Plaza de Armas de Mexico.

Title

Plaza de Armas de Mexico.

Description

The Plaza de Armas (main square) in Mexico City is splendid.

ca. 1864

Artist

Castro (1826-1898)

Casimiro Castro ( 1826 Tepetlaoxtoc –1889 Mexico City), was a Mexican painter and lithographer, and is regarded as having been a leading graphic and landscape artist in nineteenth century Mexico. astro's work records the changes in fashions in Mexico from republican austerity through the Industrial Revolution. According to Roberto Mayer in his "Nacimiento y Desarrollo del Album Mexico y Sus Alrededores", this book did not appear in true editions, and copies were printed when the market demanded. It was published in Mexico by 'Imprenta Lithographica de Decaen' in 1864. Casimiro Castro and Sigogne produced the "Album del Ferrocarril Mexicano, Colección de Vistas Pintadas del Natural (Mexican Railroad Album)" containing 25 chromolithographic plates, with Antonio García Cubas writing the text. The work was intended to commemorate the inauguration of the first railway line that ran from the Gulf coast port of Veracruz to Mexico City. It depicted views and surrounding landscapes along the route of the railway, and was published in 1877 by Víctor Debray.

Historical Description

Mexico City, is the capital of Mexico and the most populous city in North America. It is located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de México), a large valley in the high plateaus in the center of Mexico. The city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan was founded by the Mexica people in 1325. The old Mexica city that is now simply referred to as Tenochtitlan was built on an island in the center of the inland lake system of the Valley of Mexico, which it shared with a smaller city-state called Tlatelolco. According to legend, the Mexicas' principal god, Huitzilopochtli, indicated the site where they were to build their home by presenting a golden eagle perched on a prickly pear devouring a rattlesnake. When the Spaniards arrived, the Aztec Empire had reached much of Mesoamerica, touching both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. The city is the political, economic, social and cultural center as well as the country's largest transportation hub. The name México originally goes back to the Aztecs, who called themselves "Mexica. In German-speaking countries, the English-language designation Mexico City is also sometimes used for "Mexico City". For centuries, this basin has been the center of the country, long before there could be any talk of a Mexican nation. The city is surrounded on three sides by mountains - including the famous twin volcanoesPopocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl and the Sierra Nevada. When the Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico, they found a highly developed hydroponics: Corn, beans, tomatoes, squash and other foods were grown on irrigated land and floating gardens called chinampas. In the 15th century, the Aztecs began to build dikes themselves, which connected the island to the mainland. They also served as aqueducts. According to Aztec records, the founding of the city under the name Tenochtitlan dates back to 1345, when a band of nomads from the north settled on an island in Lake Texcoco. The Aztecs (actually Méxica) settled there after long years of wandering, during which they had subsisted on whatever had been available, voluntarily or involuntarily, in permanent settlements. According to their tradition, they had received the order from their god Huitzilopochtli to found a city at the place where they would find an eagle sitting on a cactus and eating a snake. They found it - on an island in the middle of the lake. Eagle, snake and cactus form the central motif of today's Mexican flag.