Glorieta de San Jerónimo

The Glorieta de San Jerónimo might be thought of as merely a complex highway traffic interchange. But for the Bandera Monumental, the Monumental Flag, that’s what it is. But the giant flag makes it into a major landmark in the south of Mexico City.

The Glorieta began in the 1950s as a modest intersection. Part of the original design for the center of the roundabout is still visible. Today, it’s on the ground beneath the several layers of elevated highway. The Anillo Periferico dates from the 1960s. It’s evident here, and perhaps everywhere in the City, that it significantly altered life, transport, and the culture of the City and its people. The Periferico ring-road highway, here replaced the older Boulevard Adolfo López Mateos. It still retains that name in this area.

The San Jerónimo Monumental Flagpole was erected here in 1997. The flag resulted from a directive by President Ernesto Zedillo to install several giant flags in cities around Mexico. The directive stated that flagpoles need to be at least 50 meters in height. It’s one of three “monumental flags” in the City, the others being those at the Zócalo, and at Campo Marte at the western end of Chapultepec Park.

The Glorieta de San Jerónimo here marks the boundary between the town of San Jerónimo Lídice-Aculco to the west. The town of Tizapán, one of the original settlements of Álvaro Obregón, is just to the east.