Almost every country or city has some structure which is emblematic of the place: the Parthenon in Athens, the Forbidden City in Peking, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Some places have more than one emblem such as New York City's Empire State and its Statue of Liberty. Mexico, rich in history and art has mutliple emblems: the Pyramid of the Sun, the Cathedral in the Zócalo, the Church of the Virigin atop the pyramid at Cholula... and, of course,
El Castillo, the fortress-turned palace-turned residence astride Chapultepec (Grasshopper) Hill.
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| El Castillo in 1880 with one of the two aqueducts still standing |
In such cases, choice of emblem is also a question of personal significance. For me, the Empire State is emblematic of New York City because it was always close and visible from where i lived as a child. I loved going to the top when i could and would stare at its glowing crown at night.
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| La Reforma on the Eve of the 1910 Revolution |
Chapultepec Castle played an emblematic role in Mexico's post-conquest history. It served as the viceroy's summer palace and then, when used as a military academy, as the scene of the last battle before the fall of Mexico City to the Americans in 1847. During the brief Second Empire, it served as the emperor Maximillian's residence at which time it was also connected to the center city by a magnificent tree lined boulevard, at first called
Paseo de los Emperadores and, upon the re-establishement of the Republic, el
Paseo de la Reforma. Architecturally,
El Castillo plays the part of
L'Arc de Triumph at the summit of the
Champs Elysee.
For me,
El Castillo played the part of the Empire State. We always lived within close proximity to the castle and throughout the better part of my childhood we lived within a short walk from the forests, gardens and lake of Chapultepec Park, which became the playground for me and my
cuates.
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| Pals Juan (l.) and "Chucho" stump hopping in the woods. |
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