Chapultepec
Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" in Mexico City, is one of the largest Nature Value Areas in Mexico, measuring in total just over. Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of the park's main functions is as an ecological space in Greater Mexico City. It is considered the first and most important of Mexico City's "lungs".
The area encompassing modern-day Chapultepec has been inhabited and considered a landmark since the pre-Columbian era, when it became a retreat for Aztec rulers. In the colonial period, Chapultepec Castle was built here, eventually becoming the official residence of Mexico's heads of state. It would remain so until 1934, when Los Pinos, in another area of the forest, became the presidential residence.
Bosque de Chapultepec is divided into four sections, with the first section being the oldest and most visited. This section contains most of the forest attractions, including the castle, the Chapultepec Zoo, the Museum of Anthropology, and the Rufino Tamayo Museum, among others. It receives an estimated 24 million visitors per year. This prompted the need for major rehabilitation efforts that began in 2005 and ended in 2010.
History
According to studies, there has been human presence in the area since at least the pre-Classic period. The first identified culture archaeologists have evidence for is the Toltecs. The Toltecs named the area "grasshopper hill", which would later become Nahuatl "Chapoltepēc". Remains of a Toltec altar have been found on the hill's summit. In the Classic Period, the area was occupied by people of the Teotihuacan culture. When the Mexicans, or Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico, it was inhabited by a people called the Tepanecas of Azcapotzalco.When the Aztecs took over the Valley of Mexico, they considered the hill as both a sacred and strategic site. They began to use the area as a repository for the ashes of their rulers, and the area's springs became an important source of fresh water for the capital of Tenochtitlan. Eventually, the area became a retreat strictly limited to the ruling and religious elite. In the 1420s, ruler Nezahualcoyotl was the first to build a palace in the area. Moctezuma II built reservoirs to raise exotic fish and to store water. He also had trees and plants from various parts of the Aztec Empire planted here. In 1465, Moctezuma I ordered his portrait carved into a rock at the foot of the hill and constructed the Tlaxpana aqueduct, which measured three km.
File:Folding screen. Sarao in a garden of Chapultepec. 18th century. Museo Nacional de Historia. Castle of Chapultepec.png|thumb|300px|Biombo. Sarao in a garden of Chapultepec, anonymous painter, –1790, Mexico City. National Museum of History of Chapultepec Castle.
During the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, one of the last battles between the Spanish and ruler Cuauhtémoc occurred at Chapultepec Hill in 1521. Shortly thereafter, the Franciscans built a small hermitage over the indigenous altar on Chapultepec Hill. Hernán Cortés appropriated Chapultepec and granted the northern portion to Captain Juan Jaramillo, who would become the husband of La Malinche. However, in 1530, Charles V decreed the area as the property of Mexico City and opened it to the public. The Spanish continued to use the Aztec aqueduct, but in 1771, another one was deemed necessary for the growing population of Mexico City. The Chapultepec aqueduct led water from the springs of the forest to an area in what was the south of the city, called Salto del Agua. It flowed over 904 arches and 3,908 meters. In 1785, the Franciscan hermitage was demolished to make way for the Chapultepec Castle, converting the hill and the forest around it into a summer retreat for colonial viceroys. The area was walled off from the general public and was the scene of elegant parties.
File:Ahuehuetes en Chapultepec.jpg|thumb|left|An 1875 painting, Ahuehuetes en Chapultepec, by José María Velasco Gómez depicting the ahuehuetes by the lake in Chapultepec. It is possible this is a view from Chapultepec Castle.
After Mexico achieved independence in 1821, the Castle became the official residence of the head of state. A number of these, especially Emperor Maximilian I and his wife, embellished and expanded the castle as well as the forest area around it.
The Hill was also the site of the Battle of Chapultepec in 1847, between Mexican and U.S. troops led by General Winfield Scott. Once the overwhelming attack was imminent, a band of cadets was ordered to retreat by their superiors, but they chose to stay and defend the castle. Six of them died in the battle, leading them to be known as "los Niños Héroes," and their story is celebrated in Mexico as an example of exemplary patriotism. Many myths have been woven around the story of "los Niños Héroes," the most famous being that of Juan Escutia, who allegedly jumped to his death wrapped in the Mexican flag rather than surrendering to the American troops. Although this is the most commonly known version of the story, many historians believe it wasn't possible. The six cadets are honored by a monument near where the alleged remains of the cadets were found. A hundred years after the war, it is believed that Mexico's president, Miguel Alemán, planted the remains. This was to give more relevance to the patriotic story after a visit from then-president Harry Truman to honor the fallen 100 years after the war wasn't well received.
The castle remained the official residence of Mexican presidents until 1940, when this function was moved to the Los Pinos residence, and the Castle was converted into a museum.
Since then, the park has been expanded twice, adding the second section in 1964 and the third section ten years later. Since then, the focus has been on the maintenance of the area. By 1998, the paths of the park, especially in the first section, were saturated with over 3,000 peddlers with few regulations or norms. In 2005, the first section of the park was closed for renovations, effectively evicting all vendors from the area. When it reopened months later, permits for selling were strictly limited, and police began to crack down on vendors in the park. However, some vendors continue to operate illegally and exchange information on the police's steps with radio communication equipment. At the entrances to the park, where the vendor restrictions are not in place, some vendors sometimes block the entrances and cover signs so that visitors are forced to pass through their stands.
Maintenance issues have closed parts of the park from time to time. In 1985, the park was closed to exterminate rats and other pests. In 2005, the park was filled with trees in poor condition, had scum in the lakes, and had trash piles in several locations, including fountains. From that year until 2010, the park was closed section by section for restoration and rehabilitation projects. The first section was closed for eight months in 2005, for work that included dredging lakes, pruning and removing trees, picking up tons of debris, and expelling hundreds of vendors. Shortly thereafter, projects on the second and third sections of the park began, mostly to control or eliminate rats, feral dogs and cats, pigeons, and other introduced species. In 2005, migratory birds began to make a comeback at the park with the eradication and relocation of introduced species such as geese and ducks, which were aggressive to other species. The park hosts more than 100 species of this kind of bird, with some reproducing here for the first time in decades. Other native mammals returned in 2005, including the Virginia opossum and the cacomistle.
In 2010, projects included renovating jogging tracks, and planting more than 800 trees, including acacia café, pino azul, pino peñonero, holm oak, pino moctezuma, pino prieto and grevilia, as well as the removal of dead or severely infected trees. These rehabilitation efforts of the 2000s were funded by a combination of government and private funds from groups like Probosque.
Characteristics
Chapultepec Park is the second largest city park in Latin America, after the Santiago Metropolitan Park in Chile, measuring in total just over. It is classed as one of the world's largest and most visited urban parks, along with Bois de Boulogne in Paris, the Imperial Gardens in Tokyo, and Central Park in New York City. The name "Chapultepec" means "at the grasshopper hill" in Nahuatl and refers to a large rock formation that is the center of the park's first section. Originally, this area was a forest outside of Tenochtitlan, once considered sacred in pre-Columbian times, but today it is entirely within the city, surrounded by some of its primary business and commercial districts. The park is divided into three sections, the first and oldest surrounded by fencing and closed at night, with the other two left open. It contains nine museums, amusement parks, winding paths, commemorative sculptures, lakes and fountains. Paseo de la Reforma passes most of the park and cuts through a portion on the north side.One of the park's main functions is to be an ecological space for Greater Mexico City. It is considered the first and most important of Mexico City's "lungs", with trees that replenished oxygen to the Valley of Mexico. It is a large unpaved area that allows for aquifer recharge, ameliorates the "heat-island" effect, and attracts rain. It is a refuge for migratory birds from Canada, the U.S. and other regions of Mexico, including the Cooper hawk, the Harris's hawk, wild ducks, and Vireos, Warblers and Kingfishers. Anywhere from 20 to 60 species of birds can be found here during one morning birding, including some native non-migratory species such as the Berylline Hummingbird, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Rufous-backed Robin, Black-backed Oriole, Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer and breeding colonies of Great Egret and Black-crowned Night Heron There are also more than a dozen species of reptiles and amphibians, and a number of species of various types that are in danger of extinction, including the axolotl, Goodeidae, and alandria moths. The park is home to a large number of Montezuma cypress, locally called "ahuehuete" trees, with some hundreds of years old. Many of them were planted by the Aztecs. There are also 165 other species, mostly in the third section. It is estimated by city authorities that MXN$100 million are needed annually to maintain the ecology of the park.
For Mexico City residents, the park is valued as a cultural and historic area as well as green space. The area has vestiges showing human presence as far back as the Toltecs with a number ruins from the pre-Columbian through to the colonial period. Archeological studies have unearthed and identified tombs associated with Teotihuacan, a Toltec altar on the summit of Chapultepec Hill, remains of a colonial era aqueduct, paths associated with Nezahualcoyotl, and an area where Aztec priests ingested peyote as part of religious rites. One notable site is the Baths of Moctezuma, which was a systems of tanks, reservoirs, canals and waterfalls constructed by the Aztecs. The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia has the park, as well as the Castle of Chapultepec on the hill, listed as Mexican heritage sites. They submitted the area for consideration as a World Heritage Site in 2001.
The park received an estimated 15 million visitors each year, and daily visits exceed 250,000. Sunday is the most popular day to visit because the museums are free, and visitors may spend the entire day in one or more sections viewing the attractions, picnicking, or grilling. Despite its local popularity, however, foreign visitors usually only see the small fraction of the park near the museums. The park is easy to get to via public transportation. Chapultepec metro station provides easy access to the park from Mexico City Metro Metro Line 1 and Mexico City Metrobús Line 7, while Constituyentes metro station and Auditorio metro station provide access from Mexico City Metro Line 7. There is also access have stations at park entrances to the east and south respectively. Several bus lines along Paseo de la Reforma.
Image:Esquema de Chapultepec Mexico DF.svg|thumb|center|700px|General scheme of the three sections Chapultepec, Panteón Civil de Dolores, and Tacubaya, Polanco in Miguel Hidalgo delegation, in Spanish