page_title: Aguascalientes Municipality
section_title: Neighborhoods and tradition
hierarchical_section_title: Aguascalientes Municipality / Culture and recreation / Neighborhoods and tradition
caption_attribution_description: Teatro Morelos, en Agusacalientes (Morelos Theather, in Aguscalientes City)
context_page_description: Aguascalientes is the capital of the state of Aguascalientes and is its most populous city, with a metropolitan population of 1,000,000. It is located in North-Central Mexico. It is part of the macroregion of Bajío, which is among the safest and most prosperous regions in Mexico. It was part of the kingdom of Nueva Galicia. In 1835 Aguascalientes became the capital of the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes. Aguascalientes has been called the cleanest city in Latin America. Aguascalientes is experiencing an ongoing social, economic, and aesthetic revitalization process. Aguascalientes has a population which includes Japanese, Koreans, and Germans.
  It stands on the banks of the Aguascalientes river, 1880 meters above sea level, at 21°51′N 102°18′W. It is the municipal seat for the Aguascalientes Municipality. The Aguascalientes metropolitan area includes the municipality of Jesús María and San Francisco de los Romo. It was a Chichimeca Indian territory. It later blossomed as a strategic link between Mexico City and the mines of Zacatecas, while prosperous agriculture and ranching helped feed Spain's emerging New World cities.
context_section_description: The city of Aguascalientes is made up of four traditional neighborhoods, all of which grew up around the central Plaza de la Patria: Guadalupe, San Marcos, El Encino and La Estación.
  The neighborhood of Guadalupe, a traditional producer of pottery, centers around its local temple. Located in the heart of Guadalupe, this religious sanctuary, the second most important in the city and dating back to the late 18th century, has a baroque façade and a large dome covered in traditional talavera tiles. Inside it has many flower and angel motifs.
  The next is San Marcos, founded in 1604 and once home to natives of Tlaxcala state who fled persecution. Today, the area hosts the traditional San Marcos Fair in springtime. There is San Marcos Gardens, a charming green spot where paths and trees are abundant. The gardens are traditionally frequented by poets, artists and lovers on lazy afternoons. Directly in front of the gardens, you'll see the baroque San Marcos Temple, its tiled dome glinting in the sun.
  In El Encino or La Triana, head for the Encino gardens with their tile-decorated central fountain is full of tranquility. While in the area, the José Guadalupe Posada Museum – showcasing the work of an extraordinary cartoonist and engraver born in Aguascalientes – is well worth a visit. The museum houses two permanent exhibition rooms and another for temporary exhibitions.
  Last but not least, the neighborhood of La Estación takes its name from the old railway station, inaugurated in 1911 and one of Aguascalientes' architectural and historical treasures.
  Aguascalientes historic downtown is home to several outstanding museums including the Aguascalientes Museum (Museo de Aguascalientes), the city's art museum, housed in a Classical-style building designed by the beloved self-trained architect Refugio Reyes; the Guadalupe Posada Museum (Museo Guadalupe Posada), located in the historic nationhood of Triana, exhibits the life and work of José Guadalupe Posada; and the State History Museum, which is housed in an elegant Art Nouveau mansion typical of the Porfirian period with and ornate patio and dining room with vegetable motifs in a Mediterranean style, with a French Academism façade, and interior columns and an arcade of pink stone characteristic of Porfirian Eclecticism.
  Other designs by Refugio Reyes include the Paris Hotel, the Francia Hotel, and his masterpiece, the Church of San Antonio. The Church of our Lady of Guadalupe possesses an extraordinarily exuberant Baroque facade designed by José de Alcíbar, a renowned architect of the period considered to be one of the most famous artists in Mexico in the 1770s. The Camarin of the Immaculate in the church of San Diego is considered by historians to be the last Baroque building in the world; it links the Baroque and Neoclassical styles; it is the largest of the fewer than ten of these type of structures built in the whole continent.
  Aguascalientes is also home to some of the country's leading provincial theaters. Outstanding examples are the Morelos Theater, historically important for its role during the Mexican Revolution as a convention site; architecturally, the building is notable for its facade and interior, which houses a small museum. The Teatro Aguascalientes is the city's premier theatre and opera house and is equipped with the latest technology.
  In addition, in the modern section of the city, the Museo Descubre astonishes as an interactive museum of science and technology aimed at providing a hands-on learning experience. It also features an IMAX screen. The Museum of Contemporary Art is the city's premier art museum.
  The gothic structure of the Los Arquitos cultural center used to be one of the first bathhouses in the city, declared a historic monument in 1990. The Ojocaliente is also an original bathhouse still in use today, and fed with thermal springs.
  La Estacion Historic Area (The Old Train Station Complex) contains the Old Train Station and Railway Museum historic complex, which at some point in 1884 formed the largest rail hub and warehouses in all Latin America. The 
caption: Morelos Theater
exif: {}