Popotla

Popotla in Nahuatl means "among hollow reeds or straws," a hint of its former lakeside geography. This neighborhood in the Miguel Hidalgo borough refuses to be a mere appendage of the city. At its heart, history beats with an almost palpable intensity, embodied in the surviving trunk of the ahuehuete tree.

This tree, known for centuries as the Tree of the Sad Night, the place where Cortés wept after his defeat in 1520, has been renamed by the will of the local community as the Tree of the Victorious Night. This change is not a simple toponymic correction; it is an act of decolonizing history, an act of collective pride driven by the insistence of its inhabitants who seek to highlight the Mexica resistance of Cuitláhuac and the rich culture that was a cradle of civilization.

The duality of Popotla is evident in its architectural and social layers. During the Porfiriato, this pre-Hispanic town, located along the ancient causeway that connected Tenochtitlan with Tlacopan, was transformed into a showcase for the elite, with grand residences, stables, and country estates.

However, this layer of historical elegance coexists today with the urban realities of insecurity and a visible increase in the homeless population. It is a neighborhood that, within its geographical boundaries from the industrial zone to the Santo Tomás district, embraces both its military past, with the old Military College dating back to 1910, and the popular lore that transformed a house in Cañitas into the setting for legends.

Community life beats strong in Popotla as if its inhabitants refuse to live solely on memories. Popotla is essentially the combination of those settings of epic stories, unexpected triumphs, and deep scars with the everyday, giving monumental meaning to the simple fabric of daily life.