Mexico City, Mexico – The Historic Center of Mexico City, a treasure trove of history and culture, holds many secrets that often go unnoticed. Ana Lilia Cepeda, a distinguished writer and restorer, likens the center to a book that one must learn to read. Having overseen its restoration as director of the Historic Center Trust from 2002 to 2006, Cepeda shared five remarkable facts about this iconic area during a recent visit to Tec de Monterrey’s Santa Fe campus.
Cepeda’s Insights at Tec de Monterrey Santa Fe
Cepeda’s participation was part of the ‘Historias que Transforman’ (Stories that Transform) initiative, which aims to connect students with leaders who have made a positive social impact, as explained by Benito Mirón, general director of Tec de Monterrey’s Santa Fe campus.
These are the five fascinating facts Ana Lilia Cepeda shared about Mexico City’s Historic Center:
1. The Largest in Ibero-America
According to Cepeda, the Historic Center spans an impressive 9 square kilometers, making it the most extensive in Ibero-America. Its size even surpasses that of some European city centers. “If we compare it on a map with the centers of Madrid and Barcelona, both would fit within its extension simultaneously,” she noted.
Within this vast area, there are 668 blocks, 1,500 monumental buildings, 196 civil and 67 religious monuments, over 50 museums and cultural venues, 56 plazas, 19 cloisters, and 29 fountains, among other spaces.
2. Half a Million Daily Visitors
The restorer estimates that the Historic Center receives approximately 500,000 people daily, whether for work, residence, or tourism. On weekends and holidays, this influx can double, reaching up to one million visitors. Before the traffic reorganization that restricted vehicular circulation in the Plaza de la Constitución (Zócalo), around 350,000 vehicles traversed the area daily, a number that remains similar today.
3. A Site of True Legends
During her restoration work, Ana Lilia Cepeda encountered the story of the Viceroy of Valero’s Heart, a tale once considered a legend until physical evidence confirmed its veracity. This story unfolds in the old Corpus Christi Temple, opposite the Alameda Central, and centers on Viceroy Baltasar de Zúñiga y Guzmán, Marquis of Valero, the first viceroy to arrive unmarried in New Spain.
The Marquis fell in love with a woman named Constanza, who was about to become a nun, but was rejected. As a testament to his love, he stipulated in his will that, upon his death, his heart should be placed in that temple. He died in 1727, and a year later, his embalmed heart was sent to the temple in a silver box, fulfilling his last wish. “It was thought to be a legend, but when we did the restoration, we indeed found the viceroy’s heart,” Cepeda revealed.
4. Spaces of International Significance
Cepeda highlighted three facts that underscore the international importance of some of its spaces:
- The entire Historic Center was declared a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 1987.
- The Plaza de la Constitución, or Zócalo, is one of the three largest plazas in the world, surpassed only by Red Square in Moscow and Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
- The Alameda Central, with its 18th-century Renaissance layout, is the oldest public park in America, inaugurated in 1592.
“The center is like a book; you have to read it and learn how to read it,” Cepeda emphasized.
5. Hosted the Greatest Celebrities
At the corner of Paseo de la Reforma and Avenida Hidalgo stands the Kaluz Museum, formerly the Hospedería de Santo Tomás de Villanueva, which housed evangelists on their way from Europe to the East for missions in the Philippines. Between the 19th and 20th centuries, this building served various purposes. It was a tenement where actor and singer Germán Cipriano Teodoro Gómez Valdés y Castillo, known as Tin Tan, was born.
Later, it became the Hotel de Cortés, where figures such as actresses Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, as well as actor Richard Burton, stayed.
The Role of Young Creators in Heritage Preservation
Cepeda’s talk was inspired by her book, ‘A donde te lleve el tiempo,’ which won the IV Historical Novel Award from the University of the Cloister of Sor Juana and Grijalbo publishing house in 2025. She believes that literature, especially historical novels, helps raise awareness about a place’s history and build a better future. She encourages young people to embrace history and create from it.
“History is fundamental for any discipline; you have to know it to create something. Especially for young creators, it’s important to have an anchor, and that anchor is the history of who we are,” she stressed.
Carlos Mendiola, director of the Media and Culture department at the School of Humanities and Education at Tec de Monterrey’s Santa Fe campus, noted that dialogue with experts like Cepeda inspires students to become agents of change. “Her visit allowed for an exchange between generations and helped students broaden their perspective and strengthen the link between past and present,” he concluded.
Source: https://conecta.tec.mx/es/noticias/santa-fe/sociedad/cdmx-5-datos-del-centro-historico-que-debes-conocer-segun-experta
