Tlalpan, Mexico City, Mexico

🇲🇽 Tlalpan is a borough (demarcación territorial) in the Mexico City. It is the largest borough, with over eighty percent under conservation as forest and other ecologically sensitive area. The rest, almost all of it on the northern edge, has been urban since the mid 20th century. When it was created in 1928, it was named after the most important settlement of the area, Tlalpan, which is referred to as “Tlalpan center” (Tlalpan centro) to distinguish it from the borough.

This centre, despite being in the urbanized zone, still retains much of its provincial atmosphere with colonial era mansions and cobblestone streets. Much of the borough's importance stems from its forested conservation areas, as it functions to provide oxygen to the Valley of Mexico and serves for aquifer recharge. Seventy percent of Mexico City's water comes from wells in this borough.

However, the area is under pressure as its mountainous isolated location has attracted illegal loggers, drug traffickers, and kidnappers; the most serious problem is illegal building of homes and communities on conservation land, mostly by very poor people. As of 2010, the government recognizes the existence of 191 of the settlements, which cause severe ecological damage with the disappearance of trees, advance of urban sprawl, and in some areas, the digging of septic pits. The borough is home to one of the oldest Mesoamerican sites in the valley, Cuicuilco, as well as several major parks and ecological reserves. It is also home to a number of semi-independent “pueblos” that have limited self-rule rights under a legal provision known as “usos y costumbres” (lit. uses and customs).

Tlalpan center What is now called “Tlalpan center” or sometimes “the historic centre of Tlalpan” began as a pre-Hispanic village located at the intersection of a number of roads that connected Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) with points south. This village was renamed Villa de San Agustín de las Cuevas in 1645, with the last part “de las Cuevas” referring to the many small caves in the area. During the colonial period, the village was a modest farming village, known for its fruit orchards. However, the forests of the area made it attractive to the elite of Mexico City who built country homes and haciendas here, much as they did in other areas south of the city such as Chimalistac, San Ángel and Coyoacán .

Many of these homes and manor houses of the former haciendas still remain in and round Tlalpan center. As the urban sprawl of Mexico City only began to reach this area starting in the mid-twentieth century, much of the former village has retained its provincial streets, older homes and other buildings with façades of reds, whites, blues and other colors, although a number have been converted into other uses such as cafes, restaurants and museums. This makes the area similar to neighboring Coyoacán, and like this neighbor, Tlalpan centre is popular with visitors, especially on weekends as people come to see its provincial main square/garden, mansions, narrow winding cobblestone streets lined with large trees, eat in its restaurants and cafes and visit its many nearby parks and other green areas. One popular area with cafes and restaurants is La Portada, on one side of the main plaza.

Tlalpan centre has eighty structures from the 16th to the 20th centuries that have been classified by INAH as having historic value. Some of these include old Tlalpan Hacienda, the former home of the Marquis de Vivanco and the San Agustin parish church. The borough of Tlalpan has sought World Heritage Site status for the area because of these structures, the area's history and the nearby site of Cuicuilco.

The centre of this former village is the main square or garden officially called the “Plaza de la Constitución” but better known as the “Jardín Principal” (Main Garden). Visually, what stands out is the large kiosk in the centre, but historically more important is the “Arbol de los colgaldos” (Tree of the Hanged). This tree, still alive, was used to hang political enemies and bandits, including those opposed to the invading French Army during the French Intervention in Mexico. On weekends, vendors set up stalls selling handcrafts and other items. To one side of the plaza, there is a cantina called La Jalisciense, one of the oldest in Mexico City, having been in operation for over 135 years.

Facing the Jardín Principal, there is the “Palacio de Gobierno” (Government Palace), which was the site of the government of the State of Mexico, when Tlalpan served as state capital for six years in the early 19th century. Since then, it was used as a barracks for Benito Juárez’s soldiers, a jail, a residence for the Empress Carlota and the site of the Instituto Literario (today the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México) . Today, it serves as the headquarters of the borough, although it is also commonly referred to as the “ex palacio municipal” (former municipal palace) referring to the time when Tlalpan was an independent municipality in the State of Mexico. The current structure was built between 1989 and 1900 in Neoclassical style.

On another side of the main square, there is the San Agustin Church. The village church was established here in 1547 by the Dominicans, but the current structure on the site dates from the 18th century. It has an austere façade and faces the main square. Around it is an atrium, some simple gardens and a patios shaded by fruit trees. A fire at the end of the 19th century destroyed the Baroque altar, replaced with the sober one seen today. This parish is the site of the annual San Agustin de las Cuevas Festival, which is the largest religious event in the borough.

Casa Frissac is located just off the main square. It was built in the 19th century in French style as the residence of Jesús Pliego Frissac. According to local legend, bandit Chucho el Roto lived here at one time. In the 20th century, it belonged to Adolfo López Mateos then it became the site of the Lancaster School, which closed in the 1980s. In the 1950s, it was used as a set for the film Los Olvidados, by Luis Buñuel. Today, the house is still the protagonist for a number of local ghost stories; however, its official function is that of a cultural centre called the Instituto Javier Barros Sierra. This centre began operations in 2001 after 21,800,000 pesos worth of remodeling, which restored the structure to much of its 19th-century look. The centre has hosted art exhibits by photographers, graffiti artists, and more—many with a political message. While the center's authorities insist the centre is non-political, members of Mexico's PAN party raised objections to the content in the center's first year.

The Museo de Historia de Tlalpan (Museum of the History of Tlalpan, is housed in a building known as “La Casona” (The Mansion), which dates to 1874. In addition to its age, one of its claims to fame is that it is the site of the first long distance telephone call in Mexico, calling a telephone in the then-separate Mexico City. This call was made on 20 March 1878 and the telephone used to make the call is on display here. The mansion was classified as a historic monument by 1986, and it was converted into the current museum in 2003 after extensive remodeling, which included restoration of the original murals. The museum explores the culture and history of the Tlalpan borough. It also has a permanent collection of art work by Gilberto Aceves Navarro, Alberto Castro Leñero, Isabel Leñero, Javier Anzure Joëlle Rapp and Jorge Hernandez.

The museum was opened to be part of a “cultural circuit” integrated with other facilities such as Casa Frissac. Prior to the opening of this museum, the only other museum (as opposed to a cultural centre focused on classes) was the Museo Soumaya, which is private. Much of the museum's collection of historic items was donated by over one hundred individual residents and include documents, photographs, artworks and more. These donations cover the eight rural “pueblos” in the Ajusco area, traditional barrios and the major apartment complexes in Coapa and San Lorenzo Huipulco as well as Tlalpan center. An organization called the Centro de Documentacion Historica de la Delegacion now accepts, organizes and cares for the borough collection of historic items.

Twenty blocks of Tlalpan centre have been designated at the “Museo Público de Arte Contémporaneo de Tlalpan (MUPACT), an “open-air” museum of art, which opened in 2006 with eighteen works. The works are displayed on walls, trees, sidewalks and even streets. The borough offers a nominal fee for works selected to be displayed and requires that said works have a “strong social content.” One of the works that has been displayed was when artist Georgina Toussaint convinced the inmates of a Centro de Tratamiento de Varones to draw images of their identity and then displayed the works on the façade of the facility.

A major attraction of the centre, not far from the square, is a manor house that belonged to the former Tlalpan Hacienda. The manor was constructed in 1737 around a central courtyard. Although the hacienda no longer exists, the structure is still surrounded by large gardens. The manor house is currently used as a luxury hotel and restaurant, although there are various salons available as well for events. When it was converted to its present use, it was remodeled in “Neo-Mexican” look with touches of Art Nouveau. The main restaurant offers traditional Mexican dishes with chiles en nogada, cabrito (roast goat), escamoles and duck as specialties. It has large gardens filled with peacocks. Much of the interior décor has been modeled in styles from the 19th century and earlier to evoke the grandeur of the area's upper class of that time.

Scattered among the cobblestone streets of the old village are a number of other notable houses and structure from various centuries. The Casa Chata is on the corner of Hidalgo and Matamoros Streets. It was built in the 18th century, with one corner cut off, creating a small façade around the main entrance. The name refers to this feature as “chata” mean flattened, or pushed in. As Tlalpan was the capital of the State of Mexico for six years, a number of constructions related to this function, such as the Casa de Moneda (coin mint) and a government print shop were built and still remain. In the latter, Cuban writer José María Heredia published poems about his stay in Mexico.

Other religious institutions include the Convent of the Capuchinas (the Capuchin Poor Clares), which still functions as a convent, where one can buy cookies made by the resident nuns. There is also the Capilla del Calvario, which was built in the 17th century. The former house of the Count De Regla is found on Congreso Street, and on San Fernando Street, there is a house where José María Morelos y Pavón was held prisoner. Another house on this street was occupied by Antonio López de Santa Anna. A notable market in the area is the Mercado de la Paz, which was built in 1900.

This historic centre was designated as a "Barrio Mágico" by the city in 2011.

Political divisions Tlalpan is the largest of Mexico City's sixteen boroughs, and vastly larger than the traditional village of Tlalpan. It has a surface of 310 km² and accounts for 20.6% of Mexico City. It lies at the far south of Mexico City bordering the boroughs of Coyoacán, Xochimilco and Milpa Alta with the state of Morelos to the south and the State of Mexico to the southwest.

Administratively, the borough is divided into five zones: Centro de Tlalpan, Villa Coapa, Padierna Miguel Hidalgo, Ajusco Medio, and Pueblos Rurales. All of these are divided into neighborhoods variously called “colonias,” “barrios,” “fraccionamientos” or “unidades habitacionales” with the exception of the Pueblo Rurales area, which also contains eight semi independent villages. The far northern zones such as Tlalpan Center, Villa Coapa, and Padierna Miguel Hidalgo are urbanized areas where the sprawl of the city has reach, which the southern sections are still rural. The urbanized areas account for only about 15% of the borough, with the rest belonging to conservation areas or ejido communal lands. Pueblos Rurales is the largest zone, but 83% of the borough population is concentrated in the other four.

Urban areas The urban sprawl of Mexico City reached the borough of Tlalpan in the mid-20th century, but only the far north of the borough is urbanized. This area accounts for over 80% of the borough population, who live in a mix of middle class residential areas and large apartment complexes for the lower classes. This northern area is crossed by a number of major road arteries such as the Anillo Periférico, Calzada de Tlalpan, Viaducto-Tlalpan, Acoxpa, Division del Norte/Miramontes, which experience extremely heavy traffic during rush hour. The highway connecting Mexico City with Cuernavaca also passes through the borough. Intersections of these major roads have large commercial and retail complexes such as that of Avenida Insurgentes and Anillo Periferico, which has several of these complexes, as this is a major highway connection for the south of the city.

Traffic and parking are the most serious issues for the areas in the urban areas, as the borough struggles to keep up with the demand but also keep areas such as Tlalpan Centro at least somewhat provincial. Parking problems are greatest in Ajusco Medio, Padiernoa, Pedregales and Colonia Miguel Hidalgo. Traffic problems are worst in Tlalpan centre where the narrow streets get jammed by the vehicles of both residents and visitors, especially around the main plaza. The increasing popularity of this area with visitors makes the situation worse on weekends. In the urban areas, problems are similar to that in other parts of Mexico City and include carjacking, illegal firearms, muggings, graffiti, deterioration of infrastructure. Most crime is reported in the Villa Coapa with Tlalpan centre coming in second.

Rural communities The rest of the borough is filled with forested areas, rugged mountains and small communities, some of which have had a way of life little changed since colonial times. The Pueblos Rurales Zone contains only about one sixth of the borough's population, with the most important concentrations of people being the eight semi-independent communities. These villages are San Miguel Topilejo, San Pedro Mártir, San Andrés Totoltepec, San Miguel Xicalco, San Miguel Ajusco, Santo Tomás Ajusco, Magdalena Petlacalco, and Parres El Guarda.

These “pueblos” govern much of their local affairs through “usos y costumbres,” modern legal recognition of the old village governing structures still in place, many of which use some form of direct democracy. This is in stark contrast to areas such as Villa Coapa, where almost all local decisions are made by representatives. Because of the rugged terrain, few roads and little police protection, these settlements are isolated. While protected from some of crime problems that affect their urban counterparts, this isolation has made the area attractive for drug runners bringing their merchandise into Mexico City, for kidnappers, illegal logging and more, which has led to a number of murders in the area.

Many of high peaks between the borough and the State of Mexico are used as lookouts for criminal organizations. Because of this, the borough ranks ninth in criminal activity. The largest problem is illegal settlements. An estimated 191 forested and other areas have been taken over by about 8,000 families. Some of these communities are over twenty years old. Although some of the illegal construction represents individuals trying to claim a large tract, most of it is shantytowns for the poor with few or no services.

Geography and ecology Tlalpan is located between the mountains that separate Mexico City from the states of Morelos and Mexico and the rocky areas of San Angel, Ciudad Universitaria and the delegation of Coyoacán. The south of the borough consists of the mountain ranges of Chichinautzin and Ajusco, which preserve most of the forested areas remaining in Mexico City. Fifteen of mountains in this area reach at least 3,000 masl, which include the two highest: Cruz del Marqués (3,930masl) and Pico del Aguila (3,880masl) . The borough, like the rest of the Valley of Mexico, lies on central part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt .

Much of the geology of the area formed when the Xitle volcano erupted in 100 CE, which created numerous caves and formed the basis of the volcanic soil that, 600 years later, makes the area's agriculture so productive. The borough has two types of soil: rocky in higher elevations and—in lower areas—less solid and containing more groundwater, making it somewhat spongy. The area experiences regular seismic activity, mostly of low intensity, which is believed mostly from small ancient faults reactivated by regional stresses, or by the sinking of the Valley of Mexico. The south of the Valley, including Tlalpan, is also affected by the underground movement of magma, especially when such contacts the waterlogged regions of the former Lake Xochimilco. Most of these tremors go unnoticed except for those that occur close to the surface such as the one centered 5 km south of the Ciudad Universitaria on 16 October 2005 (mag. 3.1). However, even this one was not felt far from its epicenter. Three areas in the borough are susceptible to seismic activity over 7.5 on the Richter scale: Colonia Isidro Fabela, Villa Coapa, and Tlalpan Centro. These areas are subject to special building inspections and annual earthquake drills. The borough has a warmer and more humid climate than the rest of Mexico City.

Economy Tlalpan accounts for 6.8% of Mexico City's workforce. Most are employed in services (48.5%), followed by commerce (25.1%) and manufacturing (15.8%). The borough accounts for 4.4% of Mexico City's GDP, mostly from services (68.6% of the borough GDP), transportation and commerce. The borough accounts for 13.3% of Mexico City's rural economy (agriculture, forestry etc.) producing staple crops such as corn and beans as well as fruits (apples, peaches, etc.) and cut and uncut flowers. Livestock percentages of higher producing 28% of cattle, 23.2% of pigs and 66.9%. There have been efforts by the city tourism agency to bring more tourism to the borough, especially to Tlalpan center. One proposal is to have the Turibus tour bus system include a stop in the area. However, studies and neighborhood groups have express concerns about the possibility of this leading to deterioration of the area.

Education Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City is physically small, densely packed campus that is divided into two parts. In one are the academic and administrative facilities, and in the other are the sports facilities. The design of its buildings reflect the various architectural styles that exist in Mexico City from the 17th to the 20th centuries., and is designed to reflect the historic centre of this city. The campus offers programs and degrees from the high school/preparatory level to the doctorate level. Most university and graduate school programs focus on the sciences and technology, with a number of business and legal programs. The campus also sponsors research programs in the applied sciences as well as recreational and counselling programs for its students.(campus p19) The campus was founded in 1973 and was originally located in downtown Mexico City.

When the campus had grown sufficiently, land in the southern part of the city was purchases and a new campus built there in 1990. Since then the campus has grown with new programs and new installations. In 2004, the campus and borough authorities signed an agreement to provide online preparatory education open to the public run as a joint venture between ITESM and the borough. The online program is meant to solve some of the problems with providing educational opportunities to the more rural areas of the borough such the communities of Ajusco Medio and Ajusco Alto. In addition, to the online resources, students from the campus can also complete their social service requirement for graduation by tutoring in rural schools in the borough.

One of the most successful of Universidad del Valle de Mexico’s campuses is in the borough. In 2004, UVM expanded its campus and accommodates over 8,000 students. It offers over 25 bachelor's degrees in areas such as law, education, architecture, mechanical engineering and accounting as well as seven master's degrees. The campus contains 154 classrooms, 2 large lecture halls, over 12 computer labs, and a central library with book and digital divisions. The campus also offers sports and other recreational facilities for students.