Place of the Coyotes

Recently I was in 'the place of the Coyotes' for a tour.   Actually it's called Coyoacan, and it's one of the oldest neighborhoods in Mexico City.  Cortes considered making it his capital at the time of the conquest, but eventually opted for the center of the city where the old capital of the Aztec (technically Mexica -- pronounced meh -sheek -uh) was.

Coyoacan was important in pre-Columbian Mexico because it had fresh water -- here is one of the only open rivers in the whole city -- most of the rest of them are covered over and re-routed underground. 

Coyoacan is best known in the tourist world for the preserved home of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.  We did not visit there, but saw some of the lesser known sites.   For example:


The Casa Alvarado, now the 'Museum of Sound' with audio files of the History of Mexico, 




Chapel of St. Anthony of Padua

Plaza Sta. Catalina -- this church was built for the indigenous people on a large square, as they were unaccustomed to worshipping inside, and preferred an outdoor religious ceremony. 

 

 





The Italian Cultuiral Center, housed in a lovely old hacienda, offers language courses, a library of books in and about  Italian, and a wonderful little Italian grocery store!

The Gardens of the Italian Cultural Center

 

We ended up in the center of Coyoacan, in the Jardín del Centenario.  At the entrance to this plaza where this portal is located. 

 

At the opposite end of the plaza is the colonial church of San Juan Bautista, which has some amazing frescoes on the ceiling.  (There were baptisms taking place while we were there, so I didn't get any photos...)

 

 

Enjoyed a great (if pricey) lunch at one of the many restaurants that face the plaza. 

The coyote fountain above is in the center of the plaza, and like most public spaces in Mexico, it is populated by street performers -- musicians, magicians and actors -- as well as vendors selling artwork, trinkets, and souvenirs.