As we recounted in our previous post on the Barrio San Mateo Churubusco, five years ago, when we moved into our apartment in modern, up-scale Colonia Parque San Andrés, in Delegación Coyoacán, we quickly became aware of some surprises that existed in the adjoining lower-middle-class neighborhood of Churubusco.
These surprises weren't just the ordinary ones you encounter moving into a new area, like discovering Mercado Churubusco, the traditional Mexican market. Nor did they have to do with the socio-economic difference between the two neighborhoods. Instead, they were significant events in Mexican history.
From Huitzilopochco to Churubusco
In our post on San Mateo, we told how Churubusco was a pueblo originario, original indigenous village existing long before the arrival of the Spanish, located on an island close to the southwestern shore of Lake Texcoco.
When the Mexica/Aztecs of Tenochtitlan took control of the atepetls (city-states) and pueblos around the entire lake in the early 15th century, they built a causeway south from their island city to the village in order to connect with Coyoacán and other important villages in the southwest part of the Valley of Anahuac.
One codex relating the history of the Mexica migration through the Valley of Anahuac narrates that the settlement later called Huitzilopochco was a town originally called Ciavichilat, whose tutelary god was named Opochtli, a god of water. When the Mexica encountered the village, since their god, Huitzilopochtli ("Wee-tzeel-lo-POCH-tli", from the náhuatl huitzitzilin, "hummingbird"; and opochtli, "left or southern direction [orienting via the sun's path, south is to the left]"—hence, "hummingbird from the south") shared the same last part of his name with the god of Ciavictilat, the two peoples agreed they must be related. Opochtli also meant that they were both warrior gods. So the people of the village agreed to change its name, first to Uichilat, and later to Huitzilopochco.
These surprises weren't just the ordinary ones you encounter moving into a new area, like discovering Mercado Churubusco, the traditional Mexican market. Nor did they have to do with the socio-economic difference between the two neighborhoods. Instead, they were significant events in Mexican history.
From Huitzilopochco to Churubusco
In our post on San Mateo, we told how Churubusco was a pueblo originario, original indigenous village existing long before the arrival of the Spanish, located on an island close to the southwestern shore of Lake Texcoco.
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| Huitzilopochco lay at the strategic point where Lake Xochimilco emptied into Lake Texcoco. |
When the Mexica/Aztecs of Tenochtitlan took control of the atepetls (city-states) and pueblos around the entire lake in the early 15th century, they built a causeway south from their island city to the village in order to connect with Coyoacán and other important villages in the southwest part of the Valley of Anahuac.
One codex relating the history of the Mexica migration through the Valley of Anahuac narrates that the settlement later called Huitzilopochco was a town originally called Ciavichilat, whose tutelary god was named Opochtli, a god of water. When the Mexica encountered the village, since their god, Huitzilopochtli ("Wee-tzeel-lo-POCH-tli", from the náhuatl huitzitzilin, "hummingbird"; and opochtli, "left or southern direction [orienting via the sun's path, south is to the left]"—hence, "hummingbird from the south") shared the same last part of his name with the god of Ciavictilat, the two peoples agreed they must be related. Opochtli also meant that they were both warrior gods. So the people of the village agreed to change its name, first to Uichilat, and later to Huitzilopochco.
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| Altepetls and other villages around the southwest bay of Lake Texcoco and on its many islands. At the height of the Mexica/Azteca rule in the late 15th century. Huitzilopochco appears (at bottom, center) as a peninsula, but evidently was originally an island, then connected to the mainland via landfill. |
The Mexica then built a temple to Huitzilopochtli there. Standing at the southern end of the causeway, Huitzilopochco occupied a strategic crossroads between the southwest of the Valley and the island capital.
After the Spanish Conquest, in 1535, the Franciscans—as part of the Spiritual Conquest—arrived in Huitzilopochco, tore down the temple to Huitzilopochtli and built a convent and church dedicated to la Asunción de Nuestra Señora, The Assumption of Our Lady(into Heaven upon her earthly death). In 1569, they abandoned the site because of lack of sufficient friars. In 1591, the Order of San Diego, a branch of the Third Order of the Franciscans, whose first friars had arrived in Nueva España in 1576, took over the abandoned property. The "Diegans", as they were called for short, built a large church and convent dedicated to Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, Our Lady of the Angels, that is, the Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven after her Assumption. There they trained friars to go to the Philippines, which the Spanish, setting out from Nueva España, had conquered in 1565.
Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles still stand at the center of el Barrio San Diego Churubusco. The name Churubusco is said to be a Spanish "corruption" of the name Huitzilopochco. We personally hypothesize that this curious "corruption" was the result of a Spanish desire to obliterate any reference to Huitzilopochtli, since he was the main god of the Mexica.
Church and Convent of Our Lady of the Angels
Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles still stand at the center of el Barrio San Diego Churubusco. The name Churubusco is said to be a Spanish "corruption" of the name Huitzilopochco. We personally hypothesize that this curious "corruption" was the result of a Spanish desire to obliterate any reference to Huitzilopochtli, since he was the main god of the Mexica.
Church and Convent of Our Lady of the Angels
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| Church of Our Lady of the Angels Note mudejar, Islamic "Moorish" style azulejos, blue tiles, on dome and wall of the baptistry on the right. |
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| "Ex-convento Churubusco" Our Lady of the Angels |
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| Front patio |
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| Interior patio Classic Moorish, Islamic style adapted from Persia. |
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| Former kitchen garden |
Irish Martyrs and Heroes of '47
So our first surprise was learning that our next-door neighborhood was an original indigenous pueblo and a major site of the Spiritual Conquest in Mexico City.
The second surprise was, while walking around the neighborhood, we noted the names of the two main streets bounding San Mateo Churubusco on the south and north: Mártires Irlandeses, Irish Martyrs, and Heroes del 47, Heroes of '47. What did Irish martyrs have to do with Mexico, and who were the heroes of '47?
The mystery deepened even more when, walking north on Calle Convento, Convent Street, leading to the Franciscan Convent, we encountered a street named 20 de Agosto, 20th of August—then, circling the walls of the large convent and enclosing a shaded park-like space, was Calzada General Anaya (Calzada indicates an original footpath).
What did these street names refer to? Irish martyrs in Mexico? 1847 is the year of the Mexican-American War, which Mexicans call the Intervention, but what is the significance of August 20th?
As we approached the Convent, this carved stone on the corner of Convento, caught our eye:
An Irish Battalion in Mexico in 1847? Obviously related to the Irish Martyrs. But who were they, and why were they in Mexico?
The mystery deepens, but not for long. The Convent now houses the Museum of the Interventions, which memorializes the various times Mexico has been subjected to foreign invasions: first, by the Spanish in 1519-21, then the U.S. in 1846-47, the French in 1861-67, and the United States again during the Mexican Revolution, in 1914 and again in 1915 (supporting Venustiano Carranza against Pancho Villa).
In a small plaza in front of the entrance, we come upon a monument that reads, in part, "To the memory of the illustrious and brave Mexicans who fought in defense of their country and made the sacrifice of their lives in this very place, August 20, 1847." The Convent was the site of the Battle of Churubusco, one of the last of the Mexican-American War.
We have already seen the strategic importance of Huitzilopochco. Its location on the southern causeway enabled the Mexica to control access to their capital from the south. Cortés also recognized its critical location. A year after the Noche Triste, the Night of Sorrows (June 30, 1520), in which the Spanish fled from Tenochtitlan, Cortés had regrouped his troops and prepared for the attack on Tenochtitlan. In order to regain access to the city, he needed to take the entrances to each of the causeways. One of four stood at Huitzilopochco. As it happened, the residents of Coyoacán were Tepaneca, another Nahua people whom the Mexica had defeated in 1428 and taken over their towns on the west side of the lake. So they were happy to give Cortés open access to the causeway.
After the Spanish victory over the Mexicas, the construction the Convento de Churubusco insured continued control of this southern access to the City.
Churubusco's strategic location proved to be important again some three hundred years after the Spanish Invasion and the construction of the Convent.
As part of U.S. President James Polk's plan to take parts of Mexico in order to gain control of California and, thereby, access to the Pacific Ocean, the United States invaded Veracruz, Mexico, in March 1847. By August, U.S. forces were approaching Mexico City. On August 19, Mexican troops were defeated at Contreras, south of the city. They retreated to the Convent in Churubusco to defend the main road—along the ancient causeway—that led straight to Mexico City.
The U.S. troops followed the Mexicans in hot pursuit and attacked them the next day at the Convent of Churubusco. The Mexicans ran out of ammunition and had to surrender.
So our first surprise was learning that our next-door neighborhood was an original indigenous pueblo and a major site of the Spiritual Conquest in Mexico City.
The second surprise was, while walking around the neighborhood, we noted the names of the two main streets bounding San Mateo Churubusco on the south and north: Mártires Irlandeses, Irish Martyrs, and Heroes del 47, Heroes of '47. What did Irish martyrs have to do with Mexico, and who were the heroes of '47?
The mystery deepened even more when, walking north on Calle Convento, Convent Street, leading to the Franciscan Convent, we encountered a street named 20 de Agosto, 20th of August—then, circling the walls of the large convent and enclosing a shaded park-like space, was Calzada General Anaya (Calzada indicates an original footpath).
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| Fortress-like walls surround the Convent |
What did these street names refer to? Irish martyrs in Mexico? 1847 is the year of the Mexican-American War, which Mexicans call the Intervention, but what is the significance of August 20th?
As we approached the Convent, this carved stone on the corner of Convento, caught our eye:
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| Captain John O'Reilly, Commander of Saint Patrick Battalion, 1847 |
An Irish Battalion in Mexico in 1847? Obviously related to the Irish Martyrs. But who were they, and why were they in Mexico?
The mystery deepens, but not for long. The Convent now houses the Museum of the Interventions, which memorializes the various times Mexico has been subjected to foreign invasions: first, by the Spanish in 1519-21, then the U.S. in 1846-47, the French in 1861-67, and the United States again during the Mexican Revolution, in 1914 and again in 1915 (supporting Venustiano Carranza against Pancho Villa).
The Pieces Fall in Place
In a small plaza in front of the entrance, we come upon a monument that reads, in part, "To the memory of the illustrious and brave Mexicans who fought in defense of their country and made the sacrifice of their lives in this very place, August 20, 1847." The Convent was the site of the Battle of Churubusco, one of the last of the Mexican-American War.
After the Spanish victory over the Mexicas, the construction the Convento de Churubusco insured continued control of this southern access to the City.
Third Time Strategic
Churubusco's strategic location proved to be important again some three hundred years after the Spanish Invasion and the construction of the Convent.
As part of U.S. President James Polk's plan to take parts of Mexico in order to gain control of California and, thereby, access to the Pacific Ocean, the United States invaded Veracruz, Mexico, in March 1847. By August, U.S. forces were approaching Mexico City. On August 19, Mexican troops were defeated at Contreras, south of the city. They retreated to the Convent in Churubusco to defend the main road—along the ancient causeway—that led straight to Mexico City.
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| U.S. Battle Map for Churubusco Mexico City is at top. Bottom, center, is Churubusco. They are connected by the Calzada (tan line) that follows the ancient Aztec causeway. Blue line running south to north is the Royal or National Canal. Blue line running west to east, just above Churubusco, is Churubusco River. Map is in the Musuem of the Interventions |
The U.S. troops followed the Mexicans in hot pursuit and attacked them the next day at the Convent of Churubusco. The Mexicans ran out of ammunition and had to surrender.
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Battle of Churubusco, August 20, 1847
Poster for 164th commemoration, August 2011, two weeks after we moved into neighboring Colonia Parque San Andrés |
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| In the plaza just outside the convent, a statuevhonors General Pedro Maria Anaya for his valiant defense of Mexico during Battle of Churubusco |
On September 12, 1847, the U.S. attacked and took the Castle of Chapultepec, the Mexican military citadel, located on what were then the western outskirts of Mexico City. A few days later, General Winfield Scott entered Mexico City and took control of the government of Mexico.
On February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed between the U.S. and Mexico. Mexico had to surrender 55% of its territory: all of the present-day states of California, Nevada and Utah, plus parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. The U.S. paid $25 million for it
On February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed between the U.S. and Mexico. Mexico had to surrender 55% of its territory: all of the present-day states of California, Nevada and Utah, plus parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. The U.S. paid $25 million for it
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| U.S. General Winfield Scott (on white horse, of course) enters the Zócalo, Mexico City's major plaza, with U.S. flag flying over Mexico's National Palace |
Irish Martyrs and The Heroes of '47
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| Captain John O'Reilly commanded St. Patrick's Battalion, composed of Irish and other Catholic deserters from U.S. Army opposed to the U.S. invasion of Mexico Poster for commemoration of Battle of Churubusco |
St. Patrick's Battalion, under the command of John O'Reilly, was a group of primarily Irish and German Catholic immigrants to the United States who had joined the Army as a way to make a living. Brought to Mexico for the invasion, they had deserted, believing, along with many U.S. citizens, that the invasion was unjust.
After their defeat and capture at Churubusco, survivors of the Battalion were hung on the walls of Chapultepec Castle as traitors. Today they are honored in Mexico as Los Mártires Irlandeses along with their fellow Mexican Heroes del '47. (History adapted from Jenny's Journal of Mexican Culture).
Contemporary San Diego Churubusco
The 16th-century Franciscan Convent of Our Lady of the Angels, which replaced the 15th century temple to Huitzilopochtli, has been transformed into a contemporary museum dedicated to the 19th century Battle of Churubusco and other similar bellicose events in the history of the Mexican Republic. The streets around this historic site have been transformed into a neighborhood of mostly upscale contemporary homes and public institutions.
Contemporary San Diego Churubusco
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| A Sunday stroll around the outside of the Convent |
Today, the Convent, beautifully restored and repurposed as the Museum of the Interventions, serves as the tranquil heart of contemporary Barrio San Diego Churubusco. The arbolado, tree-filled, space encircling its high, massive walls serves as a park for quiet strolls and modern-day exercising.
Facing this park are a combination of colonial-style homes and modern townhouses, as well as a major institution of Mexican anthropology and history. The State of Coahuila also maintains a large, colonial-style Center as its official representation in the capital city.
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| California Colonial home from 1920s. The gated driveway of a similar home hosted both Mercedes and BMW coupes! |
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| Townhouses were recently built behind a restored, 19th or early 20th century facade (the arches in the red wall are turn-of-the-century Moorish revival). During the excavation, artifacts were found from the original Huitzilopochco. In Mexico, history is always right beneath your feet. |
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| National School of Conservation, Restoration and Museography, The school is of the National Institute of Anthropology and History, INAH, training students in the skills to maintain, restore and display the treasures of Mexican history, such as the Convent across the street. It stands at the corner of Calzada General Anaya, which was originally the footpath between the causeway from Tenochtitlan and Coyoacán. We repeat, in Mexico, history is always right beneath your feet. |
Away from the Convent and park, San Diego is a tranquilo neighborhood of middle to upper middle- class homes.
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| Home on Calle Convento |
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| Gated callejon, alley of private homes. |
Vestiges of an Original Pueblo
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| On a wall along Calle Convento, a plaque recalls the barrio's origins as "The Place of the Hummingbirds of the South" Placed by the Government of the Federal District (now Mexico City) |
The 16th-century Franciscan Convent of Our Lady of the Angels, which replaced the 15th century temple to Huitzilopochtli, has been transformed into a contemporary museum dedicated to the 19th century Battle of Churubusco and other similar bellicose events in the history of the Mexican Republic. The streets around this historic site have been transformed into a neighborhood of mostly upscale contemporary homes and public institutions.
So we wonder whether anything remains, besides a plaque on a wall, of el pueblo originario, the original indigenous village of Huitzilopochco as it was transformed by the Spanish government and Franciscan friars into el Barrio San Diego Churubusco. To answer that question we need do nothing more than return to the church that still stands next to the Convent—the Church of Our Lady of the Angels.
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| Sunday Mass in Our Lady of the Angels. Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, stands on the Baroque retablo, behind the altar. |
Our Lady of the Angels is very much a functioning Catholic Church, evidently well-attended, and well-tended to. A Mexican friend of ours, a lawyer whose offices are in our building, and his equally professional wife, attend the church, even though they live "across the river", i.e., north of Río Churubusco, which is now "entubed" below the expressway of the same name. We attended the baptism of their first child there and are awaiting an invitation to attend the baptism of their recently born second son.
Our Lady of the Angels has its traditional fiesta patronal. As their saint is the Virgin, the fiesta is celebrated on the day of Her Assumption into Heaven, August 15. While we missed the fiesta this year because we were visiting friends in our old home of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, we did, by chance, capture a few photos of the procession last year, as we were entering el estación del Metro General Anaya, to travel up the Calzada de Tlalpan for one of our ambles in Centro Histórico. This was before we had come to realize the significance of pueblos originarios in Mexico City, although they were right in front of our eyes, and, with their cohetes and bandas, in our ears, and "underfoot" in Coyoacán.
As we were about to enter the station from the noisy Calzada, we were stopped by the sound of a banda playing in the side street, 20 de Agosto, which leads from the highway to the Convent. Turning the corner, we were delighted to come upon chinelos, those Moorish-style dancers who frequently accompany processions of the saints.
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| Cruz Azul, Blue Cross, is a Mexico City soccer team, Mexicans' "other religion". |
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| Again, tradition is literally "handed on". |
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| Right behind the chinelos was Our Lady of the Angels, herself, on a flower-bedecked anda, or palanquin. born by members of the parish cofradía, brotherhood. We are reminded, yet again, that it was the Virgin, in her appearance as the Virgin of Guadalupe, who united the indigenous peoples of Mexico with Spanish Catholic culture. |
While the procession was small, with few people watching, it nonetheless conveyed the vitality of community commitment by which the traditions of the pueblos originarios, the outcomes of the Spiritual Conquest, are continued, as we have witnessed this summer in the other barrios and pueblos of Coyoacán. Even here—in up-scale, "museum-filled", historic and strategic San Diego Churubusco—that identity persists.
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| The former Convent of Our Lady of the Angels, now the National Museum of the Interventions, sits at the center of Barrio de San Diego Churubusco. To its south are the streets Heroes del 47 and Martíres Irlandeses; 20 de Agosto runs east to the Metro Station General Anaya on the Calzada de Tlalpan, the former causeway and the barrio's eastern boundary. Calzada General Anaya, running from the northeast, around the Convent, and continuing southwest towards Villa Coyoacán, was the original indigenous footpath. The northern boundary, Río Churubusco, an expressway, covers the original river. Avenida Division del Norte is the western boundary. |
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| Delegaciones of Mexico City Coyoacán is the purple delegación in the center. |
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| Delegación Coyocan with its Colonias, pueblos and barrios Barrio San Diego Churubusco (starred) is at north-central boundary of Delegación Coyoacán. Colonia Parque San Andrés is Mexico City Ambles' home base. |
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| Altepetls and other villages around the southwest bay of Lake Texcoco and on its many islands. At the height of the Mexica/Azteca rule in the late 15th century. All those from Azacaptzalco, Atepehuacan, Tepeyácac and Atzacualco south are now within the northern part of Mexico City. |
See also:
Mexico City's Original Villages: Introduction - Landmarks of the Spiritual Conquest
The Spiritual Conquest: The Franciscans - Where It All Began
Mexico City's Original Villages: Coyoacán's Many Pueblos
Coyoacán: Pueblo of Tres Santos Reyes and the Lord of Compassion
Coyoacán: The Lord of Compassion Goes Visiting
Coyoacán: The Lord of Compassion Visits Barrios San Lucas and Niño Jesús, the Child Jesus
Coyoacán: Pueblo Candelaria Welcomes the Lord of Compassion
Coyoacán: The Lord of Compassion Travels from San Pablo Tepetlapa to Santa Úrsula Coapa
Coyoacán: The Lord of Compassion Returns Home to Pueblo Tres Santos Reyes
Coyoacán: San Mateo Churubusco - Identity Via Church and Market
Chapultepec Castle: The U.S. Army vs. Santa Anna and The Boy Heroes
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