LGBTQ+ History: Plazas and Secrets

Rooftop balcony overlooking the Palace of the Royal Duty, the Hideaway Rooms of Frida Kahl, and the Great Aztec Temple's ruins.

The Templo Mayor (Spanish for "Great Temple") was the main temple of the Mexica (former Aztec) people in their capital city.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven is the cathedral church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico.

The central plaza. The heart of city and country. The meeting place since the 16th century.

The National Palace (Spanish: Palacio Nacional) is the seat of the federal executive in Mexico. Since 2018 it has also served as the official residence for the President of Mexico.

The Centro Cultural de España (Cultural Center of Spain in Mexico) is located at 18 Guatemala Street in the historic center of Mexico City. In the late 1990s, this old mansion just behind the Cathedral was in ruins when the Mexico City government ceded it to the Spanish government. When restoration work was finished, the new Centro Cultural de España was inaugurated by the King of Spain with the President of Mexico in 2002.

The Old Customs Building is located on the east side of Santo Domingo Plaza between Republica de Venezuela and Luis Gonzalez Obregon Streets just to the north of the main plaza of Mexico City.

Plaza Santo Domingo is flanked to the west by the Portal de Evangelistas, which is a Tuscan colonnade with round arches. Scribes with typewriters and antique printing machines work in this Portal.

The Spanish Inquisition was the civilian institution in charge of executing convicted homosexuals between 1521 and 1821.

The Church of Santo Domingo is located on the north side and faces the Santo Domingo plaza. The starting point of El Camino Real, from Old Mexico to New Mexico, a trading route and a safe haven for gay male couples.