Head of the “Angel” who fell in 57 (República de Chile No. 8). The winged victory, “el Angel” on Reforma Avenue has become one of the most known landmarks of Mexico city, a place used for spontaneous celebrations of the chilangos, but the statue that crowns the column is not the same one when the monument was inaugurated by Porfirio Diaz to commemorate de first century of the independence of the country. In 1957 the city suffered a strong earthquake which caused the fall of the statue which broke in pieces and has to be replaced for a new one. If you want to see the rests of the head which reassembles a Javier Marin sculpture, you can visit the building of the Archivo Histórico de la ciudad de México in the former palace of the counts of Heras Soto.

El niñito ciego. The holly blind child at the cantina La India If you approach the corner of Bolivar and República del Salvador at one side of the entrance of a typical Mexican Cantina, La india, you will find a niche with the image of a folk saint, the holly blind child, sorounded by the toys as offerings for him. The legend says that there was an image of the holly child with emeralds as eyes in a church in Morelia, Michoacán. In 1774 a man stole the emeralds which caused that the image shed tears of blood.

The Calmécac under the Centro Cultural Español. During the excavations to build a parking lot under the Centro Cultural Español (access through Guatemala 18 or Donceles 97) remains of a precolombian structure were found and have been identified as the Calmécac, the school where the children of the Mexica nobles were educated. The most interesting part are the beautiful sea snails battlements.

Monumento a los españoles caídos en 1520. (Blasón de la conquista). As part of the walls of the church of San Hipólito (famous for the cult of San Judas Tadeo, the patron of the lost causes) there is a column at the corner of the external wall of the temple, possible from the XVI century to honor the Spanish fighters that were killed when they fled from Mexico Tenochtitlan, the biggest defeat they suffered during the conquest of Mexico called la Noche Triste (the sad night). The stone shows, at the top a medallion that describes that defeat and the structure underneath shows an indigenous character in notorious suffering that is taken by a flying eagle surrounded by Spanish as well Mexican arms and insignia. It could represent the legend of the farmer which foreshadowed the fall of Moctezuma. During the next 300 years, on August 13, a celebration took place parading the banner of the city from the city council to this place (paseo del pendón) in order to commemorate the triumph of the Spanish army.

Hernan Cortés resting place. The conqueror of central Mexico died on December 2, 1547 in Castilleja de la Cuesta, Spain. On his last will he requested that his remains rested in New Spain. It took three centuries before they arrive to their current place.

Cortes has been always a controversial character and his remains were hidden during the independence war to protect them against the anti-Spanish wave. They are in one side of the altar of the church of la Purísima Concepción y Jesús de Nazareno (República de El Salvador 119) which is part of the hospital founded by Cortés. Recently a new campaign critical to the Spanish domination has risen the discussion about the conqueror and some politicians have even propose to destroy the remains. Hopefully they will be respected as part of our history.