Colonia Obrera

The neighborhood is bounded by Chimalpopoca Street to the north, Eje Central to the west, San Antonio Abad to the east and Eje Tres Contreras to the south. In addition to the streets that define its borders, other major streets include the elongations of 5 de Febrero, Isabel la Catolica and Bolivar south from the historic center. Major east-west roads include Boturini, Manuel J.Othon, Manuel Payno and Jose Maria Roa Barcenas. ==History==

The project to create the neighborhood was announced in 1889, with the original name of El Cuartelito. It was laid out and lots were sold before official authorization or municipal services were established. Efforts to make the lands legal and to install municipal services began around the same time. By 1920, the colonia had taken on its modern form and a canal which used to drain the area was dried out and covered over to make José T. Cuellar Street. Around this time was built the Santiago Galas building, which was the station for the FF.CC. Mexico Tlalpan rail line for many years. The magazine Proceso reports that by the time rescue workers got to the building, the owners were already in a hurry to demolish it, without trying to rescue or recover the seamstresses that were trapped inside. About 150 bodies of workers had already been pulled from the wreckage by other workers with their bare hands. All that is left to remind of the factory is a small empty lot with a bronze statue of a woman sewing to commemorate the event. On the rest of the property, apartments have been built. ==Crime and efforts to renew the area==

The colonia is located in the borough of Cuauhtémoc, which has some of the highest crime rates in the city the same as Tepito, one of the notorious places for being unsafe. Obrera is listed in the top ten as far as crimes reported, which include small scale drug trafficking and indigence. Young architects from Mexico City, participating in the XI International Architecture Show in Italy, proposed a project for this area based on the philosophy of recycling of urban land. Their project was sponsored by the Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. The goal of this project was to convert older industrial and warehouse space into 5,000 new living quarters, centered on Ixtapaluca Street. For a long time (up to 2000), the area was known for being a football soccer fan neighborhood, on every street (Roa Bárcenas, 5 de Febrero, 20 de Noviembre, etc.). On any given Sunday, it was safe to say that you could easily find an ongoing soccer match—better known as reta (short for retadora, i.e., a "challenge") -- in which about 8-20 young children and adults met to participate for a moment and feel like great players. ==Transportation==

Public transportation The area is served by the Mexico City Metro. Metro stations • Obrera • San Antonio Abad • Chabacano ==References==