Plaza De Las Tres Culturas

Lonely Planet review

So named because it symbolizes the fusion of pre-Hispanic and Spanish roots into the Mexican mestizo identity, the Plaza of the Three Cultures displays the architectural legacy of three cultural facets: the Aztec pyramids of Tlatelolco, the 17th-century Spanish Templo de Santiago and, on the south side, the modern tower that now houses the Centro Cultural Universitario. A calm oasis north of the city center, the plaza is nonetheless haunted by echoes of its turbulent history.

Recent archaeological finds have altered long-held views about Tlatelolco's history. According to the conventional version, Tlatelolco was founded by an Aztec faction in the 14th century on a separate island in Lago de Texcoco and later conquered by the Aztecs of Tenochtitlán. But a pyramid excavated on the site in late 2007 actually predates the establishment of Tenochtitlán by as much as 200 years. All agree, however, that Tlatelolco was the scene of the largest public market in the Valle de México, connected by causeway to Tenochtitlán's ceremonial center.

During the siege of the Aztec capital by the Spaniards, Cortés defeated Tlatelolco's defenders, led by Cuauhtémoc. An inscription about that battle in the plaza translates: 'This was neither victory nor defeat. It was the sad birth of the mestizo people that is Mexico today.'

Tlatelolco is also a symbol of modern troubles. On October 2, 1968, 300 to 400 student protesters were massacred by government troops on the eve of the Mexico City Olympic Games. The area subsequently suffered some of the worst damage of the 1985 earthquake when apartment blocks collapsed, killing hundreds.

You can view the remains of Tlatelolco's main pyramid-temple and other Aztec buildings from a walkway around them. Like the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlán, Tlatelolco's main temple was constructed in stages, with each of the seven temples superimposed atop its predecessors. The double pyramid on view, one of the earliest stages, has twin staircases which supposedly ascended to temples dedicated to Tláloc and Huizilopochtli. Numerous calendric glyphs are carved into the outer walls.