{"id":4061,"date":"2019-04-29T11:31:16","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T17:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chapultepec.org.mx\/?p=4061"},"modified":"2019-04-29T11:31:16","modified_gmt":"2019-04-29T17:31:16","slug":"10-places-you-hadnt-seen-in-chapultepec-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chapultepec.org.mx\/en\/10-places-you-hadnt-seen-in-chapultepec-park\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Places You Hadn\u2019t Seen in Chapultepec Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mexico.mx<\/a><\/p>\n

We hear the name Chapultepec Park and immediately think of any number of well-known spots: the Castle, naturally; and of course the National Anthropology Museum; and the Rufino Tamayo and Modern Art museums; \u2026 the zoo, and the lake. But in a 1700-acre park, there can easily be many other great spots, too. Most likely you\u2019re familiar with some of them, yet others you probably didn\u2019t even know existed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. El Caracol Museum<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It targets children and young people, who can learn about Mexican history visually. In 1960, when it was built, it was architect Pedro Ram\u00edrez V\u00e1zquez\u2019s first project in the park, and he designed a spiral building (consequently the name Caracol, meaning Snail).<\/p>\n

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2. Audiorama<\/h1>\n

Originally in this spot was the Cincalco Cave, which according to legend, led to Mictl\u00e1n, the land of the dead. Poet Salvador Novo called it\u00a0\u201cIn xochitl, in cuicatl\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(in the flower, the song). The place has eight speakers set up around the benches. You sit down, grab a book and let yourself go with the music. There\u2019s classical, new age, jazz and chill out.<\/p>\n

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3. Casa del Lago Juan Jos\u00e9 Arreola<\/h1>\n

At first, it housed the Automobile Club<\/strong>.<\/strong>\u00a0At the time of the Revolution its name was changed to Casa del Lago (literally Lake House), and since 1959 it has been a cultural center run by the UNAM. It is a gathering place for writers, musicians, theater people and painters. And the group of artists (Juan Garc\u00eda Ponce, Jos\u00e9 Emilio Pacheco, Juan Vicente Melo, among others) who got together here in the 1960s has been dubbed \u201cthe Casa del Lago Generation\u201d. It is still a bastion of art, performances and concerts.<\/p>\n

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4. Quinta Colorada<\/h1>\n

Its style resembles that of European chalets, and it was once living quarters of the park warden. Nowadays, it hosts cultural activities such as workshops, book presentations and storytelling. It also has a small planetarium that can hold 35 stargazers. It\u2019s a worthwhile destination whether alone or with other(s).<\/p>\n

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5.\u00a0Nezahualc\u00f3yotl Fountain<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Unveiled on September 15,1956, it is the work of sculptor Luis Ortiz Monasterio. At its center, the poet king himself emerges, sculpted in black stone from Xaltocan, while the bas-relief work displays scenes from his life. The area is perfect for exercising and walking.<\/p>\n

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6.\u00a0Natural History and Environmental Culture Museum<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Its history goes way back to 1790, when the collection was begun. In 1964 its current location, in the second section of the park, was opened. It boasts a plaster replica of a\u00a0Diplodocus Carnegie<\/em>, that is 90 feet long and 13 tall. The museum also has halls on the Universe, the Earth, the origin of life, human evolution and more.<\/p>\n

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7.\u00a0Dolores Water Deposit, from the Lerma River<\/strong><\/h1>\n

This monument, built by architect Ricardo Rivas, engineer Eduardo Molina and Diego Rivera, pays tribute to the Lerma system waterworks. Diego Rivera\u2019s mural\u00a0Water, the Origin of Life<\/em>\u00a0was meant to be the floor of a pool, but the paint didn\u2019t hold up, so it had to be emptied.<\/p>\n

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8.\u00a0Mexican Cypress \u201cThe Sargent\u201d<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Invited by Moctezuma Ilhuicamina, the \u201cpoet king\u201d Nezahualc\u00f3yotl planted this Mexican cypress tree, around 1460. The \u201cSargent\u201d is no longer alive, but its thick trunk remains sturdy. It measures 50 feet tall, 130 in circumference and lived 500 years. The \u201cTlatoani\u201d, another Mexican cypress, is about 700 years old and the park\u2019s oldest inhabitant.<\/p>\n

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9.\u00a0Obelisk to the Hero Boy<\/strong>s<\/h1>\n

Everyone is familiar with the Monument to the Hero Boys (its official name is Altar to the Homeland) behind the Modern Art Museum, but few people have seen this obelisk, the first memorial to them, created in 1884 by architect Ram\u00f3n Rodr\u00edguez Arangoity. A plaque in front of the monument indicates the place where \u2013it is said\u2013the body of Juan Escutia was found. He was the cadet who is said to have thrown himself, wrapped in the flag, over Chapultepec Hill on September 13, 1847.<\/p>\n

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10.\u00a0Botanical<\/strong>\u00a0Garden<\/strong><\/h1>\n

It was created in 2006, in the area that had been the Children\u2019s Center. An iron and glass structure is filled with ornamental flowers, succulents, orchids and cacti. There are also native plant species such as cedars, poplars, palm trees, alders, pines, ginkgos, sycamore and liquidambar.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mexico.mx We hear the name Chapultepec Park and immediately think of any number of well-known spots: the Castle, naturally; and of course the National Anthropology Museum; and the Rufino Tamayo and Modern Art museums; \u2026 the zoo, and the lake. But in a 1700-acre park, there can easily be many other great spots, too. […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chapultepec.org.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chapultepec.org.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chapultepec.org.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chapultepec.org.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chapultepec.org.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.chapultepec.org.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chapultepec.org.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chapultepec.org.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chapultepec.org.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chapultepec.org.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}