The coyote fountain
The bronze symbol of the borough.
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The historic centre of Coyoacán is the heart of an old village swallowed by Mexico City, and now one of its best places to walk. At the middle are two adjoining plazas, the Jardín Centenario and Plaza Hidalgo, lined with big trees, cafes and colourful houses. The name comes from Nahuatl and means place of those who own coyotes. The Tepanec people lived here before the Spanish and allied with them against the Aztecs, and the Spanish used it as a headquarters during the conquest. It was the first capital of New Spain from 1521 to 1523. It stayed separate from Mexico City until the nineteenth century, and became a borough in 1928. The Jardín Centenario has a bronze fountain of two coyotes, the symbol of the borough, and on its west side stand sixteenth-century stone arches that once led to a church atrium, carved with both European and local motifs. Plaza Hidalgo has a bandstand and the municipal building, wrongly called the House of Cortés: it dates from the eighteenth century and was never his home, despite the plaque. A large crafts market lines the north side. The area is 9.8 km in a straight line south of the Mexico City Zócalo, and the Frida Kahlo Museum is a short walk away. Stalls sell corn and sweets, and some dishes contain pork, so ask before ordering. It gets crowded at weekends, and weekday mornings are calmer.
The bronze symbol of the borough.
A sixteenth-century entrance.
The bandstand and municipal building.
Jardín Centenario and Plaza Hidalgo, Coyoacán
No, the building is eighteenth-century and he never lived there, though he did live in Coyoacán.
Weekday mornings are calmer, while weekends are livelier and more crowded.
