Balderas metro station
Balderas is an underground station on the Mexico City Metro.[2][3] It is located in the Cuauhtémoc borough in the center of Mexico City.[2] It is a transfer station along Lines 1 and 3.[2][4]
Name and iconography
The station receives its name from the nearby Balderas street, which in turn was named in honor of Lucas Balderas, a Mexican military officer that participated in the Mexican–American War and was killed at the Battle of Molino del Rey in 1847. It is said that his last words were "poor country of mine".[5][6]
The station pictogram depicts the colonial-era cannon preserved on the nearby Plaza de La Ciudadela.[2][3] The cannon is a reminder of the Ten Tragic Days, which was a period a little bit longer than 10 days in which a coup the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero took place. This chapter would end with the murder of President Madero and Vice-President José María Pino Suárez, as well as the rise to the presidency of Victoriano Huerta.[2]
General information
Nearby Metro Balderas are some interesting places, like La Ciudadela market, filled with Mexican handicrafts,[7] the José Vasconcelos Central Library of Mexico City,[8] and facilities of broadcaster Televisa. Next to the library lies a tianguis (street market) full of books old and new, comics, collectibles, etc.
This station has an information desk and facilities for the disabled.[2] It also displays a plaque unveiled on 19 September 2004, celebrating Mexican rock musician Rockdrigo González, killed exactly 19 years earlier in the 1985 Mexico City earthquake and composer of a song titled "Metro Balderas". In September 2011 a real-size bronze statue of Rockdrigo was also unveiled inside the station.[9]
Although this station is totally underground, cellular phone signals (GSM and TDMA for several providers) are able to reach the platform. The station also has charging stations for mobile devices.[10]
History
Metro Balderas was opened on 4 September 1969, as part of the first stage of Line 1, going from Chapultepec to Zaragoza.[11]
The station became the network's second transfer station, when the first stretch of Line 3, from Tlatelolco to Hospital General, was opened in November 1970.[11]
Incidents
On Friday, 18 September 2009 a shooting occurred on the platform. A man was tagging one of the station walls with a marker, therefore, he was confronted by a police officer. He reacted by taking out a gun and killing him and a construction worker, who tried to disarm him, leaving also five wounded.[12] The man later claimed that he committed the killings "in the name of god" and was sentenced to 151 years in prison.[13]
On 29 December 2018, a woman gave birth to a child inside the station, at the Line 1 platforms, helped by personnel of the Mexican Red Cross.[14]
Nearby
- Biblioteca de México, public library.
- Escuela Libre de Derecho, law school.
- Televisa Chapultepec headquarters.
- Parque Tolsá, park.
- Centro Escolar Revolución, elementary school.
Exits
Line 1
- North: Tolsá street and Balderas, Centro
- South: Avenida Niños Héroes and Avenida Chapultepec, Colonia Doctores
Line 3
- East: Avenida Arcos de Belén, Colonia Doctores
- Southeast: Avenida Niños Héroes and Dr. Río de la Loza street, Colonia Doctores
Station layout
| G | Street Level | Exit/Entrance |
| B1 | Mezzanine for platform connection | Fare control/Ticket windows |
| Side platform, doors will open on the right | ||
| Westbound | ←   toward Observatorio (Cuauhtémoc) | |
| Eastbound | toward Pantitlán (Salto del Agua) → | |
| Side platform, doors will open on the right | ||
| B2 | Side platform, doors will open on the right | |
| Northbound | ←  toward Indios Verdes (Juárez) | |
| Southbound | toward Universidad (Niños Héroes) → | |
| Side platform, doors will open on the right | ||
Gallery
Entrance to the station in the corner of Avenida Chapultepec and Av. Niños Héroes
Entrance sign to the station
Line 3 platforms
Commemorative plaque to Rockdrigo González_Aka_%22Rockdrigo%22.jpg.webp)
Statue honoring Rockdrigo
References
- "Afluencia de estación por línea 2018" (in Spanish). Sistema Transporte Colectivo Metro. 2019. Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- "Balderas" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- Archambault, Richard. "Balderas (Line 1) » Mexico City Metro System". Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- Archambault, Richard. "Balderas (Line 3)» Mexico City Metro System". Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- "¿Sabes por qué el logotipo de la estación Balderas es un cañón?". Excélsior (in Spanish). 9 May 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- "Lucas Balderas". www.durangomas.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- "Mercado de La Ciudadela". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- "Biblioteca Vasconcelos" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- "Rockdrigo 'cantará' permanentemente en el metro Balderas del DF" (in Spanish). Expansión. 19 September 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- "Instalan en Metro Balderas centros de carga para celulares". Diario de México (in Spanish). 15 August 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- "Balderas" (in Spanish). Metro CDMX. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- Avila, Eduardo (20 September 2009). "Mexico: Shooting at Balderas Metro Station". Global Voices Online.
- "El día en que el Metro Balderas se tiñó de rojo". Reporte Indigo (in Spanish). 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- "Nace un bebé en la estación Balderas del Metro de la CDMX" (in Spanish). Noticieros Televisa. 29 December 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
External links
Media related to Balderas (station) at Wikimedia Commons
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