Jardín Balbuena is a neighborhood in Venustiano Carranza, Mexico City, east of the historic center. The neighborhood was developed in the early 1950s and most of its infrastructure was designed by architects Mario Pani and Agustín Landa Verdugo. Jardín Balbuena is the seat of Venustiano Carranza, as it houses the headquarters of the borough.[2]

Jardín Balbuena
A street in Jardín Balbuena
A street in Jardín Balbuena
Country Mexico
City Mexico City
BoroughVenustiano Carranza
Named forBernardo de Balbuena
Area
 • Total2.78 km2 (1.07 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total31,688[1]
 • Urban density11,396/km2 (29,520/sq mi)
Postal code
15900

Location edit

Jardín Balbuena is located in the Venustiano Carranza borough of Mexico City.

The neighborhood is bordered by:

History edit

The area was known as Potrero de Balbuena (Balbuena Paddock), named for Spanish poet Bernardo de Balbuena, and was used by locals to feed their cattle. It was later bought by the Braniff family, who built two haciendas, Magadalena and Santa Lucía, and changed its name to Llanos de Balbuena (Balbuena Plains).[3][4]

On 8 January 1910, Alberto Braniff took off his Voisin airplane, imported from France, from Llanos de Balbuena, and flew over Mexico City, becoming the first aviator to fly a plane in Mexico and the second in Latin America.[5] Llanos de Balbuena became the first airfield in Mexico. On 30 November 1911, President Francisco I. Madero became the first Mexican head of state to fly in a plane, when he flew in George Miller Dyott's Deperdussin over Mexico City, taking off and landing in Llanos de Balbuena.[6] It was also used by the fledgling Mexican Air Force for bomb target practice.[7]

Jardín Balbuena was developed in the early 1950s funded by the Bank of Mexico.[8] Mario Pani and Agustín Landa Verdugo were in charge of designing most of the neighborhood's infrastructure, such as the Unidad Kennedy, the biggest public housing project in Jardín Balbuena, named in honor of John F. Kennedy.[9]

In 1968, the Agustín Melgar Olympic Velodrome was inaugurated. The venue hosted the track cycling events of the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Transportation edit

Public transportation edit

The area is served by the Mexico City Metro Line 1 and Line 9.

Metro stations

Notable people edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Densidad habitacional por colonia". Portal de Datos Abiertos de la CDMX (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Venustiano Carranza". CDMX - Portal Ciudadano (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  3. ^ Martínez, Marisol (16 August 2022). "De campo aéreo a utopía modernista: Así nació la Jardín Balbuena". local.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  4. ^ Ramírez, Armando (6 June 2018). "La Balbuena es rica en famosos". Basta (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  5. ^ "10 de febrero Día de la Fuerza Aérea Mexicana". sedena.gob.mx (in Spanish). Sedena. Archived from the original on 20 December 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  6. ^ Gutiérrez González, Víctor Hugo (30 November 2021). "Primer vuelo de un Presidente en México". Caminos del Aire (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  7. ^ Nacional, Secretaría de la Defensa. "La Aviación Militar en la Revolución Mexicana". gob.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  8. ^ "La CDMX en el tiempo: colonia Jardín Balbuena". Más por más (in Spanish). 16 June 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Cuando gringos construyeron departamentos en Balbuena". El Universal (in Spanish). 29 September 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2023.