Colonia del Valle

This article is about the Mexican neighborhood. For the Argentinian neighborhood, see Colonia del Valle (Catamarca).

For other uses, see Colonia del Valle, another town called Colonia del Valle, and Mexican colony.

Colonia Del Valle
View of Colonia del Valle neighborhood with the ubication in the south-central of Mexico City View of Colonia del Valle neighborhood with the ubication in the south-central of Mexico City
Location of Mexico City in south central Mexico

The Colonia Del Valle ("the colony in the valley") is one of the largest residential areas of Mexico City. It has large green areas, parks, monuments, department stores, boutiques, restaurants, etc. Sub-center serves as the main town of the city and its area of influence covers almost all of the Benito Juárez. Colonia del Valle is bounded by the streets of north Viaducto Miguel Alemán, Cuauhtémoc and Universidad Avenue to the east, Circuito Interior Rio Mixcoac south and Insurgentes Avenue in the west.

Colonia del Valle is made up of six regions, Actipan, Acacias, Insurgentes San Borja, Tlacoquemécatl del Valle, Presidente Miguel Alemán, Crédito Constructor and Del Valle in sections North, Central and South (all in three sections). Colonia del Valle receives a daily floating population of over one million people making use of its schools, malls, parks, hospitals, banks, etc.

Origin and development

File:Edificios de la Colonia Del Valle.jpg

Buildings of the Colonia del Valle

The beginning of the 20th century initiated the splitting of the ranches cultivated with alfalfa and fruit trees, giving rise to the area, named as Colonia Americana. These farms were the most popular and loved, Tlacoquemécatl (where the Chapel of the Good Lord Firm and its park are located), Santa Anita and San Borja. Some neighborhood streets are named after these ranchos and their fruit trees, others after Mexican philanthropists.

While serving as a streetcar route from Mexico City to Coyoacán it developed slowly until 1920, when it expanded and the Avenida de los Insurgentes was paved. Large-scale home and mansion construction started. That marked the development of the area, to which was added monument construction and green areas; one is the current Sunken Park {Parque Hundido}.

In the 1960s the area wasas fully developed as many other neighborhoods of equal purchasing power on its borders. Commercial development was inevitable. This included two major events, the opening of Liverpool Insurgentes in 1962 and the first shopping center in the country, University Plaza, in 1969.

In 1978 the decision to build the road axes transformed the neighborhood radically and permanently, from quiet streets to a river of asphalt, axes 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 south crossing from east to west and 1, 2 and 3 do west from south to north. This resulted in many families looking for quieter places to live and began the inexorable process of redeveloping the land. Mansions were replaced by apartment buildings, offices or schools.

Architecture

The architectural style developed in the area includes large mansions in Colonial California Art Deco style and, to a lesser extent, surviving examples of Porfiriato. At the end of the 1960s many small skyscrapers, both commercial and residential, were built, making the area one of the most densely populated of Mexico City. Housing complexes were also built.

Currently the diversity of architectural styles and the population are still developing, but there is a wish to recover household spaces and family activities.

Religious buildings

The religious architecture found in the Del Valle includes the building of The Parish of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, at the corner of Gabriel Mancera number 415, built in the early 20th century, where in 1996 several scenes of the film Romeo + Juliet were filmed. Mexican singer Luis Miguel i said to have been baptized there. The Good Lord Parish Office, located in Tlacoquemécatl park dates from the 16th century, Temple Santo Tomás Actipan located at the confluence of the streets of Buffalo and Tiger, their construction is the year of 1897, the Temple of San Lorenzo Xochimanca that is located in the park of the same name and its construction dates from the 16th century, Temple of Santa Monica, which is located at No. 126 Strawberry Street, opposite the park of San Lorenzo and its construction began in 1962 and the building of the Parish of Divine Providence in Adolfo Prieto street number, built from 1968 to 1974.

Alliance Française

In 1883 the organizing committee of the Alliance Francaise, meeting in Paris, took the decision to form an international institution that would allow the organized dissemination of French culture abroad through education in various countries in the French language.

Alliance Française in Delhi.

France

With the approval of the Ministry of the Interior, the French Alliance was formally established on March 10, 1884. That year, in line with the cultural ties between Mexico and France, the Alliance Française de Mexico was established, the oldest after Paris; the Alliance now has a presence in 138 countries.

In 1948 the Federation of Alliances Françaises of Mexico was formed to coordinate teaching and promoting French language and culture in Mexico; {As of|2011|lc=on}}it had 32 branches and 12 partner institutions, teaching 32,000 students per year

Tourism

Col. Del Valle is a landmark within the city and the country, tourism is totally in it a magnet for foreign visitors or residents of the states in the nation.

One of its main attractions to contemplate the fact contrasts between colonial and luxurious loft buildings, the area has a repertoire of temples such as the Temple of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and buildings dating from the period of colonization and conquest between Tlacoquemécatl including the Temple of San Lorenzo and the Xochimanca, cultural areas and parks like the famous Sunken Park or Parque Mariscal Sucre where the French Kiosk, art galleries, libraries, auditoriums as Polyforum Cultural Siqueiros in which is the world's largest mural called The March of Humanity painted by the great Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros and the Plaza México and the Estadio Azul, etc. The colony has Baskin Robbins ice cream shops in the Porfirio Diaz Street, boutiques and Adriano's in Gabriel Macera or Botticelli in Av.Insurgentes among many luxurious shopping malls like Galerias Insurgentes and Centro Coyoacan which are the most recognized brands in the world of fashion like Chanel, Hugo Boss, Armani, Tag Heuer, Hermes, Edox, MaxMara, Longchamp, Fendi, Rolex, Swarovski, L'Occitane en Provence and hundreds more.

Also within the colony is an innovative Plaza Universidad interesting and busy design preferred by young families of higher socioeconomic strata. The W.T.C. Mexico, admire the futuristic and elegant style that marked the era of modernism in Mexico, to mention also houses chocolate asL'Atelier du Chocolat at Parroquia Street boutiques recently opened or Colecttion Magnum Chocolatier located only in areas of high power purchasing the city is Del Valle, Polanco, Santa Fe, and so on. The international coffee shops Starbucks, the mexican coffee shops Cielito Querido that opened recently brought back the traditional atmosphere of Mexico renewed a Neo-Retro style, Punta del Cielo other mexican coffeshop a more modern and elegant. The restaurant Bellini a luxury restaurant at the top of the tower of the World Trade Center, or Suntory the most luxurious restaurant in Mexico. The colony also has a wide range of automotive luxury houses such as Mercedes Benz, Ferrari, Maserati, Lincoln, Lamborghini and many more.

Also, are close to Coyoacan, San Angel, Condesa, Colonia Roma, Colonia Mixcoac and Napoles, the latter its sister colonies. Also, Avenida Presidente Masaryk Avenue becomes Amores, which communicates Polanco with Col. Del Valle

The Colonia Del Valle has its doors open to anything that will appreciate the taste and the most exquisite of the Mexico City.

Mercedes Benz Class S

Economy

The Del Valle area has the largest HR (Human Development Index) of the country, making quality of life of this area similar to countries of the European Union.

Education

Within the Del Valle are two of the oldest educational institutions in the country; the College and Institute of Mexico and its Centro Universitario Mexico, and the Colegio Simón Bolívar. Graduates of these schools include Octavio Paz and Germán Dehesa.

Communication

Colonia del Valle area has good connections with the rest of Mexico City. Several important roads run through it: Insurgentes, Cuauhtemoc, Northern Division, University, Félix Cuevas, José María Rico, Xola. Subway line 3 has several stations in the vicinity: Ethiopia, Eugenia, Northern Division, Zapata and Coyoacan.

External links

• Website of the alliance inter France and Mexico Template:Es icon
• Colonia del Valle on the Internet Template:Es icon
• Community News and the Del Valle published by El Universal Template:Es icon
• Official site of Liverpool Stores Template:Es icon
• Official site of El Palacio de Hierro Stores Template:Es icon