Plaza de las Tres Culturas

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The Plaza de las Tres Culturas ("Square of the Three Cultures") is the main square within the Tlatelolco neighbourhood of Mexico City.

The square contains the remains of Aztec temples and is flanked by the Catholic church of Santiago Tlatelolco and a massive housing complex built in 1964. The former headquarters of the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (foreign ministry) also stands on the southern edge of the square. This headquarters now are a memorial museum called "Memorial 68" to remember the 1968 Mexican student demonstrations and the Tlatelolco Massacre victims and survivors.

The name "Three Cultures" is in recognition of the three periods of Mexican history reflected by those buildings: pre-Columbian, Spanish colonial, and the independent "mestizo" nation.

Notable events

The square was the site of a protest ten days before the 1968 Summer Olympics celebrations were to take place in Mexico City. The protest ended in the Tlatelolco massacre, with police forces shooting protestors and bystanders.

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Last updated on Friday December 28, 2007 at 03:19:22 PST (GMT -0800)
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