Condesa

"Condesa" means "countess" and it is named after María Magdalena Dávalos de Bracamontes y Orozco, the Countess of Miravalle, whose lands stretched from what is now Colonia Roma to Tacubaya. The area began as lands belonging to two countesses in the colonial period. By the 19th century and early 20th century, the process of subdividing this land was already begun, although Colonia Condesa proper would not be established until the very early 20th century. ==Location==

The Condesa as a whole, consisting of the three colonias, is bordered by: • Av. Veracruz, Av. Álvaro Obregón and Av. Yucatán on the north/northeast, across which is Colonia Roma Norte • Avenida de los Insurgentes Sur on the east, across which are Col. Roma Norte and Col. Roma Sur • Eje 4 Sur (Benjamin Franklin) on the south, across which is Colonia Escandón in Miguel Hidalgo borough • Circuito Interior (José Vasconcelos) on the west/northwest, across which is Colonia San Miguel Chapultepec The three colonias are located as follows: • Colonia Hipódromo lies to the east of Av. Tamaulipas and Parque España • Colonia Condesa lies west of Av. Tamaulipas and north of Av. Michoacán • Colonia Hipódromo Condesa lies west of Av. Tamaulipas and south of Av. Michoacán ==Description ==

Condesa is considered fashionable, especially among young businesspeople, students, pet lovers and others. There are some wide avenues and lined with trees. It is mostly filled with restaurants, cafés, boutiques and art galleries. Some of these shops include the Rosario Castellanos bookstore, which includes a cáfe, an auditorium theatre and a children's room. Most of the bars and cafes are concentrated along Amsterdam and Michoacán avenues. While the area has been residential, its "bohemian" character has only been in existence since the late 1980s. While longtime residents complain about noise, crime and other disturbances, the overall reputation of the area continues to grow and attract more restaurants. Most of these residents are young and affluent, with only two of the areas 13 K-8 schools being public. ==Architecture and landmarks==

Mexico City was affected by the 8.1 magnitude 1985 offshore earthquake; many buildings survived and are now examples of Art Deco architecture, as well as innovative modern designs, which give it an overall urban touch. The Basurto Building is an Art Deco building which is noted for its use of curved and straight lines in its form. It was built on irregularly shaped land which used to be the garden of a man named Basurto. Others built the structure but he authorized the use of his name. The structure was designed by Serrano on Avenida México with a view of Parque México and the Popocatepetl Plaza. The house "El Barco" on Veracruz 42 was the house of Italian photographer and activist Tina Modotti. She lived there for 3 years from 1924 until 1926. Overlooking Parque España in the Colonia Roma area is a mansion that belonged to Fernando Torreblanca, personal secretary to Álvaro Obregón, and Hortensia Elias Calles. It was designed by engineer Manuel Luis Stampa. The mansión is now the Fideicomiso Archivos Plutarco Elías Calles y Fernando Torreblanca (FAPECyFT), which houses many documents related to the country's history after the Mexican Revolution. Michoacán Market is a 1946 building designed in the Functionalist style of Modernist architecture, with market stalls and prepared food stands. ==Parks and green space==

Medians The medians of Avenida Ámsterdam, which runs as an oval around Parque México, as well as the medians of avenidas Campeche, Benjamín Hill and Alfonso Reyes, are lined with trees and plants on either side of pedestrian paths that run down the middle. Parque México Parque México was the center of the racetrack that used to occupy Colonia Hipódromo, not only serves as the center of that colonia, it is the defining element of the entire Condesa area. It was designed as the center of the original, larger Condesa neighborhood during one of its planning phases in the 1920s. The rest of the old hacienda had been parceled into residential units, but due to environmental laws the same could not be done for the old horse track. It was then decided to make that area into a park to serve as a focus for the new neighborhood, as well as to give added green space in a city which lacked it. Today, the park still serves as an attraction to those who settled in the La Condesa area. The park has been recognized by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH), as part of the heritage of the entire city. Parque España In the limits of Colonia Roma, smaller, but located very close to Parque México is Parque España, located between Nuevo León, Sonora and Parque España streets. It was established in 1921 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the Mexican War of Independence. It contains statues such as the monument to Lázaro Cárdenas. In 2009, it was declared as the "Territory of Music and Poetry" (Territorio de Música y Poesía). Parque Morelos Small park in between Alfonso Reyes and Campeche. Right outside a children's school where people tend to set their dogs free. There is a playground for kids as well as a small workout area with machines for adults. Condesa Pocket Park The Condesa pocket park was carved out of a large intersection in 2013. ==Culture==

on Av. Veracruz The trolleybuses of Roma Condesa are permanently parked trolleybuses donated to Mexico by the Japanese government in 2000, with the idea of creating educational centers, but they sat abandoned until 2005, when the "Galería Trolebús" (Trolleybus Gallery) was begun to promote non-traditional art projects. The gallery ceased operations in 2009 due to financial problems, but the buses are still used for theater and other art projects. El Plaza Condesa is a concert hall that holds an audience of 1,900. However, it is now closed because the building was damaged during the 2017 earthquake. A bastion of the creative communities of the city, Condesa is home to many art galleries. ==History==

Origins The first owner of the lands here was Maria de la Campa y Cos, Countess of San Mateo de Valparaíso. She married Miguel de Berrio y Zaldívar Ortíz de Landáuzari, who would later acquire the title of Marquis of Jaral de Berrio. The union produced a daughter, Ana María de Berrio y Campa, who married Pedro de Moncada y de Aragón Branciforte. This union produced both the Marchioness of San Roman and the 3rd Marquis of Jaral de Berrio. This family owned these rather large expanses of land in what is now western Mexico City until the second half of the 19th century. A horse from this estate served as a model for the one which is part of the statue of Carlos V done by Manuel Tolsá. When the last of the direct descendants of the couple died, the land was divided and some of it was acquired by a new owner, María Magdalena Dávalos de Bracamontes y Orozco, the Countess of Miravalle. She converted her property into a hacienda with a manor house which still exists. The neighborhood is named after this countess. The lands of this hacienda extended over what is now Colonia Roma, Colonia Condesa, Colonia Hipódromo and part of Tacubaya. There were also a significant number of Spanish refugees from the Spanish Civil War. Condesa today Anonymous flyers were distributed in the colonia threatening to exterminate stray dogs in the neighborhood. One of the reasons given for this threat was the amount of feces found on neighborhood streets. The area was affected by the 2017 Mexico City earthquake with two major collapsed buildings where rescue efforts continued day and night for several days, at Álvaro Obregón 286 and at the corner of Amsterdam and Laredo, while other buildings in danger of collapse were evacuated. ==Demographics==

Jewish community in Roma and Condesa In the 1930s and 40s many Jewish residents moved from downtown Mexico City to Condesa, where Yiddish was the unofficial language of Parque México, the local park. Today, in the area, there is a Jewish museum, archives, synagogue, several more small orthodox synagogues hidden inside houses on Amsterdam Avenue, and another synagogue at the corner of Montes de Oca and Parral streets. In the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, Jews moved further west to Polanco, Lomas de Chapultepec, Interlomas, Bosques de las Lomas, and Tecamachalco, where the majority are now based. ==Transportation==

The area is served by the Mexico City Metro at its edges, and inside the area by the Metrobus, city buses, privately operated peseros (minibuses) and mid-sized buses, and trolleybuses. The city-wide EcoBici bicycle-sharing system is available. Metro stations • Patriotismo metro station • Chilpancingo metro station • Chapultepec metro station • Juanacatlan metro station Metrobus stations • Sonora • Campeche • Chilpancingo • Nuevo León ==Education==

Colegio Alemán Alexander von Humboldt previously had a campus at 43 Benjamin G. Hill in Hipódromo Condesa, in what is now a part of Universidad La Salle. ==References==