Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco

Welcome to the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in the heart of Mexico City. I invite you to stand at the edge of this remarkable square and simply observe the layers of history laid bare before you. …

As we approach the excavated archaeological zone, let us look down into the sunken foundations of what was once a thriving, monumental indigenous metropolis. Notice how you can actually look down and walk between the different…

We now transition from the heights of indigenous imperial glory to the agonizing theater of its collapse. The space stretching between the ancient pyramids and the austere walls of the colonial church marks the epicenter of the…

Let us pause before the imposing facade of the Church of Santiago Tlah-teh-lol-co, or Saint James the Great. Its thick, fortress-like walls are a hallmark of early colonial architecture in Mexico, designed not merely as a place…

Attached to the church are the remnants of an institution of paramount importance to the intellectual history of the Americas: The Imperial Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlah-teh-lol-co. Founded in the fifteen thirties under the…

We now arrive at the southwest corner of the former convent to discuss an incredible archaeological treasure that remained hidden for centuries until a fortuitous accident in the year two thousand and two. On July eleventh of…

As we turn our gaze from the colonial structures toward the sprawling modern apartment complexes that enclose the plaza, we must confront the darker, more recent chapters of Tlah-teh-lol-co’s history. This ground, already soaked…

As our journey through Tlah-teh-lol-co draws to a close, take a final, comprehensive look at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas. We have traversed centuries of human ambition, profound intellect, and staggering violence, all layered…