More than a century after its inception, Colonia Federal in Mexico City’s Venustiano Carranza borough stands as a testament to unique urban planning. Its distinctive radial layout of 16 streets, sprawling across 72 hectares, forms a captivating spiderweb pattern, a design unlike any other in the bustling metropolis.
A Parisian Dream in the Heart of CDMX
According to writer and chronicler Sergio Vicario, the visionary behind this intricate design was architect Raúl Romero Erazo, grandfather of Fernando Romero, who famously designed the Soumaya Museum. Romero Erazo drew inspiration from Paris’s iconic Charles de Gaulle Plaza, bringing a touch of European elegance to Mexico City.
Officially established in 1925 on land owned by the municipality of Iztacalco, the colony was acquired by the Ministry of Interior to provide housing for its employees. Its urbanization, however, was a gradual process. While inaugurated in 1925, electricity only arrived in 1946, followed by a potable water network a year later, though the colony did boast a well in the Executive Power Plaza.
The streets, wide and grand, bear the names of federal government departments and the three branches of the union: Public Assistance, Labor and Social Welfare, Congress, Attorney General’s Office, Treasury and Public Credit, Statistics, Foreign Relations, Government of the District, Interior, Supreme Court of Justice, and Executive Power.
A Resident’s Memory Lane: From Dirt Roads to Gentrification
Héctor Cuauhtémoc Barroy Sánchez, a resident of Colonia Federal for 68 years, vividly recalls the neighborhood’s early days. He remembers the first house, built in 1924, belonging to military doctor Guadalupe Gracia-García, at the corner of Suprema Corte de Justicia and Guerra y Marina. A plaque on the abandoned, graffiti-covered mansion still honors Gracia-García as a founder, a tribute “for present and future generations.”
Don Héctor, now 86, arrived at a home on Gobernación Street when the area was still largely undeveloped. “None of the houses had pavement or sidewalks, public lighting was scarce, and most lacked potable water and drainage,” he recounts, painting a picture of vast, empty lots.
His mother, a nurse who worked at the Federico Gómez Children’s General Hospital, became a pillar of the community. In the absence of local doctors, she provided essential medical care, from administering serums and injections to assisting with midnight births.
Of the old colony, only memories remain of the San Pedro public bath, now a laundry and photocopy center, and the aromatic Café El Marino, whose scent once filled the streets and is now a warehouse.
The Echoes of a Catastrophe
At 17, don Héctor witnessed a horrific explosion on Relaciones Exteriores Street, where a dynamite depot was located. He remembers the injured, the featherless chickens and cats, the fire trucks, and the crowd drawn to the tragedy. Then came the second blast.
“I saw a huge sinkhole; the employees were covered in blood, the fireman with his hose and truck. Then I saw a whirlwind and just threw myself to the ground; I was 17. The second explosion came, and the trucks, the firemen, and the people watching flew. My shoes flew off, and my clothes vanished. Helmets, uniforms, sacks, firemen’s boots appeared everywhere, and the houses were left with just holes. The newspaper reported that the roar was heard all the way to the Zócalo.”
Vicario emphasizes the magnitude of this tragedy, noting that victims’ bodies were reportedly propelled up to 700 meters away, reaching what is now Circuito Interior.
Today, the site of the explosion serves as a parking lot for public transport vehicles like buses and vans.
A Changing Landscape: Gentrification and Short-Term Rentals
With a touch of nostalgia, don Héctor observes that Colonia Federal is losing its popular character. Single-story homes are being replaced by apartment buildings, now costing “3 or 4 million pesos.”
His son, also named Héctor, adds, “We are in a location close to Foro Sol, the GNP stadium, and the airport, which has led to gentrification in this area. Additionally, the phenomenon of short-term rentals is increasing. Many years ago, some neighbors modified their homes for rent.”
The Mexico City government, on its electronic pages, asserts that “as satellite and drone photographs proliferate, people seem not to tire of the perfect layout” of Colonia Federal.
Source: https://www.jornada.com.mx/noticia/2026/07/19/capital/el-trazado-perfecto-de-telarana-la-federal-una-parte-de-paris-en-cdmx
