The oldest house in Mexico City is hidden in the streets of La Merced, and its foundations tell us why the chilangos lived in neighborhoods.
The oldest house in Mexico City is currently the Casa Manzanares 25 Cultural Center, but its origins date back to pre-Hispanic times and the sixteenth century, making it the oldest house that is recorded in the city.
This property, located a few steps from the smallest church in the city, in the neighborhood of La Merced, hides in its walls construction stages that tell you a little piece of the history of the city and the Chilanga housing. Check out this history and discover how we have inhabited the city since its beginnings.
Why is it the oldest house in Mexico City?
“There are other buildings from the sixteenth century, such as churches and such, but as a house, as a house-room, it is the only one so far,” emphasized Anabelí Contreras, Coordinator of Promotion and Dissemination of the Trust of the Historic Center, who told us how the discovery and rescue of the property was.
Initially, the property was planned as a housing project of the INVI, since the space had been abandoned for several years and partially occupied by homeless people; likewise, the state of the construction was delicate and almost in ruins. When the INVI focuses its attention on the property, Anabelí tells us, a diagnosis of the construction is made and, with the study of the architect Benito Antigas, it is identified that the house dates from the sixteenth century and has a first construction of pre-Hispanic origin.
From here, the Historic Center Trust takes on the project of rescuing it. “It is a long project because it was more or less in 2014, and the rehabilitation, its conclusion, takes place practically at the end of 2018,” explained Anabelí, who told us enthusiastically about the 8 years invested in the restoration and creation of the current Casa Manzanares Cultural Center.
For her part, teacher Loredana Montes, director of the Trust of the Historic Center of Mexico City, told us with laughter, “paradoxically, I think that what kept it standing was the abandonment, because if they had not abandoned it, they would have demolished it, you know? they would have done something else to him.” But as the historian that she is, she explained that this idea is a hypothesis and cannot be confirmed.
Chilango foundations
A house says a lot about who lives in it: if you look at every detail, there is a hidden story. The Casa Manzanares safeguards the memory of how the city was and is lived. “It has to do with the daily life of the sixteenth century… just when the conquistadors make a new city and dismantle the other…”, said teacher Loredana, adding that part of the history of this building has to do with the cultural shock and adaptation of life in Tenochtitlan before the conquest.
As the oldest house-dwelling in Mexico City, unlike a church, castle, or public square, the history of Casa Manzanares lies in the evolution of the city, from Tenochtitlan, through New Spain, the old Federal District, and modernity, and how its inhabitants have adapted to occupy it.
Below, we explain how the materials used in its construction and design have a lot to do with the area in which Casa Manzanares is located and why it is so similar to contemporary neighborhoods.
How the oldest house in Mexico City was built
For his part, the architect Javier Olmos, director of Real Estate Development of the Historic Center Trust, explained that the foundations of the Casa Manzanares are identified with masonry of coarse stone, a material that dates back to pre-Hispanic times, and then, a second construction stage with materials such as adobe blocks and red brick, New Spanish materials. The architect added that during the rescue, “the construction systems and materials were reintegrated in the restoration of this property from the factories, or from the composition of its identified elements.”
These details are only found on the walls of one room of the house, which were preserved for exhibition and study. A curious fact that the architect Javier gave us is that the base of the braza stone indicates that whoever built the house had knowledge of materials resistant to humidity, something essential for the area, since Manzanares Street was previously an irrigation ditch through which chinampas and merchants passed.
Other architectural details are the use of adarajas in the frames and walls of the house, lintels of quarries, and even gargoyles. In case everything sounds new to you, the adajaras are an embedding in window and door frames that serve as ornaments; As you will see in the photograph, they are those “protruding” squares. You will also see small marks in the quarry of the frames, which are called “stonemason’s marks”, a technique that dates back to the Novi-Hispanic era.
Finally, the house only has one floor and the 17 rooms were built around a common courtyard with a well as a laundry area, where community activities took place. This architectural arrangement has its roots in the Mexica houses, that is, how they lived in Tenochtitlan, very similar to the shape of today’s neighborhoods.
The memory it safeguards
Similarly, teacher Loredana tells us that “everything seems to indicate that it was a merchant’s house, it has always been an area that is dedicated to commerce.”
From Tenochtitlan, a ditch through which chinampas passed for trade. The historian and director tells us that even after the conquest, the area maintained its occupation, which is why it is believed that in New Spain, the Mexica structure was maintained.
Likewise, it is believed that the exterior of the house was used for commerce, while the family lived inside, similar to the current buildings of the Historic Center of Mexico City, where one part corresponds to commerce and another to housing. How many buildings do you know like this?
Another coincidence is the 17 rooms around a common courtyard. Today, it sounds like the basic structure of a neighborhood, to which teacher Loredana indicates that “they are elements that we repeat in history.”
For example, the director details that there was a head of family who divided her territory among her children when they formed their families, “forming a kind of family clan”. These are architectural specifications that are part of pre-Hispanic life and prevail in today’s life, as if they were an echo of identity.
Inhabiting the city as the chilangos do is a root that is nourished from Tenochtitlan, from the Mexica houses. On the periphery, we still find land divided into “rooms or houses” that belong to the uncle, grandmother, cousin, and other family members, with whom a common courtyard is shared. And not to mention the configuration of the neighborhoods.
Mexico City is constantly changing and sometimes chaotic, but Mexicans always find a way to occupy it.
Casa Manzanares Cultural Center 25
Currently, Casa Manzanares is not the home of a family or business; it is a cultural center that welcomes the children of La Merced and migrant children. The essence of home prevails, but it is focused on children who deserve a safe place to grow up.
At the Casa Manzanares 25 Cultural Center, workshops are given free of charge for children in the areas of La Merced and the Historic Center. Here, children learn for free about cooking, plastic arts, circus arts, music, boxing, and even cultivate reading with their small children’s library and homework club. In addition, they serve migrant children with a community kitchen.
“The children became very familiar with the idea that this place was being built for them…. Let’s say, it is the symbol of the place that was dedicated to the children of the neighborhood, and that is how they have also recognized it… The children have created a bond and attachment to that place.” Teacher Loredana explained to us about the Cultural Center.
For safety, during the workshop hours, only children who take the workshops and teachers are allowed to enter; so if you want to visit the oldest house in Mexico City, you must do it on Fridays and request your visit through the email: [email protected]
Where is the oldest house in Mexico City?
Cost: Free.
Address: Calle Manzanares 25, Historic Center of Mexico City, Centro, Cuauhtémoc.
Guided tours: Only on Fridays and booking through the mail: [email protected]
Source: Chilango
