Los Remedios National Park
Encyclopedia
Los Remedios National Park is located in the far west of the municipality of Naucalpan
in Mexico State just northwest of Mexico City
. This park was established by decrees in 1938 by the federal government
with an area of 400 hectares. Within its borders is the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Los Remedios
, an colonial area aqueduct
and a pre-Hispanic archeological zone with a Chichimeca
temple. All of these are located in and around the mountain called Cerro Moctezuma. The site was an Aztec
observatory and is also believed to be where Hernán Cortés
and his men rested after fleeing Tenochtitlan.
The aqueduct is 500 meters long and consists of fifty arches which measure 16 meters high and extend 1.7 meters into the ground. The first stage was built in 1616 under viceroy Diego Fernandez de Cordoba with the objective of bringing water to the Sanctuary of Los Remedios from a spring at the village of San Francisco Chimalpa. This water was also used to irrigate fields in the villages of San Bartolomé, Santa Maria Nativitas and Santa Cruz. The aqueduct is mostly of clay pipes with two large spiral towers to release air. These towers flank the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Los Remedios and are nicknamed “caracoles” (snails) By 1764, the amount of wáter this system delivered was no longer enough and viceroy Joaquín de Monserrat had the arched system built, which was finished in 1765. Eventually, this system could not deliver water and became simply an architectural monument.
Due to the growth of the city of Naucalpan, severe pressure is being put on this national park. Seventy five percent of the original surface of the park now has illegal settlements, including settlements which have been authorized by local authorities. While these settlements can be confiscated and destroyed under federal law, this has not happened. The federal environmental agency Profepa has received complaints about the most recent invasions into the park area, which as felled dozens of trees. The agency has responded with inspections of plans by a developer to build two subdivisions near the colonial era aqueduct to verify if the land is private or public. One reason for this is that the park lacks conservation plans, fences and other means to fend off development efforts. The illegal settlements and development have also affected adjoining ejido land that adjoin the park. This and the fact that housing is now starting to encroach the archeological zone has promted the involvement of INAH and the organization of neighboring communities to protest.
Naucalpan
Naucalpan, officially Naucalpan de Juárez, is a city and municipality located just northwest of Mexico City in adjoining Mexico State. The name Naucalpan comes from Nahuatl and means “place of the four neighborhoods or four houses. “de Juárez was added to the official name in 1874 in honor of...
in Mexico State just northwest of Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. This park was established by decrees in 1938 by the federal government
Politics of Mexico
The politics of Mexico take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic whose government is based on a congressional system, whereby the president of Mexico is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system...
with an area of 400 hectares. Within its borders is the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Los Remedios
Virgin of Los Remedios
The Virgin of Los Remedios or Our Lady of Los Remedios is a small statue of the Virgin Mary, believed to have been brought to Mexico by the conquistadores. She is a small image of the Virgin Mary, measuring 27 cm in height. This image is strongly linked with the Spanish Conquest, especially the...
, an colonial area aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
and a pre-Hispanic archeological zone with a Chichimeca
Chichimeca
Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian"...
temple. All of these are located in and around the mountain called Cerro Moctezuma. The site was an Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
observatory and is also believed to be where Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
and his men rested after fleeing Tenochtitlan.
The aqueduct is 500 meters long and consists of fifty arches which measure 16 meters high and extend 1.7 meters into the ground. The first stage was built in 1616 under viceroy Diego Fernandez de Cordoba with the objective of bringing water to the Sanctuary of Los Remedios from a spring at the village of San Francisco Chimalpa. This water was also used to irrigate fields in the villages of San Bartolomé, Santa Maria Nativitas and Santa Cruz. The aqueduct is mostly of clay pipes with two large spiral towers to release air. These towers flank the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Los Remedios and are nicknamed “caracoles” (snails) By 1764, the amount of wáter this system delivered was no longer enough and viceroy Joaquín de Monserrat had the arched system built, which was finished in 1765. Eventually, this system could not deliver water and became simply an architectural monument.
Due to the growth of the city of Naucalpan, severe pressure is being put on this national park. Seventy five percent of the original surface of the park now has illegal settlements, including settlements which have been authorized by local authorities. While these settlements can be confiscated and destroyed under federal law, this has not happened. The federal environmental agency Profepa has received complaints about the most recent invasions into the park area, which as felled dozens of trees. The agency has responded with inspections of plans by a developer to build two subdivisions near the colonial era aqueduct to verify if the land is private or public. One reason for this is that the park lacks conservation plans, fences and other means to fend off development efforts. The illegal settlements and development have also affected adjoining ejido land that adjoin the park. This and the fact that housing is now starting to encroach the archeological zone has promted the involvement of INAH and the organization of neighboring communities to protest.