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15 January, 2025The Historic Center is the “heart” from which Mexico City grew and transformed. In this area there are architectural monuments that have witnessed the evolution of the capital, one of the most important is, without a doubt, the National Palace.
A giant of gray stone that summons thousands of Mexicans to give the “Grito”, which houses historical murals inside and has also received international leaders of great importance; for all this is why in this article we will talk about this impressive enclosure.
The history of the Mexican National Palace
The National Palace is known as the “political epicenter of Mexico”, a 40 thousand square meter construction located in the eastern part of the Plaza de la Constitución, belonging to the Historic Center of Mexico City.
The history of this emblematic building began in 1522, when it was built so that Hernán Cortés could live there as his second private residence. Part of the Moctezuma Xocoyotzin palace was used for this purpose.
This monument has preserved seven centuries of history, and has been used as a “seat of power” since the time of the Aztecs. In addition, “it is the setting for rituals, patriotic ceremonies (…) it contains the history of all the moments that Mexico has lived through.”
This is how the National Palace is described in a video made by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, in which they make it clear that:
“The Palace concentrates all the functions of Government, with Independence that role will remain and throughout the 19th century the government of the Republic is being exercised from the Palace. After the Revolution, a great transformation is undertaken to make it grow and have a greater presence.”
This presence began to have importance over the years, through which this palace has had key moments, such as in 1562, when it was sold to the Spanish Crown to be used as administrative offices of the Viceroyalty.
That year marked the beginning of a decisive stage in the history of Mexico, which was recorded both in the political direction that the country took, as well as in the walls of the palace that gives life to the capital's Zócalo.
The new houses of Moctezuma
In order for the construction of the National Palace to take place, the conquistadors who arrived at the Great Tenochtitlán decided to demolish the Palace of Moctezuma Xocoyotzin, which is part of an entire pre-Hispanic world buried under the current buildings of the Historic Center.
Such is the case of the New Houses of Moctezuma, that is, five interconnected palaces that archaeologists discovered beneath the foundations of what is now the National Museum of Cultures (Moneda Street #13).
“Based on historical documents from the 16th century, we came to the conclusion that the pre-Hispanic walls and foundations that we found are part of the housing complex known as the New Houses of Moctezuma,” explained INAH researcher Elsa Hernández Pons at the time.
These “new houses” were named thus so that researchers could differentiate them from the houses that belonged to Moctezuma’s ancestors. In them there was an office for the emperor, the chambers of his wives and even a zoo.
According to information from the magazine Proceso, Emperor Moctezuma received Hernán Cortés on November 8, 1519 and from that moment on, another stage in the history of the National Palace began.
The new houses of Cortés
When Hernán Cortés arrived at the Great Tenochtitlán, Moctezuma designated the Palace of Axayácatl as the place where the conqueror would stay, a construction that was located in what is now the Monte de Piedad.
During the 16th century this palace was known as the “houses of Hernán Cortés”, because it occupied four blocks and the façade was precisely that of the Monte de Piedad, a large construction that required a lot of time and money for its maintenance.
For this reason, the descendants of the conqueror divided the palace and decided to sell it in parts. It is worth noting that the Axayácatl Palace was named after Moctezuma's father, the Mexica emperor who died right there at the hands of the Spanish.
Viceroyal Palace
With the fall of the Mexica empire, not only did the Axayácatl Palace change completely, but Moctezuma's new houses were also destroyed to build the National Palace above them, which in 1562 became a Viceroyal Palace.
In this enclosure, which was also known as the "Royal House of the Viceroys", political meetings were held among the ruling class, banquets were held among the aristocracy and theater performances were offered for people of the upper class.
The viceroys and Catholic authorities of that time handled important matters from this place, where people such as Luis de Velasco (creator of the Alameda Central) and Juan O’Donojú, the last viceroy, lived. He also joined the fight for Mexico’s independence.
The Viceroyal Palace was a symbol of luxury and majesty, but it also had tragic episodes such as the one that occurred in 1692, when the indigenous people set fire to the Balcón de la Virreina and the building was almost destroyed.
Imperial Palace
A building of the importance of the National Palace could not be left in ruins, so after going through a recovery process, it was overtaken by another historical event: the establishment of the first Mexican Empire, in 1821, led by Agustín de Iturbide.
With the arrival of Iturbide, this enclosure became the Imperial Palace, which was no longer as majestic as it was in the viceregal era because the struggle for independence had left economic instability and therefore, not much could be done for the building.
Among the changes that were made to the palace, the only thing that stands out is the modification of the façade, which was painted with a rusticated design, in addition to the placement of cobblestones in the side gates that have the doors of the enclosure.
Later, in 1824, the Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States was signed and it was decreed that all the sites that had been designated as “imperial” would change their names to “national.” Since then, the National Palace has kept the name by which it is currently known.
The balcony of the National Palace
“The theater of the great national rituals,” as historian Carmen Saucedo calls the National Palace, is a building that has a very popular feature among Mexicans: it is the balcony from which the president in office is in charge of leading “the Cry of Independence.”
This balcony (also known as the balcony of the viceroy), was built in 1641 by order of Viceroy Diego López. It is located on the north side of the facade, and stands out for its Moorish style with a cantilevered structure and metal tiles with lattices.
Like other spaces in the National Palace, this balcony has witnessed meetings between important politicians and every year, in September, it is filled with the echo produced by a historic bell, which marks the rhythm of the cry that thousands of Mexicans sing in the Plaza de la Constitución.
Dolores Bell
The Dolores Bell was made in 1768 using bronze, silver and tin; it was taken to the town of Dolores Hidalgo (Guanajuato), where the priest Miguel Hidalgo used it on the morning of September 16, 1810 to call the population to join the fight against the Spanish empire.
In 1896 the bell was moved from Guanajuato to the capital of the country and placed above the Presidential Balcony, so that on September 15 of each year, the president in office could ring it, as the priest Hidalgo did many years ago.
Murals of the National Palace
Another symbol that undoubtedly characterizes the National Palace are the murals painted on its walls by the Mexican artist Diego Rivera, after José Vasconcelos commissioned him to do this important work.
Located in the central courtyard of the Palace, the murals are called “Epopeya del pueblo Mexicano” (Epic of the Mexican People) and measure 276 square meters, throughout which Rivera depicted different moments in the history of Mexico.
Among the most notable elements of the murals we can mention the Toltec culture, the pre-Hispanic era, the Tlatelolco market and the socialist ideas represented by the workers that Diego Rivera painted. It was a very arduous job that took 22 years of his life.
Visits to the National Palace and schedules
Now, after having learned all this history, you may wonder, can you visit the National Palace?
The answer is yes, people can visit this historic site to see famous spaces such as the murals, the Pegasus Fountain, the Marian courtyards and the Empress's Garden.
The National Palace is open from Tuesday to Sunday, there are specific areas that visitors can visit, the best thing is that entry is free and even guided tours for school groups are allowed, but these must be requested with special companies, such as Mexico through the National Palace.
For the curator of this site, Lilia Rivero, "we have never stopped creating history in this space," because the Palace hides in its depths the life of other times and at the same time, it is a witness every day to current life.
