MC and I went to Tlatelolco Plaza today. It is a very interesting place for many reasons.
First of all, the place is called the Plaza of Three Cultures because it is a city block which contains the excavated ruins of an Aztec religious center, Tlatelolco, plus a Spanish Cathedral built in 1531 by Hernan Cortes' conquistadores after they massacred the very last of the Aztecs here, then the square also houses the Mexican Department of Foreign Affairs. So think about it, there are Aztec ruins in the center of Mexico City, preserved, (have I stressed enough that Mexicans rule yet?) and a couple of days ago, Hilary Clinton was hanging out on this same block doing business.
Ok, going back to that massacre (1521), I read that so many Aztecs died fighting against the Spanish, their bodies clogged the canals. And don't get me started on the human lives sacrificed there to nature gods prior to whitey's arrival... I read today they found remains of 2 fetuses in some kind of kiln that the Aztecs probably also used to cook food in. Delicious.
The reason I wanted to visit there today was because of a more recent massacre. In 1968, just 10 days before the Summer Olympics were held in Distrito Federal, University students held a peaceful rally for Democracy (One political party ruled Mexico from 1910 until 2000 under a Democratic façade) in this very square. The Mexican military opened fire on the crowd toward the end of the rally. The whole thing was covered up by the next day; countless people died, were beaten and arrested, and many went missing. Less than 24 hours later, the square was cleaned of the blood and almost no media organizations covered the incident (Media networks were owned almost exclusively by the Government and its friends, not too far off from today). Tlatelolco October 2, 1968 was not investigated by the Mexican government until 2000, when finally, a new Presidential party under Vincente Fox was elected. If you want to read more about the Massacre check this NPR story. It has photos from the 1968 movement and more details.
What luck, in 1985 some 8,000 people died around this square when 2 large housing project complexes crumbled under the force of a huge earthquake. The government was criticized due to its delayed and insufficient aid response. This criticism helped spark real progress toward actual Democratization in Mexican government.
La Plaza de Tres Culturas has seen its share of political turmoil and gore for sure. I feel like it should be one of the most hallowed places in this city. Go there if you're ever in D.F.
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