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Zócalo
EntityQ1348507· pop 30· linked from 475 articles

Also known as Plaza de la Constitución, Zocalo, Plaza de la Constitucion, Zocalo Square, Zocolo, El Zocalo, El Zócalo

Zócalo () is the common name of the main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the conquest by Spain, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza used to be known simply as the Plaza Mayor ("Main Square") or Plaza de Armas ("Arms Square"), and today its formal name is Plaza de la Constitución ("Constitution Square").

Key facts

Monument.name
Zócalo
Monument.native_name
Plaza de la Constitución
Monument.image
Zócalo, Ciudad de México (32846556446) (cropped).jpg
Monument.image_size
300px
Monument.caption
Plaza de la Constitución
Monument.location
Mexico City, Mexico
Monument.begin
1521
Monument.complete
1523
Monument.open
1524

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Plaza de la Constitución - Zócalo de la Ciudad de México - 6.jpg
Show 5 more facts
postal code
06000
inception
1521-00-00
Commons category
Plaza de la Constitución (Mexico City)
Commons gallery
Zocalo
native label
Plaza de la Constitución
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~22 min read

Article

14 sections
Contents
  • Description
  • History
  • Pre-conquest
  • Viceroyalty of New Spain (1521–1821)
  • Independence and the 1828 Parián Riot
  • Era of the ''Porfiriato''
  • 20th century
  • 21st century
  • As a political hub
  • As an artistic venue
  • In popular culture
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Zócalo () is the common name of the main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the conquest by Spain, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza used to be known simply as the Plaza Mayor ("Main Square") or Plaza de Armas ("Arms Square"), and today its formal name is Plaza de la Constitución ("Constitution Square").

This name does not come from any of the Mexican constitutions that have governed Mexico but from the Cádiz Constitution, which was signed in Spain in the year 1812. Even so, it is almost always called the Zócalo today. Plans were made to erect a column as a monument to independence, but only the base, or zócalo (meaning "plinth"), was built. The plinth was buried long ago, but the name has lived on. Many other Mexican towns and cities, such as Oaxaca, Mérida, and Guadalajara, have adopted the word zócalo to refer to their main plazas, but not all.

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