mexico city s golf courses have hosted women s lpga action, , 2 men s golf world cups. courses throughout city available private public venues.

education

the national autonomous university of mexico (unam), located in mexico city, largest university on continent, more 300,000 students backgrounds. 3 nobel laureates, several mexican entrepreneurs , of mexico s modern-day presidents among former students. unam conducts 50% of mexico s scientific research , has presence across country satellite campuses, observatories , research centres. unam ranked 74th in top 200 world university ranking published times higher education (then called times higher education supplement) in 2006, making highest ranked spanish-speaking university in world. sprawling main campus of university, known ciudad universitaria, named world heritage site unesco in 2007.

the second largest higher-education institution national polytechnic institute (ipn), includes among many other relevant centers centro de investigación y de estudios avanzados (cinvestav), varied high-level scientific , technological research done. other major higher-education institutions in city include metropolitan autonomous university (uam), national school of anthropology , history (enah), instituto tecnológico autónomo de méxico (itam), monterrey institute of technology , higher education (3 campuses), universidad panamericana (up), universidad la salle, universidad del valle de mexico (uvm), universidad anáhuac, simon bolivar university (usb), alliant international university, universidad iberoamericana, el colegio de méxico (colmex), escuela libre de derecho , centro de investigación y docencia económica, (cide). in addition, prestigious university of california maintains campus known casa de california in city. universidad tecnológica de méxico in mexico city.

unlike of mexican states schools, curricula of mexico city s public schools managed federal secretary of public education. whole funding allocated government of mexico city (in specific cases, such el colegio de méxico, funding comes both city s government , other public , private national , international entities). city s public high school system instituto de educación media superior del distrito federal (iems-df).

a special case of el colegio nacional, created during district s governmental period of miguel alemán valdés have, in mexico, institution similar college of france. select , privileged group of mexican scientists , artists belonging institution—membership life—include, among many, mario lavista, ruy pérez tamayo, josé emilio pacheco, marcos moshinsky (d.2009), guillermo soberón acevedo. members obligated publicly disclose works through conferences , public events such concerts , recitals.

among many public , private schools (k–13), city offers multi-cultural, multi-lingual , international schools attended mexican , foreign students. best known colegio alemán (german school 3 main campuses), liceo mexicano japonés (japanese), centro cultural coreano en méxico (korean), lycée franco-mexicain (french), american school, westhill institute (american school), edron academy , greengates school (british).

national polytechnic institute









media

mexico city latin america s leading center television, music , film industries. mexico s important printed media , book publishing industries. dozens of daily newspapers published, including el universal, excélsior, reforma , la jornada. other major papers include milenio, crónica, el economista , el financiero. leading magazines include expansión, proceso, poder, dozens of entertainment publications such vanidades, quién, chilango, tv notas, , local editions of vogue, gq, , architectural digest.

it leading center of advertising industry. international ad firms have offices in city, including grey, jwt, leo burnett, euro rscg, bbdo, ogilvy, saatchi & saatchi, , mccann erickson. many local firms compete in sector, including alazraki, olabuenaga/chemistri, terán, augusto elías, , clemente cámara, among others. there 60 radio stations operating in city , many local community radio transmission networks.

the 2 largest media companies in spanish-speaking world, televisa , azteca, headquartered in mexico city. other local television channels include:

xew 2, xhtv 4, xhgc 5, xhimt 7, xeq 9, xeipn 11, xhdf 13, xhunam 20, xhcdm 21, xeimt 22, xhtres 28, xhtvm 40 , xhhcu 45.

shopping

mexico city offers immense , varied consumer retail market, ranging basic foods ultra high-end luxury goods. consumers may buy in fixed indoor markets, mobile markets (tianguis), street vendors, downtown shops in street dedicated type of good, in convenience stores , traditional neighborhood stores, in modern supermarkets, in warehouse , membership stores , shopping centers anchor, in department stores, big-box stores , in modern shopping malls.

in addition, tianguis or mobile markets set shop on streets in many neighborhoods, depending on day of week. sundays see largest number of these markets.

traditional markets


multi-storey sanborns department store façade of 19th-century home being used entrance area

the city s main source of fresh produce central de abasto. in self-contained mini-city in iztapalapa borough covering area equivalent several dozen city blocks. wholesale market supplies of city s mercados , supermarkets , restaurants, people come buy produce themselves. tons of fresh produce trucked in on mexico every day.

the principal fish market known la nueva viga, in same complex central de abastos. world-renowned market of tepito occupies 25 blocks, , sells variety of products.

a staple consumers in city omnipresent mercado . every major neighborhood in city has own borough-regulated market, more one. these large well-established facilities offering basic products, such fresh produce , meat/poultry, dry goods, tortillerías, , many other services such locksmiths, herbal medicine, hardware goods, sewing implements; , multitude of stands offering freshly made, home-style cooking , drinks in tradition of aguas frescas , atole.

street vendors

street vendors ply trade stalls in tianguis @ non-officially controlled concentrations around metro stations , hospitals; @ plazas comerciales, vendors of theme (e.g. stationery) housed; these organized accommodate vendors formerly selling on street; or improvised stalls on city sidewalk. in addition, food , goods sold people walking baskets, pushing carts, bicycles or backs of trucks, or tarp or cloth laid on ground. in centre of city informal street vendors increasingly targeted laws , prosecution. weekly san felipe de jesús tianguis reported largest in latin america.

downtown shopping

palacio de hierro store

the historic center of mexico city known specialized, low-cost retailers. blocks or streets dedicated shops selling type of merchandise, areas dedicated on 40 categories such home appliances, lamps , electricals, closets , bathrooms, housewares, wedding dresses, jukeboxes, printing, office furniture , safes, books, photography, jewelry, , opticians. main department stores represented downtown.

traditional markets downtown include la merced market; mercado de jamaica specializes in fresh flowers, mercado de sonora in occult, , la lagunilla in furniture.

ethnic shopping areas located in chinatown, downtown along calle dolores, mexico city s koreatown, or pequeño seúl, located in zona rosa.

supermarkets , neighborhood stores

large, modern chain supermarkets, hypermarkets , warehouse clubs including soriana, comercial mexicana, chedraui, bodega aurrerá, walmart , costco, located across city. many anchor shopping centers contain smaller shops, services, food court , cinemas.

small mom-and-pop corner stores ( abarroterías or more colloquially changarros ) abound in neighborhoods, rich , poor. these small shops offering basics such soft drinks, packaged snacks, canned goods , dairy products. thousands of c-stores or corner stores, such oxxo, 7-eleven , located throughout city.

parks , recreation

chapultepec park, city s iconic public park, has history aztec emperors used area retreat. south of polanco district, , houses city s zoo, several ponds, 7 museums including national museum of anthropology, , oldest , traditional amusement park, la feria de chapultepec mágico, vintage montaña rusa rollercoaster.

other iconic city parks include alameda central, mexico city historic center, city park since colonial times , renovated in 2013; parque méxico , parque españa in hip condesa district; parque hundido , parque de los venados in colonia del valle, , parque lincoln in polanco. there many smaller parks throughout city. small squares occupying 2 or 3 square blocks amid residential or commercial districts.

several other larger parks such bosque de tlalpan , viveros de coyoacán, , in east alameda oriente, offer many recreational activities. northwest of city large ecological reserve, bosque de aragón. in southeast xochimilco ecological park , plant market, world heritage site. west of santa fe district pine forests of desierto de los leones national park.

amusement parks include 6 flags méxico, in ajusco neighborhood largest in latin america. there numerous seasonal fairs present in city.

mexico city has 3 zoos. chapultepec zoo, san juan de aragon zoo , los coyotes zoo. chapultepec zoo located in first section of chapultepec park in miguel hidalgo. opened in 1924. visitors can see 243 specimens of different species including kangaroos, giant panda, gorillas, caracal, hyena, hippos, jaguar, giraffe, lemur, lion, among others. zoo san juan de aragon near san juan de aragon park in gustavo a. madero. in zoo, opened in 1964, there species in danger of extinction such jaguar , mexican wolf. other guests golden eagle, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, caracara, zebras, african elephant, macaw, hippo, among others. zoo los coyotes 27.68-acre (11.2 ha) zoo located south of mexico city in coyoacan. inaugurated on february 2, 1999. has more 301 specimens of 51 species of wild native or endemic fauna mexico city. can admire eagles, ajolotes, coyotes, macaws, bobcats, mexican wolves, raccoons, mountain lions, teporingos, foxes, white-tailed deer.

nicknames

mexico city traditionally known la ciudad de los palacios ( city of palaces ), nickname attributed baron alexander von humboldt when visiting city in 19th century, who, sending letter europe, said mexico city rival major city in europe.

during andrés lópez obrador s administration political slogan introduced: la ciudad de la esperanza ( city of hope ). motto adopted city nickname, has faded since new motto capital en movimiento ( capital in movement ) adopted administration headed marcelo ebrard, though latter not treated nickname in media. since 2013, refer city particularly in relation government campaigns, abbreviation cdmx has been used (from ciudad de méxico).

the city colloquially known chilangolandia after locals nickname chilangos. chilango used pejoratively people living outside mexico city connote loud, arrogant, ill-mannered, loutish person . part living in mexico city designate insultingly live elsewhere living in la provincia ( provinces , periphery) , many proudly embrace term chilango. residents of mexico city more called defeños (deriving postal abbreviation of federal district in spanish: d.f., read de-efe ). formally called capitalinos (in reference city being capital of country), [p]erhaps because capitalino more polite, specific, , correct word, never utilized .