Plaza José Clemente Orozco

The Plaza José Clemente Orozco and three of its surrounding streets commemorate one of the 20th century’s most important mural painters. It’s a terrific however modest neighborhood park.

• José Clemente Orozco (1883–1949) was a caricaturist and painter. Art enthusiasts remember him especially well for his role in establishing the Mural Renaissance. The movement characterizes much of post-Revolutionary Mexican visual art. He died earlier than many other artists associated with the movement. But he was also much more complex in the themes and subjects he depicted. He seems to have looked closely at work from the Symbolist movement of the late 19th century. Thus he approached themes of human suffering and the dark side of Modernism, even in a profoundly anti-Modernist genre. In Mexico City, his work is most prominently on display at the old Colegio de San Ildefonso, and in the stairwell of the Casa de los Azulejos.

The neighborhood, Ciudad de los deportes, is arguably much better known for the bullring and the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes. Both are a mere stone’s throw to the east. But as neighborhood Benito Juarez parks go, neighborhood residents especially cherish this one. The local government cleaned up, modernized, and re-launched the Plaza José Clemente Orozco just in 2018.