Metro Juanacatlán

Metro Juanacatlán is the main station for the San Miguel Chapultepec neighborhood. As such, it’s important for international visitors taking to the gallery scene, and the many restaurant and nightlife destinations in the area. It’s also convenient to much of the west side of La Condesa.

The station is named for the former Juanacatlán street. That street is today Alfonso Reyes Street, named for Reyes (1889–1959) who was a celebrated writer, philosopher and diplomat. (His house is a museum and center for writers to the south.)

The street had been called Calle Juanacatlán, named for a municipality in the center of the state of Jalisco. The Nahuatl word is Xonacatlán, which translates literally as “place of onions.” But a few versions put it more poetically as “place of butterflies.” Hence, the station logo.

• You’ll recall that the end of Alfonso Reyes Street is today the Plaza de los Compositores, in la Condesa. This had been the site of Alberto J. Pani’s waterworks building, today the Casa de la Cultura de Tlalpan.
• The street between the two entrances to the Metro is named for the General, Pedro Antonio Santos Rivera (1887-1913).  An intellectual and revolutionary leader, he was a collaborator with Francisco I. Madero during the early part of the Mexican Revolution.
• The stretch between Metro Chapultepec and Juanacatlán feels longer than it is.

The station is about a 15-minute walk from the Mercado el Chorrito, but of course, San Miguel Chapultepec is loaded with attractions and eateries. It’s also just a few blocks south Chapultepec’s Sección II, a massive destination all on its own.