Parque Alameda Central, Mexico City

On Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas, east of Alameda park, towers the massive marble building of the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts). Commissioned during the presidency of the dictator Porfirio Díaz and designed mainly by the Italian architect Adamo Boari, it clearly shows Art Nouveau and Art Deco influences. Although begun in 1900 it was not completed until 1934. The weight of the heavy Carrara marble has caused it to sink more than 4 m (13 ft) into the ground, in spite of attempts to lighten it by removing part of the facing of the dome. During construction work in front of the palace in 1993/94, no fewer than 2000 pre-Hispanic items, including 700 examples of Aztec ceramic ware, were uncovered, together with 200 graves dating from the colonial period, and the remains of the 17th c. Santa Isabel convent. The headquarters since 1946 of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, the palace now serves primarily as an opera-house and concert hall.

The great hall, known as the Teatro de Bellas Artes, can seat an audience of 3500. The stage has a glass-mosaic curtain weighing 22 tonnes, designed by Dr Atl (Gerardo Murillo) and made by Tiffany's of New York. It depicts, with carefully contrived lighting effects, the landscape of the Valley of Mexico with the two mighty volcanoes of Popocatépetl and Iztaccihuatl.The famous Ballet Folklórico performs in the theatre three times a week.

The same building as Teatro de Bellas Artes also houses the Museum of Art (Museo de Artes Plásticas), which is notable for its collection of works by Mexican artists of the 19th and 20th c. It also has rooms for periodic special exhibitions and a number of lecture and concert halls. On the second and third floors can be seen murals by the leading Mexican exponents of this genre. In the corridors on the second floor hang two large works by Rufino Tamayo, "The Birth of our Nationality" and "Mexico Today". On the third floor can be seen a painting by Diego Rivera, "Man at the Turning-Point" (1934), a copy of that done for the Rockefeller Center in New York which was painted over because of its Marxist trend. There is also an interesting series of frescos by David Álfaro Siqueiros depicting Democracy and the last Aztec ruler Cuauhtémoc, done in the then new technique using a spray-gun. The work entitled "Catharsis" by José Clemente Orozco was painted in 1934.

The famous painting by Diego Rivera, "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park" (1947-48) was in the foyer of the Hotel del Prado (Juárez 70) when the building was destroyed in the September 1985 earthquake. Fortunately it was salvaged and is now in the Museo Mural Diego Rivera on the Plaza de Solidaridad. This square was laid out after the earthquake on the site of some destroyed buildings, close to Alameda Park. In his mural the artist caricatured some of Mexico's historical figures whom he regarded as enemies of his people. There was a scandal when it was finished, because Rivera had entitled it "Dios no existe" (God does not exist). For years the picture remained covered up until in 1958, with a great flourish of publicity, the artist painted over the offending words. In 1997 a reproduction of the painting was put on display, on the site of the destroyed Hotel Prado.

South of Alameda Park Avenida Benito Juárez links the Paseo de la Reforma with Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas; to the east of the Palacio de Bellas Artes - where there are many elegant shops selling silver, leather goods and folk art, etc., as well as offices, hotels and restaurants - the avenue takes the name of Francisco I. Madero. At No. 89, in the former Corpus Christi church (with murals by Miguel Covarrubias), is the Museum of Folk Arts and Crafts (Museo de Artes e Industrias Populares) where, under the management of the Mexican Indian Institute INI, products of the different regions of Mexico are displayed and on sale. Handicrafts can also be bought in the state-run FONART shops at Calle Londres 136/Zona Rosa, Avda. de la Paz/San Angel, Patriotismo 691/Mixcoac) and Venustiano Carranza 115 in Coyoacán.

In the park stands a semicircular memorial to the reforming President Benito Juárez (1806-72); known as the Hemiciclo Juárez, it was erected in 1910. Behind the seated statue stand two female forms symbolising Justice and Glory. On September 18th every year the President inspects a parade at this spot.

On the east side of Parque Alameda Central, opposite the Palacio de Bellas Artes, stands a Beethoven Memorial, with a death-mask of the composer, donated by the local German community.

At the same time as Plaza de Solidaridad was being laid out the Plaza de las Culturas was laid out between Calles Luis Moya and Revillagido. Reproductions of the works of famous sculptors of the 19th c. are on display.