There are decorative plaques in the Secretary of Education building corners representing different deities from cultures from Spain, Mexico, and India
The Houses of Spain
Feathered Serpent Mexico
Buddha India
Decorative Plaques
Category Archives: Mexico
Mexican Secretariat of Public Education
The Mexican Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) building is located near the historic center of Mexico City. It is rich with public history, including a series of murals by the famous Diego Rivera. The building currently serves as the headquarters for SEP, which has many purposes, including maintaining public schools and ensuring that the educational requirements of the Mexican Constitution are upheld.
In the courtyard is a statue of Benito Juarez with a child. Benito Pablo Juárez García was a Mexican politician, military commander, and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until he died in office in 1872.
Ministry of Public Education
Ministry of Public Education Quarter
Benito Juarez Statue
Shopping in the Square
Despite protests in the main square in the historic center of Mexico City, vendors set up with the cathedral in the background, stands under umbrellas to sell local, colorful items
Street Shopping
Vendors on the Street
Saw, while walking around the historic center in Mexico City, a shoe polisher waiting for a customer, one guy reading newspapers, and one person looking for snacks to purchase
Shoe Polisher Waiting
Reading Newspapers
Reviewing Snacks for Sale
National Palace in Mexico City
The National Palace is the seat of the federal executive in Mexico. Since 2018, it has also served as the president’s official residence. It is located on Mexico City’s main square, the Plaza de la Constitución.
While we could not take a full photo of the National Palace due to tents in the square in the historic center, here are some images.
Side View of the Presidential Palace
Advertisement in front of the Presidential Palace
Main Entrance to the Presidential Palace
Organ Grinder
Organilleros, or organ grinders, are captivating characters you might have seen while wandering the main historic plazas of Mexico City, especially in Mexico City’s Zócalo. They wear traditional beige uniforms and caps and play an odd instrument that makes a slightly mistuned sound.
Street Musician
Lot of Churches and Cathedrals
The historic center of Mexico has many churches and cathedrals that one sees while walking around.
Santo Domingo in Mexico City refers to the Church of Santo Domingo and its Plaza, also called Santo Domingo. Both are located three blocks north of the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral.
The Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico. It is one of the main buildings in the historic center, but limited opportunities to photograph the entire cathedral due to tents in the square. Many images to be posted.
Iglesia de Santo Domingo
Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral Side View
Colorful Items for Sale
There is so much color at the historic center of Mexico City, with vendors selling eye-catching items
Vendor on the Street
Colorful Items for Sale
Street Vendors
Despite the protests, many vendors were selling colorful items under umbrellas and rolled-up tarps in the historic center of Mexico City.
Walking on the Street
Selling Wares on the Street
Guided Walking Tour
We took a guided walking tour around the historic center of Mexico City. He gave us an overview of the sacred precinct of Tenochtitlan.
Tenochtitlan was the capital city of the Aztec Empire, founded in 1325 on an island in Lake Texcoco, in present-day Mexico City. It was a remarkable urban center known for its complex architecture, advanced agriculture, and vibrant trade networks. The city was eventually conquered by Hernán Cortés and his Spanish forces in 1521, and its ruins now lie beneath modern-day Mexico City.
The Templo Mayor (pictured behind the guide) was the main temple of the Mexica people in their capital city of Tenōchtitlan, now Mexico City. Its architectural style belongs to the late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica.
Guided Tour
Templo Mayor
Another View Templo Mayor
Visit During Protests
During our visit, a wave of teachers in Mexico City protested issues regarding public education, pensions, and other social rights. A strike launched May 15 by over 20,000 teachers affiliated with Mexico’s National Coordination of Education Workers (CNTE) escalated into a protracted mobilization by teachers nationally, marked by roadblocks, the occupation of Mexico City’s Zócalo plaza by staying in tents.
This affected our ability to take clear photographs of the historic buildings, but we tried.
Blocking the Street
Colorful Tents of Protestors
Colorful Tents in the Shopping Corridor
Protestors Sitting
Visit to Mexico City
We visited Mexico City, Mexico, in June. We will be posting a series of photos from that city.
Mexico City is the densely populated, high-altitude capital of Mexico. Home to over 22 million people, it is a ginormous metropolis that blends ancient history with modern innovation, making it one of the most unique cities in the world.
We stayed at the modern version of Mexico City at the JW Marriott in Polanco, and a renovated historic building for the Hampton Inn in the historic center, to photograph different images of this city.
Mexico Flag
JW Marriott
Marriott Sign
Hampton in Historic Mexico City
Hampton Entrance