CDMX - Centro Historico

Today Renata went home to New York, I continue on my own. I checked out from the appartment on Jalaca and dropped off my suitcase at my new place 2 blocks away. I took then the public transportation to Zocalo, where I joined a free walking tour exploring the historic center of the city. The tour was conducted by an antropologist woman, who was very knowledgable not only about the city and its sites, but also about the history and the people living here in pre-hispanic periods. I learned that the entire city is sinking way more than Amsterdam or Venice. It sinks about 30 cm every year. That's the reason why buildings are tilting, surfaces are not quite horizontal. I also learned about the pre-hispanic religious site that was in today's Zocalo's place. We found some remainders of the site under the Spanish cultural center:

Pre-hispanic ruins right next to Zocalo:

We walked around Santo Domingo Square. The Spanish inquisition's building is on the right with the double cross on it. As we mentioned Aztec human sacrifices before, and people were devastated hearing those stories, I gently reminded people on the inquisition and how many people were killed in the name of the holy cross.

After finishing the tour I explored Casa Azulejos: It's an 18th century residential palace fully covered with blue-and-white Talavera tiles from Puebla. The inside is a restaurant. I was cheeky enough to sneak in, take photos and even go up the stairs without being noticed.

Finally I went over to the other side of the road and entered the Palacio de Bellas Artes. It was originally conceived as the new National Theater under Porfirio Díaz, and construction began in 1904. It was supposed to be finished quickly, but budget problems, technical difficulties, and then the Mexican Revolution delayed it so much that it only opened in 1934. Its style is a striking mix: the exterior is mainly Art Nouveau, designed by the Italian architect Adamo Boari, while the interior is mainly Art Deco, completed later under the Mexican architect Federico Mariscal.