Home to several of the main stages of Mexican culture, the Federal District is also a point where cultural expressions of the different regions and ethnic groups that are part of the nation can be found. Despite being the largest urban area in the country, in Mexico City millenary cultural expressions coexist alongside the symbols of modernity. It should be noted that it is one of the cities in the world with a high number of theaters and the first in number of museums.
The Palace of Fine Arts: in the art nouveau style, in it is the famous glass curtain that represents the Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl volcanoes. In its lobbies there are several frescoes by the famous Mexican muralists: Orozco, Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, Tamayo and Montenegro. The National Folkloric Ballet of Amalia Hernández and the annual opera season are presented on its premises.
An example of the new settings is the Muac, the first public museum of contemporary art in Mexico. It is located in the University Cultural Center, within the University City of UNAM, conceived in an integral way, in its architecture, management, museology, interpretation, for contemporary art.
The Federal District is home to important national festivities, ranging from the secular celebration of Independence Day in the Zócalo to religious festivities such as the Representation of the Passion of Jesus in Iztapalapa, the Day of the Dead in Míxquic or the pilgrimages to the Basilica of Guadalupe. All these events attract hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country and abroad to the capital. Some districts have calendars saturated with popular festivities, such as Milpa Alta whose number reaches the figure of seven hundred annual festivals. Alongside the native traditions of the Federal District, immigration has contributed to the integration into the capital’s culture of events such as the Guelaguetza, promoted by the Oaxacan migrants; or the celebration of Chinese New Year. At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, globalization has allowed the proliferation in the capital of foreign expressions that have mixed with the pre-existing ones. Thus, for example, it is possible to observe the iconography of Halloween on the altars of the dead, graffiti introduced by the migrants who returned, and which are part of the urban landscape of the Federal District; or else, the countless reworkings of rock carried out by capital, commercial and underground groups.
Although the Federal District does not stand out for its production of popular arts, it is possible in its streets, markets and other places created especially for the craft trade to find a great variety of products from different parts of the country, to which others have joined. from Asia and countries like Guatemala and Ecuador. Of the local production, it is necessary to point out the textile production of San Miguel Topilejo (Tlalpan).
Mexico City has a great oral tradition, which goes from very old myths such as La Llorona that supposedly would be related to the Cihuacóatl Mexica; even the legend, widely spread in the capital’s hospitals, of La Planchada, which deals with a spectral nurse who miraculously heals the evicted dead whom she cares for.
Sports
Some of the most important sports institutions in the country are housed in the Federal District. It is the headquarters of the Mexican Olympic Committee, the National School of Physical Education and the National School of Sports Coaches. It has several sports units, among which the largest is La Magdalena Mixiuhca, built in what were the ejidos of the town of the same name (in Iztacalco). It is precisely in this space where facilities such as the Hermanos Rodríguez Autodrome, the Foro Sol, the Palacio de los Deportes, the Olympic Velodrome and the Sala de Armas are located. In other parts of the city there are an Olympic Pool and Gymnasium (Benito Juárez), the Olympic Canoeing Track (Xochimilco), as well as three football stadiums (or soccer, without a written accent, which is how it is usually written in Mexico): The aztec,
Mexico City hosted the 1968 Olympic Games, in which the national sports delegation performed the best performance in its history, with nine medals in total. It was also the only Latin American city to host some Olympic Games, until the city of Rio de Janeiro was chosen as the venue for the 2016 Olympic Games.
In 1970 and 1986 it was also one of the Mexican cities in which the matches of the two world cups were held, where the two games of the final were included. It was, along with Rome, the only host city of two finals. Mexico City is the city with the most Soccer World Cup matches.
In addition, it has hosted the Pan American Games in 1955 and 1975, the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1926, 1954 and 1990, as well as the 1979 Universiade. Mexico City is home to some first division teams from the Mexican Soccer League: Club América, Cruz Azul, Pumas de la UNAM. Within the city is the Azteca Stadium, headquarters of Club América and its affiliate Club Socio Águila FC, with a capacity of up to 110,000 spectators.
The Federal District is also home to the best team in the history of the Mexican Baseball League: the Diablos Rojos del México, who have won 14 titles and play in the Foro Sol in Ciudad Deportiva.
The NASCAR organizes since 2005, the annual competition Busch Series races at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the city.
In April 2008, the World Polo Championship was held on the Campo Marte of this city, which is the highest polo event for national teams.
As for American football, the City is home to the legendary Major League teams Pumas CU UNAM, Águilas Blancas from IPN and Burros Blancos IPN, which compete in the ONEFA Center Conference. Additionally, the Borregos Salvajes team from ITESM Mexico City is also here, the only squad from the capital that participates in the Big 6 Conference in the fight for the national championship of this sport.
In 2005, Mexico City became the first city to host an NFL regular season game outside of the United States, a game played at the Estadio Azteca. The 103,467 spectators who turned out for this game is the highest number in NFL history for a regular season game.
