Plaza of Constitución , more commonly called El Zócalo , is a place ( Plaza Mayor ) of Mexico City located in the heart of the historical center of the capital. It is the larger third places world, after the Place Tian' anmen with Beijing and the Red Place of Moscow.

The term zócalo is related to the Italian zoccolo which means Piédestal or base. Zócalo and zoccolo comes both from the Latin soccŭlus which is a diminutive of soccus or soque in French.

At the 16th century, the Conquistador S built the place on what was the center politico-monk of Tenochtitlán, capital of the Aztec empire. It is encircled by the metropolitan Cathédrale of Mexico City (in north), and the palate of the Government of the Federal District, sits of the local Executive power. Moreover it is surrounded by commercial, administrative buildings and hotels.

In 1843, the general Antonio López de Santa Anna, president of Mexico for its 6th mandate organized a conference to think of a monument for the independence of the nation in the center of the place which had formerly accommodated the equestrian statue of Charles Quint. Many proposals are made by great architects and that of certain Griffo is selected. But passing in addition to this selection, Santa Anna issued that the proposal of the column of the independence of the Lorenzo architect of Hidalgo would be built. September 16th 1843, the base of the column - a block of white marble of two meters and half top - was posed on 300 boards of cedar resting on 2000 timber chocks. Unfortunately, for lack of funds, the column will never be built. With the passing of years, whereas the stone to always lie in the middle of the place, the inhabitants finishes by named the whole place the zócalo, which in Spanish means the base. This name will replace the official terms of plaza mayor or Plaza of Constitución .

More largely, one names Zocalo, the principal place of the Mexican big cities, or one generally finds a cathedral.

Today

Nowadays, the Plaza of Constitución is a major attraction of Mexico City. For the Mexicans, the Zócalo is the destination of all the demonstration policies or trade-union, the place where ideas, claims and concerns are expressed. It is as on this place as are held of the cultural and sporting events.

The Zócalo knew many artistic events and national celebrations, in particular that of the Grito de Dolores (call to the independence of 1810 of Miguel Hidalgo father of the Mexican revolution).

See too

• List of the viceroys of News-Spain
• War of independence of Mexico
• metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City

Images

Random links:

Yvonne De Carlo | Pavel Soloviev | Kurdish literature | War Rock'n'roll | Postmortem Pacific!!!