Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco is a borough in Mexico City. Azcapotzalco is in the northwestern part of Mexico City.
The town began in the pre-Hispanic era and was the seat of the Tepanec dominion until the Aztec Triple Alliance overthrew it. After that it was a rural farming area becoming part of the Federal District of Mexico City in the mid-19th century. In the 20th century the area was engulfed by the urban sprawl of Mexico City. Today it is 100% urbanized and is a center of industry.
Geography
The municipality of Azcapotzalco is in the Valley of Mexico with its eastern half on the lakebed of the former Lake Texcoco and the west on more solid ground. The historic center is on the former shoreline of this lake. The average altitude is 2240 meters above sea level. Politically, the municipality extends over 34.5km2 in the northwest of the Federal District of Mexico City, bordering the municipality of Gustavo A. Madero, Cuauhtémoc, Miguel Hidalgo along with the municipalities of Tlalnepantla de Baz, and Naucalpan in the State of Mexico.It has a semi-humid temperate climate with an average temperature of 15C.
As the municipality is 100% urbanized, there are no ecological reserves. It is divided into 2,723 city blocks. There are 54 parks which have no wild vegetation but rather planted species such as willow, cedar and pine trees. These parks cover 100.51 hectares, which is 2.9% of the entire municipality. The most important of these are the Parque Tezozómoc and Alameda Norte, which together account for 52.4 hectares.
Parque Tezozomoc was inaugurated in 1982 designed as a scaled replica of the Valley of Basin of Mexico in the pre-Hispanic era. The Alameda Norte park is next to the Ferrería station. It has a pond which was used as an ice rink and playing field but was rehabilitated in the 2000s.
Other important green areas include community squares such as Plaza Hidalgo, sports centers, college campuses, especially that of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, community parks and cemeteries.
Sports facilities cover about 67 hectares of the municipality with 70 fields and sports centers open to the public. These include the Deportivo Renovacion Nacional, Deportivo Reynosa, Centro Deportivo Ferrocarrilero and the Unidad Deportiva Benito Juarez. Deportivo Reynosa used to host one of Mexico City's temporary “artificial beaches” consisting of pools and a sand area, which were constructed by the city government as a service to the poor. The municipality has cemeteries which are counted as green spaces, especially San Isidro because of its large size.
There is little surface water with the exception of the Río de los Remedios which is primarily used for drainage of wastewater. The lowering of water tables in the valley has led to large cracks developing in areas of the municipality which has caused damage to infrastructure. The municipality is flat with inclines of between zero and five percent with no prominent elevations. Because of its flatness, flooding is a problem in heavy rain, especially in areas such as Santiago Ahuizotla, Nueva Santa María, San Pedro Xalpa and Pro Hogar.
Sixty five percent of the municipality is occupied by about 500 industries which use toxic substances. There are hundreds of km of underground gas lines. Nine communities have been classified as high risk because they are surrounded by industries. There are 250 chemical producers mostly concentrated in Colonia Industrial Vallejo which make ethanol, cyanide compounds, phosphates, organic solvents and more.
Air pollution is a significant problem in the municipality as it is in the rest of Mexico City. Most comes from vehicular traffic and industry; it includes ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide as well as suspended particles. Noise pollution is caused by industry and truck traffic. Although the municipality has no surface water, water pollution in its drainage is a problem from residential areas and industry. Industry contamination is mostly in the form of poor water use and the dumping of prime materials often from cleaning and includes organic matter, grease, soaps and detergents, dyes, solvents and more. Solid waste production is a problem from industrial and residential sources. The amount of waste produced in the municipality has grown almost seven-fold since the 1980s at a current rate of 571 tons per day.
Due to the proximity of the old 18 de Marzo refinery, there are many underground pipes some of which are still in use. Even more are associated with another nearby but active refinery Terminal de Almacenamiento y Distribución de Destiados de Pemex-Refinación. Most pipelines are found under Avenida Tezozomoc, 5 de Mayo, Salónica, Eje 3 Norte, Ferrocarril Central and Encarnación Ortiz.
Communities
Originally the town of Azcapotzalco consisted of neighborhoods from the pre-Hispanic period. Many of these neighborhoods exist to this day, called colonias, barrios or pueblos. A number of them maintain individual cultural traits despite being fully engulfed by the urban sprawl of Mexico City. These include San Juan Tlihuaca, San Pedro Xalpa, San Bartolo Cahualtongo, Santiago Ahuizotla, San Miguel Amantla, Santa Inés, Santo Domingo, San Francisco Tetecala, San Marcos, Los Reyes and Santa María Malinalco. Today, the municipality has 61 colonias, 15 pueblos and 11 barrios. In 1986, INAH designated the center of Azcapotzalco as a historical monument.In 2011, the historic center was designated as a "Barrio Mágico".
The most important community remains the former town of Azcapotzalco, also called the historic center, marked by Plaza Hidalgo. This square consists of fenced stone paths surrounding gardens. Its two main focal points are a statue of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla facing Avenida Azcapotzalco and a six-sided kiosk in the center. On Saturdays, chess players convene to play during the afternoon. Café Alameda is on Plaza Hidalgo — a café and bar with a rock and roll theme. It has images of Jim Morrison, Freddie Mercury, Elvis Presley, and John Lennon lining its walls. At night on weekends, it hosts live bands which attracts youths from the area. The Historic Archive of Azcapotzalco is on the south side of Plaza Hidalgo. It contains a mural painted by Antonio Padilla Pérez titled Origen y Trascendencia del Pueblo Tepaneca. The building contains archeological pieces.
Across the street from the plaza are the parish church and the former municipal hall. The parish and former monastery of San Felipe and Santiago Apóstoles dates from 1565. It has the largest atrium in Mexico City, surrounded by a thick wall with inverted arches. The main church has a large Baroque portal which contains the main door topped by a choir window. To the side there is a slender bell tower with pilasters on it four sides. Under the tower, there is an image of a red ant. A local legend says that when the ant climbs the bell tower, the world will end. To the right of the portal are three arches that front the former Dominican monastery. The interior of the church has a Baroque gilded altarpiece with Salomonic columns which contains images of the Virgin Mary. The main altar is Neoclassical. To the side there is a chapel called the Capilla del Rosario from 1720 with Baroque and Churrigueresque altars. The former cloisters has remains of its former mural work.
Next to the parish and taking over some of its former atrium space is the Casa de Cultura cultural center. The building was constructed in 1891 originally as the municipal hall for Azcapotzalco. It has a sandstone portal with a balcony on the upper level featuring a double arch and an ironwork railing from 1894. The building has three exhibition halls on the lower level. The upper level is dedicated to the Sala Tezozomoc hall, larger than the lower halls combined. The garden areas have rosebushes and orange trees. These areas host art exhibits, workshops, classes and other cultural events. The center has a mural called La herencia tepaneca en ul umbral del tercer milenio by Arturo García Bustos, a student of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. In 1986, the building was named a historic monument by INAH and converted into its current use in 1991 on its 100th anniversary.
The main street in the historic center is Avenida Azcapotzalco, which is home to long-established businesses. One of these is the Nevería y Cafetería El Nevado, which has a 1950s rock and roll atmosphere, uniformed waitresses and mid 20th-century furnishings. There are cantinas such as El Dux de Venicia with its original furniture and La Luna established in 1918 and noted for its “torta” sandwiches.
The Principe Tlaltecatzin Archeological Museum is a private institution founded by Octavio Romera that focuses on pre-Hispanic pieces related to the Azcapotzalco area. It is the result of a lifelong exploration and study of artifacts he found since he was a child. He educated himself and is considered an expert in the pre-Hispanic history and archeology of the area.
The oldest library of the municipality, Biblioteca Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, has murals by Juan O’Gorman.
In addition to the historic center there are other important communities, many of which maintain old traditions. The Barrio de San Miguel Amantla is near the former 18 de Marzo refinery. It is one of the oldest in the municipality with one of the oldest churches. In the Mesoamerican period, it was noted for its plumería or the making of objects with feathers. The oldest standing church is in San Miguel Amantla which had fallen into ruins but was rebuilt using the original blocks. Barrio de San Luis is one of over 20 which date from the Mesoamerican period. It is noted for its church and its barbacoa. The Barrio de Santa Apolonia Tezcolco was the site of the Tezozomoc's treasury. The Barrio de San Juan Tlilhuaca is the largest neighborhood in the municipality and contains the largest church. This church is famous for its passion play for Holy Week and is surrounded by old cypress trees said to have been planted as tribute to Moctezuma.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, areas in the municipality became the site of country homes for the wealthy of Mexico City. Today a number of chalet and English style homes with pitched roofs, towers, porches and gardens can be seen especially in the Clavería neighborhood. This neighborhood was as exclusive as Colonia Juárez and Colonia Condesa at that time. Of the housing developments construction in the latter 20th century, the most important is the Unidad Habitational El Rosario. This apartment complex has 170 buildings, with 7,606 apartments housing over 50,500 residents. It is the largest of its kind in Latin America.