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Mexico City is the capital of Mexico. It’s
Mexico’s cultural, political, and economic center. About 14 million people live
in Mexico City, and about 18 million live in the Mexico City area. That makes
it one of the biggest cities in the world. Hundreds of years ago, it was the
site of the world’s largest Native American city.
The World’s Largest Cities
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City
|
Country
|
2003 population*
|
|
1
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Tokyo
|
Japan
|
35,000,000
|
2
|
Mexico
City
|
Mexico
|
18,700,000
|
3
|
São
Paulo
|
Brazil
|
17,900,000
|
4
|
New
York
|
United
States
|
18,300,000
|
5
|
Mumbai
(Bombay)
|
India
|
17,400,000
|
6
|
Los
Angeles
|
United
States
|
12,000,000
|
7
|
Kolkata
(Calcutta)
|
India
|
13,100,000
|
8
|
Shanghai
|
China
|
12,800,000
|
9
|
Dhaka
|
Bangladesh
|
11,600,000
|
10
|
Delhi
|
India
|
14,100,000
|
*Population figures are for metropolitan areas.
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Source: Population Division of the United Nations.
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AN AZTEC PAST
Mexico City sits on the ruins of the capital
of the Aztec Empire. The Aztecs were Native Americans who once ruled most of
Mexico. They called their capital Tenochtitlán.
The Aztecs built Tenochtitlán in the 1300s on an
island in Lake Texcoco. The city had a royal palace, canals, and tall
pyramid-shaped temples. Probably about 200,000 people lived there.
SPANISH CONQUEST
Spanish conquistador (conqueror and explorer)
Hernán Cortés invaded Tenochtitlán in 1521. For 85 days, Spanish troops
besieged the city. Over 150,000 Aztecs died. The Spanish invaders destroyed the
palace and temples. They built Mexico City on the Aztec ruins. Mexico became a
Spanish colony.
The Spanish built canals. They drained the lake in
which the Aztec city sat. Mexico City became the most important city in Spain’s
empire in North America.
Mexico won independence from Spain in the 1820s. Mexico
City then became the new nation’s capital.
MEXICO CITY TODAY
The past is very much present in Mexico City
today. The center of the city is a plaza called the Zócalo. The Aztecs had a
palace and temple here. Cortés built his palace here. Today, Mexico’s
government meets in the National Palace on the Zócalo. A cathedral also stands
on the Zócalo.
A few blocks west of the Zócalo is the
Alameda, a park with tree-lined walks. It dates back to the late 1500s. The
Alameda is in the heart of Mexico City’s business and shopping district. The
Palace of Fine Arts, on one side of the Alameda, houses art galleries and
theaters.
Just beyond the Alameda is the Paseo de la Reforma.
This wide, tree-lined boulevard goes by embassies, office buildings, and some
of Mexico City’s most elegant shops. The Paseo de la Reforma leads to
Chapultepec Park. This park has a zoo, lakes for boating, and several museums.
Soccer and bullfighting are popular sports in Mexico
City. Soccer matches take place in the city’s Aztec Stadium. Its bullfighting
arena is one of the largest in the world.
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