Tacubaya

Tacubaya (Nahuatl: ) is a working-class area of Mexico City in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo. The colonia Tacubaya and adjacent areas in other colonias are collectively referred to as Tacubaya. San Miguel Chapultepec sección II, Observatorio, Daniel Garza, and Ampliación Daniel Garza are also considered part of Tacubaya.

The area has been inhabited since the fifth century BC. Its name comes from Nahuatl, meaning “where water is gathered.” From the colonial period to the beginning of the 20th century, Tacubaya was a separate entity to Mexico City and many of the city’s wealthy residents, including viceroys, built residences there to enjoy the area’s scenery. From the mid-19th century on, Tacubaya began to urbanize both due to the growth of Mexico City and the growth of its own population. Along with this urbanization, the area has degraded into one of the poorer sections of the city and contains the La Ciudad Perdida (The Lost City), a shantytown where people live in shacks of cardboard and other materials. Many of the mansions that were built here in the 19th century remain, such as the Casa Amarilla and Casa de la Bola, but most Mexico City residents are familiar with it due to its transportation hub on Avenida Jalisco where the Metro, Metrobus and many street buses converge.