Parque Leona Vicario

The Parque Leona Vicario is the “other” park in the center of Tlalpan, the main one being the Parque de la Constitución in front of the Municipal Palace. Renamed in 2019, the former San Fernando Park had been named for the kids’ home in the middle of the park. Today it shares space with the Multiforo Tlalpan performance space.

• Leona Vicario (1789–1842) was an early supporter of Mexican independence. Today a national hero, she performed crucial and dangerous intelligence work for the insurgents and likely seriously weakened the Spanish Royalists. A number of important spaces in Mexico bear her name as a result.

The City entirely restored and upgraded the park in 2020. Some 19,000 plants joined almost 100 new trees. There’s a new dog run area, plus kids’ and exercise areas. Special ecological walkways feed two 5,000 liter cisterns and help replenish the ground water.

The Parque Leona Vicario still carries a couple of names. The Parque San Fernando name really refers to the immediate school grounds. The southeast corner sometimes still goes by the name Parque El Bolero. Don’t confuse it with the Plaza del Bolero “Armando Manzanero,” between the Parque Juana de Asbaje and the Parque de la Constitución. They’re just a few minutes walk away. You get the idea why the Tlalpan Center is such a leafy, shady, and pleasant place to walk.