Plaza de Armas

The Plaza de Armas (Plaza of Arms) is the name for the main square in many Latin American cities. In Mexico this space is known as El Zócalo, and in Central America as Parque Central (Central Park). While some large cities have both a Plaza de Armas and a Plaza Mayor, in most cities those are two names for the same place.

Most cities constructed by the Spanish Conquistadores were designed on a standard military fashion based on a grid pattern, taken from the Roman Castrum, of which one of the blocks would be left vacant to form the Plaza de Armas. It is often surrounded by governmental buildings, churches, and other structures of cultural or political significance. The name derives from the fact that this would be a refuge in case of an attack upon the city, from which arms would be supplied to the defenders. (See also Huamanga Archos).

Main examples of Plaza de Armas in the Hispanic World

• Plaza de Armas of Guadalajara, Mexico.
• Plaza de Armas of Havana, Cuba.
• Plaza de Armas of Arequipa, Peru
• Plaza de Armas of Cusco, Peru
• Plaza de Armas of Pisco, Peru.
• Plaza de Armas of Lima, Peru.
• Plaza de la Independencia (Independence Plaza) of Concepción, Chile (where Chilean independence was proclaimed in 1818).
• Plaza de Armas of Santiago, Chile.
• Plaza de Armas of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• Plaza de Mayo (Plaza of May) of Buenos Aires, Argentina (where May Revolution took place).
• Plaza de Armas of Seville, Spain
• Plaza de Armas (Main Plaza) of San Antonio, Texas

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  Plaza de Armas in Arequipa, Peru

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  Plaza de la Independencia, Concepción, Chile

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  Plaza de Armas, Seville

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  Plaza de la República in Valdivia

See also: Place d'Armes, French equivalent