IDSP16 Update: Mexico City

by Tom Stagg; MPA student and IDSP16 Fellow

“You need to go to Chapultepec Castle while you’re here.”  I heard that from my airbnb host, and then from one of her friends.
I was a Latin American studies major in undergrad, which included multiple history courses.  During those classes, I learned of events such as the Mexican-American War and the French occupation of Mexico.  I should have considered my Mexican history knowledge when I received the suggestions to visit the castle; the “castle,” as I thought about it.  I all but made air quotes.  I pictured a modest building, certainly old, and probably made of stone, leading people to call it a castle.  I’ve seen buildings that are smaller than a typical McMansion, but happen to be eccentric or hidden in a forest and therefore get the title, “castle.”
The castle is in Chapultepec Forest (twice the size of Central Park), where a zoo, the National Museum of Anthropology, Museum of Modern Art, theme park and other attractions are also located.  I like walking, and with the variety of options, I decided that I could spend an afternoon in the park and pass by the castle to let people know I had seen it.
I went on a Saturday afternoon.  From the metro station, I strolled through the taco and torta stands, the juice and candy carts, the toy and sunglasses vendors , the balloon artists and the face painting booths, until I was under the shadow of the castle, which sits on a hill on the east side of the park.

Chapultepec Castle is a castle.  Sorry, Leslie! (My undergrad advisor who is a colonial Latin America specialist.)  It looms over the park (stone/masonry as I had guessed), 220 feet tall, with fortress walls, floor to ceiling windows on the upper floors, and turrets.  Once I saw that it deserves to be called a castle, I conceded that I had to walk all the way up to it and at least see the surrounding grounds.  At the bottom of the hill, a sign announces that admission is 65 pesos, or the equivalent today of approximately $3.50.  I considered that if I was impressed enough after the walk up the hill, I would pay the fee and go inside.  The ramp that leads up to the castle is almost 1/2 a mile long. There is the option of a motorized cart for a fee, but most people go on foot.  Built into the castle walls are sculptures, fountains, and gardens.
I decided that I was interested enough to go inside, so I joined the line which was about 40 people long.  A minute into the wait, a man came down the line calling for “children under 13, adults over 60, students and teachers” who get free admission.  No one identified themselves as fitting any of those categories, and he called out again. “niños menores de trece años, adultos mayores de sesenta años de edad, estudiantes, profesores!”  I took a half-step out of the line and asked if college students count.  “You bet!” he said, and he directed me to skip the line.  I showed my MIIS student ID at the gate, and walked right in.

I walked right in to a real castle.  It’s the only castle in North America that was actually lived in by royalty, Emperor Maximilian I (it gets complicated).  It was the site of a battle in the Mexican-American war, when the Niños Heroes (Boy Heroes) defended the castle against the U.S. army, with one boy taking the Mexican flag and jumping from the castle to keep the flag away from the U.S. troops.  The castle has been a military academy and a presidential residence.  Now, it is the National Museum of History.

In addition to remembering lessons from Mexican history (and TX history: General Santa Anna’s wooden leg is on display), I learned a lesson about the value of carrying a student ID.  Since that visit to Chapultepec Castle, I’ve gotten free admission to the National Museum of Anthropology, Museum of Modern Art (free on Sundays), the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum of Architecture.  If it weren’t for the free entrance with student ID, I likely would only have visited the Museum of Fine Arts.

I did try to go to the Casa Azul (Blue House), Frida Kahlo’s home, where a student ID only gives a discount (cost is 40 pesos, or about $2.15), but I gave up as soon as I saw the line at the entrance.