Mexico City

 Mexico City or "Ciudad de México" (or "CDMX") is a cosmopolitan city with a population of 9 million (and 5 million cars), situated in a valley surrounded by mountains.  The greater CDMX area holds a population of 21 million, in a sprawling mass of interconnecting towns and colourful hillside settlements.  The city is over 2000m above sea level, so on top of the air pollution that is to be expected in a city that size, you may also find yourself breathless more easily.

The city has a vibrant art scene, museums of all sorts, music venues, restaurants and bars.  It is by no means a poor city, with a pronounced middle class.  Air pollution has drastically been reduced over recent decades.  Mexico City is now known for it’s vertical gardens and green walls to combat pollution.  You can find 7 peso tacos, to 70 peso hipster tacos to a 4000 peso nine course tasting menu (with tacos) at Pujol, one of the top restaurants in the world.  There are as many upmarket designer clothing stores as knockoff market items.

Mexico City has the friendliest people, the most vibrant use of colours and the most amazing flavours of street food.

Why I chose to travel to Mexico City?

I first travelled to Mexico City in 2016 to see my favourite band, Black Sabbath, perform on my birthday on a whim. I needed somewhere to go and it was cheap (and the perfect way to celebrate my birthday). I have been back multiple times since and truly love the city.

Originally an Aztec city called “Tenochtitlan”, the settlement dates back 700 years and was constructed on an island in a swampy lake. The legend tells a tale after the fall of the Toltec empire where wandering tribes were given a sign by the god Huitzilopochtli, an eagle with a snake in its mouth while perched on a cactus (as per their flag), and so they settled the island. The city grew and became large and powerful.

The Spanish, under Cortes, were originally welcomed to the city as guests. They created their own settlements nearby. Knowing that they were probably outnumbered, the Spanish made alliances along their journey to the city with other tribes who were opposed to Moctezuma, ruler of Tenochtitlan. Due to progressive paranoia developing between the Aztecs and the Spanish, and Cortes leaving power to Alvarado who instigated violence against the Aztecs, the relative peace disintegrated.

Once Cortes returned, the Spanish laid siege to the city and starved the Aztecs out.  With the help of indigenous tribes, the city was taken and destroyed.  The main temple of Tenochtitlan, Templo Mayor, was destroyed and a cathedral was built on top of it.  The remnants of this temple were discovered in 1978 when city workers were undertaking sewerage upgrades.  The city square or “Zocalo” is built over the central marketplace of Tenochtitlan.

As the city has been built on reclaimed swamp land and a drained lake, there has been significant movement, and it is possible to see old buildings leaning.

Lake Xochimilco and the canal systems within are the last remnants of the lake systems that once surrounded Tenochtitlan.