Rotenberg and McDonogh (1993) explain that the rebuilding of Mexico City lay on the
foundation of Tenochtitlan, its previous form and name. The authors explain that Hernan Cortes
used the grid plan plaza foundations found at Aztee city to rebuild the town. Mundy, (2015), on
the other hand, opposes the notion claiming that no mention of Tonechtitlan remained evident
after the Spanish conquest. The name given to the new Mexica state was Mexico City. The epic
poem by Bernado de Balbuena, a Spanish born, called 'la Famosa Ciudad de Mexico, for
instance, dod not mention Tonechtitlan, meaning there exists no relation between Tonechtitlan
and Mexico City.
The urban designs and building of Mexico City resembled those of Tenochtitlan in
different ways. First, the Spanish seemed impressed concerning the drawings and plans at the
time in the city. Mexico City, thus, maintained the rectangular project previously implemented in
Tonechtitlan using the central plaza design (Mandy, 2015). The grid plan plaza system is another
common trait among both cities. The Indians used a competent square court standing at the
center active for ceremonial sites for Mexico City.
One of the best ways Mexica's presence preceded in the colonial city after the conquest
was through the re-establishment of Tonechtitlan's famous market under Spanish governance.
The market represented the survival of the town since it was long and wide. The vast market
acted as market capitalization in the whole nation, promoting trade before the conquest. The
revival of the market meant a continuation of Mexica during the Spanish rule. Re-emergence of
the Templo Mayor during the Spanish government also created an indigenous cultural
significance to the native existing during the pre-Spanish practice (Rotenberg & McDonogh,
3HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
1993). The architecture and importance of the temple for Mexica people promoted Mexica's
presence in the colony city after the conquest.
4HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
References
Mundy, B. (2015). The Death of Aztec Tenochtitlan, The Life of Mexico City (Austin, TX:
University of Texas Press, excerpts from chaps. 1 and 4: 1-3, 72-81.
Rotenberg, R. & McDonogh, G. (1993). The Cultural Meaning of Urban Space (Westport, CT:
Bergin and Garvey, 1993), 75-93. [Focus on the discussions of Mexico City.] Setha M. Low,
“Cultural Meaning of the Plaza: The History of the Spanish-American Gridplan-Plaza Urban
Design,” in Robert Rotenberg and Gary McDonogh, eds.,