700 Years

 I have mentioned previously that this is the 700th anniversary of the founding of Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City) by the Aztecs in 1325.  One of the major events to commemorate the anniversary was a light and sound show (I guess the modern term is now "video mapping") on the Zócalo.

The show was to held nightly between July 11th and 27th.  Alejandro and I agreed that it would be best to attend on a weeknight when the Zócalo would be less crowded.  We agreed to meet downtown at at 7:00 on the final Wednesday that the show was being presented. Given the weather that we have had, our biggest concern was the weather.  I came prepared with a rain jacket and umbrella.  

I took the Metrobus downtown in the afternoon.  (This was the day that I visited Iturbide's Palace and the Casa del Pavo which I discussed in earlier posts.)  As I left the Casa del Pavo it was sprinkling lightly, and the umbrella came out.  But by the time I reached our appointed meeting place, the rain had stopped.  We met at a food court that is part of a public parking lot where Alejandro parked his car.  Along with his sister and nephew, we walked to the Zócalo.  

The plaza was crowded but not claustrophobically jammed. The show was projected on the facades of the Cathedral and the National Palace.  We were closer to the Cathedral, so we focused our attention on that building.  Because of the church's uneven surface of pillars, statues, carvings, etc., it was not really ideal for the projections.  The National Palace has a flatter surface, but it was partially obscured by tents that had been set up on the Zócalo.  Then there were some idiots in the crowd that had laser lights that they kept flashing on the Cathedral. (You'll see that in some of the videos that I am posting here.)

The show told the history of Mexico City from its foundation by the Aztecs to the present day.  Fortunately, the rain was not too much of a problem.  A couple of times it began to rain lightly, and then it would stop.  I would put away my camera, take out and open my umbrella.  Each time it started to sprinkle vendors were "Johnny-on-the-spot", weaving their way through the crowd selling umbrellas.  Most people, however, had come prepared. Umbrellas would pop open across the Zócalo and then close when the rain stopped.  Fortunately, we were spared any heavy downpours.

The quality of my photos is not the greatest, but here are some pictures and videos of the show...

"Luminous Memory"

The Aztecs establish their capital of Tenochtitlan.

The last Aztec Emperor Cuauhtémoc

 

The Aztecs defend Tenochtitlan from the Spanish invaders.

The Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés

Spanish viceroys who ruled "New Spain" during the colonial period

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the great poet and intellectual of colonial Mexico

The rediscovery of the Aztec Sun Stone buried beneath the Zócalo

Miguel Hidalgo and Ignacio Allende plot Mexico's independence from Spain.

Mexico City enters the 20th century

The Mexican Revolution begins with the overthrow of the dictator Porfirio Díaz and the election of Francisco Madero.

Emiliano Zapata, hero of the Revolution who fought for "Land and Liberty".

Diego Rivera, 20th century muralist