Mexico City

Mexico City is a very big city.

It is the capital of Mexico. The city sits in a high valley.

Long ago, people built it on islands. These people were called the Mexica. They lived in a place called Tenochtitlan.

Later, Spanish explorers arrived. They changed the city. They built new buildings on the old ones.

Today, the city is very busy. Many people live there. It is a center for money and art.

It is a very important place in the world.

Mexico City is the capital of Mexico.

It sits high in a valley. The city is 2,240 meters above sea level. It is a very large place. Many people live there. Over 9 million people live in the city itself. More than 21 million people live in the whole metro area.

This makes it a huge center for money and art.

The city has a long history. The Mexica people built it around 1325. They called it Tenochtitlan. They built it on islands in Lake Texcoco. Later, Spanish explorers arrived. They changed the city. They built new parts on top of the old ones. They named it Mexico City.

Today, the city is split into 16 parts. These are called boroughs.

The city is known for many things. Some call it the City of Palaces. It is a very important place in the world.

Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico. It is a massive center for money and culture. This city is one of the most important places in the world. It sits high up in the Valley of Mexico. The city is on a high plateau. It sits at an altitude of 2,240 meters.

You can see the city spread out in the valley. It is a very busy and crowded place.

The city is divided into 16 boroughs. These boroughs are further split into smaller neighborhoods.

The city is huge in size. It covers about 1,495 square kilometers of land. Many people live in this large area. The city itself has over 9 million people. The whole metropolitan area is even bigger. It has about 21,804,515 people living there. This makes it the sixth-largest metro area in the world.

Mexico City has a very old history. The Mexica people founded it around 1325. They called their home Tenochtitlan. They built it on islands in Lake Texcoco. Legend says a golden eagle showed them where to build.

Later, Spanish explorers arrived in 1519. They fought a long siege against the city. By 1521, the old city was almost destroyed. The Spanish rebuilt the city using old Aztec sites. They built Catholic churches over the old temples. They named the new city Mexico City.

Life in the city has changed many times. In the past, the city faced many floods. This happened because the water in the lake changed. People had to work hard to drain the water.

In 1997, the people gained new rights. They could finally elect their own leaders. In 2016, the city changed its official name. It is now called Ciudad de México or CDMX.

The city has many progressive rules today.

People have many names for this place. Some call it the City of Palaces. This name came from a visitor in the 1800s. Others call the local people chilangos.

The city is a leader in the Western Hemisphere. It is a very productive place for business. Its economy is very strong for the region. It is a place of constant movement. You can see this in its many buildings.

The city remains a vital part of Mexico.

Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico. It serves as a massive global hub for finance and culture. The city is classified as an Alpha world city by the GaWC. This means it is one of the most influential urban centers on Earth. It sits within the Valley of Mexico on the high Mexican central plateau. The city is located at an altitude of 2,240 meters.

The city is organized into 16 distinct boroughs, known as demarcaciones territoriales. These boroughs are further divided into smaller neighborhoods called colonias.

The city is massive in scale. The city proper covers 1,495 square kilometers of land. It is the primate city of Mexico. This means it is significantly larger than any other city in the country. It is also the second-largest Spanish-speaking city proper in the world, following Lima, Peru.

The scale of the population is even larger in the metropolitan area. Greater Mexico City has a population of 21,804,515 people. This makes it the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the world. It is the second-largest urban agglomeration in the Western Hemisphere, behind São Paulo, Brazil. The economic power of the city is also immense. In 2011, the metropolitan area had a GDP of $411 billion. The city itself generated 15.8% of Mexico's total GDP. The entire metropolitan area accounted for about 22% of the national GDP. If it were an independent nation, it would be the fifth-largest economy in Latin America.

The history of the area begins long before the modern city. Some of the oldest human remains in the Americas were found nearby. The Peñon woman is a famous discovery from San Bartolo Atepehuacan. A 2003 study placed her age at 12,700 years old. The Mexica people founded the city around 1325. They called their home Tenochtitlan. They built it on a group of islands in Lake Texcoco. Legend says a golden eagle on a prickly pear devouring a snake showed them the site.

Spanish explorers arrived in 1519. Hernán Cortés led the expedition toward Tenochtitlan. After a period of conflict and a struggle called La Noche Triste, the Spanish returned. They began a siege of the city in May 1521. The city suffered from a lack of food and water. Smallpox also spread among the people. Cuauhtémoc surrendered in August 1521. The Spanish rebuilt the city on the ruins of the Aztec site. They used many indigenous laborers for this massive task.

The Spanish redesigned the city using a grid pattern. They built Catholic churches directly over the old Aztec temples. The Zócalo became the central plaza and the seat of power. This square was the old ceremonial center for the Aztecs. During the colonial era, the city was the capital of New Spain. The viceroy lived in the viceregal palace on the Zócalo. The city also faced many challenges with water. Because it was built in a lake system, periodic flooding occurred. The Spanish implemented a massive drainage project called the desagüe. This was done to prevent floods and reduce mosquito-borne diseases.

Political structures in the city have changed significantly over time. In 1824, the area became the Mexican federal district, or Distrito Federal. Residents fought for many years to gain political autonomy. In 1997, they won the right to elect their own head of government. On 29 January 2016, the city officially became Ciudad de México, or CDMX. This reform gave the city more autonomy and changed its power structures. However, a clause in the Mexican Constitution prevents it from becoming a state. It must remain a federal entity as long as it is the capital.

People have given the city many different names and nicknames. In the 19th century, Baron Alexander von Humboldt called it the City of Palaces. He believed it could rival any major European city.

Locals are often called capitalinos, though many embrace the term chilango. While some use chilango as an insult, many residents use it with pride. Today, the city is a place of constant movement and growth.

It remains a vital center for the entire continent.